[1] The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games.

The dance-on piano, made famous by the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big, brought international attention to the brand.

ThreeSixty Group then acquired the brand, who opened the new FAO Schwarz location at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in November 2018.

That year, The New York Times declared Schwarz as "the largest dealer in toys in this city.

The company subsequently sold to W.R. Grace in 1970, and then to toy retailer Franz Carl Weber of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1974.

[19] The Fifth Avenue store reopened several months later than planned on Thanksgiving Day 2004, redesigned and renovated to accommodate a growing number of tourists,[20] and the Las Vegas location at The Forum Shops at Caesars ultimately remained open until 2010.

[26] The company closed the Las Vegas location in January 2010, followed by its previous flagship New York store.

In August 2018, ThreeSixty Group announced plans to open two new FAO Schwarz stores in New York.

[12] FAO Schwarz also features limited-quantity luxury items including a drivable, child-size automobile encrusted with over 40,000 crystals and valued at US$25,000.

In addition to its own line of products, FAO Schwarz carries brands including Steiff, the world's oldest (founded 1880) [citation needed] German designer of stuffed animals; Melissa & Doug, a leading designer and manufacturer of educational toys; and Build-A-Bear Workshop, a make-your-own experience featuring a selection of exclusive FAO Schwarz stuffed animals and accessories, among other in-store retail partners.

The new logo emphasized the initials of company founder, Frederick August Otto Schwarz.

In the 1972 short story "The Lesson", the store is cast as an instance of immense wealth disparity between classes to a group of poor children.

[40] The store's interior was the inspiration for the fictional "Duncan's Toy Chest" featured in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

[41] The store is featured in Woody Allen's 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite in the final scene where main characters Lenny and Linda have a chance encounter.

In the 2021 series Hawkeye, the climax of the battle between Kate Bishop and Wilson Fisk occurs in the 30 Rockefeller Plaza location.