This announcement could be a game changer, literally and figuratively: Target just announced an exclusive, multi-year agreement with legendary toy maker FAO Schwarz. Beginning in mid-October, FAO Schwarz toys will only be available at Target stores, FAO Schwarz stores, and on Target’s website.

More than 120 toys will be available, to start. Target says the toys will include FAO Schwarz Style Runway 4-Sided Fashion Show Playset, FAO Schwarz Ride On Train, FAO Schwarz Makeup Vanity Mirror Set, Dance on Piano Mat—which you might remember from the Tom Hanks favorite Big—and more than 50 new plush toys. These toys will range in price from $9.99 to $149.99, with 50 toys selling for under $20. A capsule collection celebrating FAO Schwarz’s 160th anniversary will include nostalgic picks like a Hot Wheels Collector Set, Funko Toy Soldier Pop, FAO 160th Anniversary Teddy Bear, and UNO, each costing $25 or less.

Each Target toy section will reserve dedicated space for the FAO Schwarz goods with “playful” displays, according to Target. Some stores will also have live demonstrations. The collaboration is not totally unprecedented; Target and FAO Schwarz partnered together for the 2020 holiday season, and this new agreement suggests that the partnership went well.

For Target, which has partnerships with Disney, Ulta Beauty, Magnolia, Levi’s, and even Starbucks, this venture with FAO Schwarz may seem like (good) business as usual. For FAO Schwarz, which has had a tumultuous two decades—filing for bankruptcy a couple of times, closing its flagship 5th Avenue store, being bought then sold by a failing Toys ’R Us—the agreement with Target might seem more like Zoltar coming through, to make the company’s biggest wish come true.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think the partnership between Target and FAO Schwarz will be successful for both parties?
2. Why does Target partner with so many outside brands?
3. If you were advising Target, with what other brands would you suggest it should consider partnerships?

Sources: George Anderson, “Should Target Expect Something Big from Its FAO Schwarz Toy Deal?” RetailWire, September 14, 2022; “Target Announces Exclusive Multiyear Agreement with FAO Schwarz Ahead of Holiday Season,” corporate.target.com, September 12, 2022; Cortney Moore, “Target, FAO Schwarz Partner for Holiday Toy Season,” Fox Business, September 14, 2022; Emma Stessman, “Target and FAO Schwarz Have Teamed up to Reveal the Hottest Toys of 2022,” Today, September 12, 2022; Lauren Thomas, “FAO Schwarz Makes Its Return to New York. Here’s What Its New Store Looks Like Inside,” CNBC, November 16, 2018; Daniel Kline, “Target Stock Rises as the Chain Becomes a New Take on the Mall,” The Street, March 28, 2022