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Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
Sun Coverage
Beyond the Sun
Map of Forum Shops
Forum Shops
3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas
For rent: a three-level storefront at one of the most successful shopping malls in the country, previously filled with toys. The previous tenant’s 48-foot-tall equine will be removed.
That’s right, the iconic FAO Schwarz on the Strip quietly closed Jan. 23, and the next to go will be the wooden Trojan horse that has entertained children, tourists and locals at the store’s entrance since 1997.
The toy store let its lease at the Forum Shops at Caesars expire at the end of January. So, Maureen Crampton, marketing director of the Forum Shops, said, “That space will be demolished (for renovation). Unfortunately, the horse will not remain.”
Mall officials are hopeful that they can lease the space to a national retailer that wants to establish a flagship store or its largest store nationwide in one of the country’s premier shopping destinations.
“That space is considered to be an ideal location for a small group of select retailers,” Crampton said of FAO’s old location in the wing of the mall tourists walk through to reach the popular Niketown store, Cheesecake Factory restaurant and Atlantis aquarium and show.
Las Vegas retail industry observer Scot Marker, a senior vice president at brokerage Colliers International, said the Forum Shops maintains its status as one of the nation’s premier high-end malls.
And in the short term that may make leasing the Forum Shops space challenging, given the national downturn in spending on luxury goods.
“The Forum Shops set the bar — it set it high,” Marker said. “It has the only Niketown. It’s prestigious.
“I don’t know of many high-end retailers out there rolling out stores,” Marker said. “There’s probably only a handful of tenants that could take that space.”
Described by owner Simon Property Group of Indianapolis as “part Beverly Hills, part Rome’s Via Condotti and part Madison Avenue,” the Forum Shops has about 160 stores and has boasted it is visited typically by 50,000 people a day.
One thing that probably won’t work for the 635,000-square-foot mall, Marker said, is another toy store.
For years, the relationship between FAO Schwarz and the similarly high-end Forum Shops seemed to work.
Forum Shops, long known as the nation’s highest-grossing mall with annual sales last reported at $1,400 per square foot, was a must-see spot for tourists staying at the adjacent Caesars Palace and other Strip resorts such as the neighboring Mirage.
And within Forum Shops, the three-story FAO Schwarz became a key attraction after opening in 1997 in 55,000 square feet.
But then came the recession.
Visitation to Las Vegas tumbled and locals slashed their spending. Although store-specific numbers haven’t been released, FAO Schwarz at the Forum Shops likely endured the economic pain like the rest of the city.
In the end, FAO Schwarz owner Toys R Us chose to close the store after the 2009 holiday shopping season. The lease expired at the end of January and “after much thoughtful consideration and a thorough business evaluation, we decided not to extend the agreement,” Toys R Us spokeswoman Jennifer Albano said Monday.
About 60 employees were affected by the closure and, where possible, were offered work at Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in the Las Vegas area, she said.
FAO Schwarz has no plans to open elsewhere in Las Vegas, and remains focused on the FAO Schwarz brand with its flagship New York City store and its Web site.
Steve Green covers business and gaming for the Las Vegas Sun and is the editor of sister publication In Business Las Vegas.
I guess they not get their security deposit back ,since they left the Horse.
Sshhh! Inside the horse is Owen Wilson and a little toy army waiting to take over the Forum Shoppes. We'll see how the Roman centurions respond!
$200 for a stuffed animal made in china, how'd that work out. thought those rich slobs were going to save vegas. ritz-carlton closing, where the hell are you selfish crowd.
It amazes me how these retailers used to fight to get these locations here in our city, and so when times are tough they desert us. They are nothing more than mere carpetbaggers, fairweather flirts who like all the other businesses who saw dollar signs, came and pillaged and leave with their tails between their legs. Good riddance!!!!
Hey, Jim Murren of MGM, can you feel the noose tightening around your corporate neck? Those new places that sell $500 handbags will be gone shortly. And so will you. Back to NY.
Good. City Center is an overpriced joke, no one will buy your expensive junk except for the occasional foreign visitor with overvalued currency, and the drunken sailor with a new love.
You will be BK by 2012, and you know it. 8.9 Billion down the toilet. Way to go....
ATVDAD1 my friend you must be a very young person, or have not lived here very long because at one time las Vegas was a very tight community who cared about our city, and proud of what we have to offer. The corporate fools came in and raped and pillaged and destroyed our community. People like Jim Murren who is gonna bail out back to NYC with his golden parachute leaving us with nothing. Don't be fooled these corporate criminals are only in it for themselves, they don't care about the common good of our community, nor do they care how well their companies do. They have NO personal steak in the company's well being, and simply rip off the investors for their huge bonuses weather or not they are showing financial success. I say good riddance to all of 'em and bring back the mob. They at least cared for their community, and knew how to treat the most important people in the world, their customers.
Formervegas76 - GOOD ONE :) $200 stuffed animals made in china - that's as bad as the pair of socks I saw at TJ Maxx for $7.50 (also made in China).... I guess that 'designer' name on the package was supposed to make me feel good about spending that kind of money on a pair of socks, right? If something were to say "MADE IN THE USA" I might be swayed to pay more (for the sake of keeping OUR citizens working) but I ain't paying no 7.50 for socks, and I ain't paying no 200.00 for a stuffed animal just to keep China's sweatshops thriving :(
Plenty of room at the new mall at city cemetery.
It seems like everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning! FAO Schwarz has had major financial problems for the past few years and has closed almost every other location that they operated. The Forum shop was open for more than 10 years and stayed through the duration of their lease, what more do you want from them?
RIP F.A.O. Schwarz--I loved going to your store in NYC when I was a child and your outlet in the Forum shops was always a fun stop when I lived in Las Vegas. While there's no arguing with the economic logic driving toy retailing online and to mass-market discounters like Toys R Us, F.A.O Schwarz will be missed....:(
FAO Schwarz was a FANTASTIC toy store. Kids & grandkids loved it. Unfortunately the economy s*cks. Caesars' Forum is a great mall, as is Miracle Mile. Too bad Crystals is not!!! City Center is a JOKE!!! In less than a year, expect City Center to be City Cemetary. MGM & Dubai will take an enormous HIT on that laugher of a property!
Agreed. Growing up in NYC I loved going to the flagship store on 59th st. across from the Plaza Hotel. It was glorious! Many LV kids will miss the store, I'm sure.
As for CC, I think it will be a catastrophe for MGMM. Was over there one morning and saw no one but a few bored-looking staff. Crystals had so many storefronts still boarded up it looked like it was still under construction, and who's paying $500 for a pair of pants in this day and age?
All kinds of opinions - be brave and live into the future. 59th Street in Manhattan is great and they actually have employees. NY is doing better in this time than is Vegas.
I was on the strip last night shooting a music video. Almost everyone out on the street spoke a foreign language. From what I could see, they were all shopping and drinking. The line outside of JET was decent for a Monday and that seemed to be all locals.
I was also at City Center (Aria) last Thursday and the place was jumping. You nay-sayers should probably shutdown your laptops and climb back into your holes, because the sky is obviously falling, City Center is doomed, and anybody with more money than you is evil.
Well, that's the way to do it rather than just break contracts.
How about a sporting goods store with a world class gun shop?
times are hard in vegas and gonna get worse. I have been in this city and business for 30+ now and have only seen a couple times when things were this slow--and that was short term stuff. Out on the front lines--IT IS BAD! The massive overbuilding has made it much worse than it should have been--thanks corporate idiots! Jerry writes that "the place was jumping" and everyone is "shopping and drinking"--well, true for a few hours on swing shift things appear to be near normal, but they are an illusion. The other two shifts are dead as hell--business on the strip is down about 40% being very conservative. Recently I saw people going to their room with kids and they had bread and peanut butter to make sandwiches--this is the kind of customers who are coming these days--they are staying in the cheap rooms and walking around and eating the $25 all day buffets--not going to the shows or clubs or high end restaurants. yes 30 million people are still coming to vegas--they are bringing $200 instead of $2000 to spend. Of course their is still the 7% of the world population that gambles till they lose everything and they are still coming. Some asian foreigners are still coming, it seems a higher percentage of people in their culture are gamblers, but even their numbers have declined--noticeably. I believe this spring/summer will see a new round of layoffs up and down the strip--20%. Some clubs and restaurants will close. Some shows will close or go dark more nights. On the other end of all this I am very optimistic on las vegas. When we get through these bad times vegas will roll again and continue on. Hang on for now--good times will return! Great time to buy a house if your somewhere steady.
overpriced items = FAIL!
The horse is now a jack-ass.
Very well written, mrlucky. I hope you're correct about the future. Not sure if you're correct about buying a house right now. But I like your attitude. Go Rebels...
Our city is collapsing due to self implosion, We are too big and thirsty to support and sustain ourselves. Downsized properties are the only thing that will remain when all the corporate giants leave town. Of course all these immense structures they leave behind will have to be somehow maintained. Who knows? perhaps they will use them to house squatters or whoever is left here to fend for themselves with no running water or electricity...
environprotector...again, you're wrong.
for as much as you like to say i'm an idiot on other posts on other stories, you seem to constantly show YOUR lack of intelligence when you post.
the people that LIVE in las vegas and the city SIZE of las vegas have very, very little to do with the success or failure of anything on the strip.
this is economics, not environment.
times are tough. less people coming to vegas + less spending by those that DO come here = not enough money ( not water ) to go around.
i would bet less than 5% of this store's revenue came from people with a nevada drivers license. i say 5% because i had a buddy that worked at bloomies for awhile and he said about 5% of their business is from locals and even THAT much seemed high.
some businesses will close. if you track my postings way back in november i said there would be retail closings on the strip after the holiday season. this store isn't the first, and it won't be the last.
now, that being said...this is sorta sad. i remember my first time through the forum shops in 2000 and i was sort of awestruck by that store.
and yes...city center WILL have layoffs. maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next month, but the "new car smell" is off that ugly mess.
Now hold on a minute there stevem, I believe that your constant blaming liberals for all of the problems right now is idiotic yes, but I don't necessarily disagree with everything you say. I happen to be a very intelligent person, pretty cynical yes, and a bit angry yes, because I blame the corporate world that took over our city, wrung it out and will bail on us one of these days.. You better get used to the fact that BOTH parties are to blame for our problems, as well as the raggedy assed masses who moved here in record numbers causing traffic, smog and crime!!!!
It's just a temporary slowdown, not the end of te world. Economies never keep growing like a tree, oscillations create new opportunities.
Everyone was living on credit and spending like drunken sailors. Of course that is not sustainable. Las Vegas is one the main tourist destinations in the world and always will be.
Most of the expensive stuffed toys at FAO were actually hand made wool from Germany.
Believe it or not there is a market for those items, just not at the moment.
There are lots of people in this world who are not in the service industry and are quite wealthy. Fortunately for you, they like to come to Las Vegas to play and shop. Unfortunately for you, criminals also come here to prey on them.(and everyone else)
@azsk8fan
Yes the United States will come out of this Great Recession stronger but us citizens will have to make it stronger. I have a mortgage on a condo which I got last year and I started remodelling it. The laminate wood floorings I purchased were Made in the USA, the area rug I purchased to go over the hallway was also Made in the USA. That is just for starters eventually my friend and I will be replacing the appliances and the first thing we are going to look for is something Made in the USA, if not Made in the USA we will purchase an American brand and not a foreign brand. To everyone, start buying Made in the USA products and we will get out of this recession stronger.
I'm here to stay MrLucky. My life revolves around desert racing motorcycles. Why would I want to leave? Now shape up people,love your neighbor, get involved in our community, and tell the government to quit taking our land away!
@azsk8fan:
Buy American yes, but the problem is that most American manufacturers have outsourced their manufactured goods to China, Taiwan, India, South America etc. All thanks to the wonderful NAFTA legislation which destroyed and continues to destroy our domestic job market!!!
Las Vegas is the best place to live if folks can take the six weeks of heat. Its New York City West without the crime, dirt and bad weather. NYC right now is buried in snow and we have the sun shinning at 50degrees. We go to lots of shows that are for free or $10 a ticket. Seeing Don Rickles Sunday and a Rolling Stone Tribute Band next Friday. Food is cheap and don't have to gamble to have fun in a Casino. I hung my hat here 12 years ago and won't be leaving till they carry me out, feet first.
sherp :
You gotta personal fortune or somethin? I mean you must at least have a job with job security, if so good for you, there are a whole bunch of folks here who have been stripped of everything they worked hard to get, and have absolutely no hope of recovering, so it takes a little more than being able to withstand a couple of months of desert heat to sustain one's self here in Las Vegas..
six WEEKS of heat? new york city WITHOUT the crime and dirt? you're kidding right?
More than likley tired to renegociate their lease and Ceaser's Forum Shops were not willing to reduce the rent.They are gambling on being able to get a higher price per sq.foot and finding someone willing to invest in tne economy returning.Once the economy ruturns they establishment is their and running and the public knows they are their.
It is sad that FAO Swartz's is gone a really unique and fascinating place.It was one of the first places that I went to at that mall.It was great.
@environprotector
If you cannot purchase something Made in USA do the next best thing, partronize products by American companies. We already know that most manufacturing jobs are overseas but patronizing American companies products instead of foreign companies could still help our economy. Keep in mind these American companies are still taxpaying entities.
By the way, I purchased a bed and it is Made in the USA, my sister just a few days ago purchased an LCD TV, Vizio is the brand, an American brand.
It's getting harder and harder to find anything with a "Made in the USA" label on it - but I keep looking :)
Every time we visit Las Vegas (3-4 times a year) We always go to the Forum Shops for the purpose of shopping at FAO. They were the only toy store in town that sold the German toy cars made by Siku and Schuco. Always spent at least $100.00. Last time there (December) I only found one $12.00 car to buy. No, the shelves weren't bare from Christames sales, thy just didn't seem to have as big of a selection. They had just remodeled that floor over the previous couple months. The biggest problem is that Toys R Us is way more mass market, and they brought down the selection of quality items to carry more common items you could buy (for less) at Wal Mart or TRU. Looks like my Las Vegas trips will cost a little less now.
Forum Shops used to be fun for kids and kid-like adults, with FAO, Warner Bros Store, and Disney Store, now it's like every other boring shopping mall on the Strip with overpriced fashions and handbags. No reason to visit.
Took my daughter in there when it opened, she was 3. She found this little dog on wheels that she pushed all around the three floors. Ended up buying it because she would not leave without it. Cost me $80. She turns 16 next month, still has the dog and it is in pretty good shape. Definitely not junk made in China. Sad to see it go.
Keep in mind, while some of the retail stores on the strip boast some of the most ridiculous prices you can imagine on their wares, the reason these businesses are going under aren't just the retail prices.
Many of the retail landlords in this town refuse to budge on their rental rates, in spite of store closures. 50% of negotiated rent is far better then 0%, yet it seems the landlords prefer empty spaces to less rent until our economy turns around.
As overbuilt as our town is for retail spaces, it's imperative that the landlords work with the tenants.
either the new microsoft store or better yet a nintendo world store like the one in nyc would be a good replacement
How many of you think that other businesses in the Forum Shops will leave this year?
I used to work in the Forum Shops when I lived in Vegas a few years ago. I left in 2004. It's hard for me to imagine how drastically things have changed since I left. I'm taking care of a relative in another state, and would like to move back to Las Vegas at some point, but I'm wondering if there will be much of a city to move back to. I wouldn't need to make a lot of money but I would need to at least work part time, and there are no jobs. I'm a little concerned about the crime rates really going up. I have hope, however, and really do want to see the city settle into a more sustainable economy. Perhaps it will have to shrink considerably more before it stabilizes? Your thoughts?
They closed the Franklin Mint Outlet at LV Outlets. Closed the short lived GM drive experience behind Sahara. Closed the FAO store at Forum. We go to Veagas mostly to shop, dine and go to shows. Moderate gambling too. Our list of places to go is getting shorter. At least most of our favotite eating places are still there, Although I do miss the Gates BBQ that used to be on DI road back in the mid '90's.
Better economy (once it picks up) = awesome selection of stores (moving back in or in for the first time)
FAO was failing nationally long before the recession took hold; the company basically fell apart and was resurrected as something less interesting a few years ago. The stores - including the Las Vegas location - were not the same places. And that has nothing to do with Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is what it is, and one thing it's not is a city of yesterday or a city of today; it is and always has been a city of tomorrow.
As far as "community," most of my associates have been in Las Vegas at least 30 years; those who "get it" stay, others just move here to use it for a while and move on. Almost all people move to Las Vegas as carpetbaggers, but if they stay - longer than 10 years - they become citizens.
Both groups are necessary components of Las Vegas.
Aaaaaaaargh, the sky is fallin the sky is fallin, nooooooo not FAO , whats next? the Coach purse store? or Tiffanys? ohhhhh my for the love of God somebody stop this madness. This has got to be Jim Gibbons' fault , that no good @#$!^&* now I'm mad I'm Reeaaaalllllyyyyyy mad . LOL
a microsoft store?
they going to sell the failure known as the "zune" there?
or maybe copies of "vista" for april fool's gifts?
Ssssshhhhh! Go gently desert flowers!
Its business and when you aren't making money according to some of the comments you should not close but stay because they think they know better. FAO realized they could not continue when they were no longer profitable. Lease is up and you close the doors. It can be harder to close a business then it is to open it. I agree with Reza that we have those who stay here and are a part of the community and those who come here and when they find out they won't make millions, pack up and leave for a new place. The strip businesses are there for the tourists. We don't shop there, we shop where we live and try to support our local businesses.
AN H & M store is going to take that spot... its sad to see the store close... but its true the toys were over priced. the store was in ruins... for the most part the store kept going downhill since they first filed bankruptcy in 2006. it was barely keeping its head above water before it closed its doors.