Toys R Us adds FAO Schwarz boutiques to stores, but no $1,500 teddy bears

Toys R Us will try to leverage its ownership of FAO Schwarz this holiday by giving shoppers coast-to-coast a taste of the fancy Fifth Avenue toy store, and use the brand to build foot traffic at its big-box stores.

The company announced it will open FAO Schwarz boutiques in 585 Toys R Us stores nationwide and relaunch the FAO Schwarz website, FAO.com. The in-store boutiques, which will open Nov. 1, will be in the fronts of stores, and feature replicas of the giant toy soldiers that guard the entrance to the flagship FAO Schwarz store in New York City. They will carry a smaller selection of toys in a lower price range than the flagship, $2.99 to $64.99, but to continue the branding, they will offer miniature replicas of the giant piano Tom Hanks played in the movie Big.