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The expected sale of F.A.O. Schwarz to Chief Executive Peter L. Harris and an investor group is only one of many surprises that the balding, 42-year-old Mr. Harris has pulled from his hat over the past six months.
Just last Tuesday, in a sleight-of-hand gesture that surprised observers, Mr. Harris announced plans to move the store, by Christmas, "93 feet" across 58th Street from its 54-year-old home at 745 Fifth Ave., into the first floor and mezzanine of the General Motors Building.
Two weeks ago Schwarz closed one unit, a leased department in Stewart Dry Goods Co. of Lexington, Ky., which Mr. Harris says was "inconsistent" with the goal of focusing on its own free-standing stores.
Meanwhile, new and more unusual toys are beginning to appear as if by magic on Schwarz's shelves, as merchandise bought since Mr. Harris took the helm six months ago begins to find its way to consumers.
Whether Mr. Harris is a retail Houdini remains to be seen. But some observers suggest that magic is what it will take to make the now-beleaguered, 124-year-old chain of 21 stores come alive again after years of neglect, growing competition from toy discounters, and four ownership changes in a dozen years.
Details were sketchy at press time, but Crain's New York Business learned that Mr. Harris and a group of Schwarz executives, plus some outside investors, are buying the store from its parent of less than a year, San Diego-based Christiana Cos. Christiana is a 33-year-old, publicly held real estate developer and investment company with no previous experience in retailing.
Mr. Harris declines to reveal Schwarz's volume, but in 1984 the chain reportedly did about $20 million in sales. The Fifth Avenue store is said to account for roughly one-third of total sales.
Mr. Harris...