Defunct chain of retail stores selling Warner Bros. products
Warner Bros. Studio Store
|
|
Company type
| Subsidiary
|
---|
Founded
| September 20, 1991
; 32 years ago
(
1991-09-20
)
[1]
Los Angeles
,
California
|
---|
Defunct
| December 31, 2001
; 22 years ago
(
2001-12-31
)
|
---|
Fate
| Bankruptcy
|
---|
Headquarters
| Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank
,
,
|
---|
Area served
| North America, Europe, Japan, Indonesia
|
---|
Products
| apparel,
toys
and
merch
|
---|
Parent
| Warner Bros. Consumer Products
(
WarnerMedia
)
|
---|
Website
| Official website
|
---|
The
Warner Bros. Studio Store
was a chain of
retail stores
selling
Looney Tunes
,
DC Comics
, and other merchandise based on
Warner Bros.
films
, similar in style to the
Disney Store
. They first opened in 1991. In 1996, Warner Bros. owner
Time Warner
merged with
Turner Broadcasting
, which owned
Hanna-Barbera
and the pre-1986
MGM
library, and merchandise based on Hanna-Barbera and other Turner properties were added to the product lines.
In 2001, all Warner Bros. Studio Stores went out of business, although some independently owned locations in Australia continued to operate until 2008. In 2006, Warner Bros. Consumer Products partnered with PMW Retail and reopened the stores in China.
Hutchison Harbour Ring
's subsidiary the PMW Retail Group Ltd., owned an operated the Chinese store locations from 2006 to 2014.
History
[
edit
]
The first Warner Bros. Studio Store was opened on Friday, September 20, 1991, at the
Beverly Center
in
Los Angeles, California
by Time Warner.
[1]
[2]
The chain had 130 locations at its peak.
[3]
In October 1993, a location opened at the corner of 57th St. and 5th Ave. in New York City, the first ever Studio Store in the city.
[4]
Some of the store's attractions included a glass elevator carried by
Superman
and the 4D experience
Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension
, the first ever 3D computer-animated movie produced in the world.
[5]
In 1996, the chain signed a long-term lease for a three-story building at 1 Times Square and six of its billboards and opened a store on all three floors in 1997.
[6]
Closure
[
edit
]
In January 2001, the AOL-Time Warner merger was completed, at which time the chain was placed up for sale with plans to close if not sold.
[3]
In February 2001, the flagship location on New York's Fifth Avenue was closed, and on
September 11th, 2001
, the store at the
World Trade Center
was destroyed when the
Twin Towers collapsed
.
[7]
[3]
High-profile stores in Los Angeles and Palo Alto were also closed. In July, AOL Time Warner announced that the chain, then consisting of 85 stores, would be shut down by October as the company moved out of the owned and operated retail business.
[8]
Its three-story, 40,000-square-foot Times Square location started liquidation in July
[3]
and closed in October. Warner Bros. then placed the building up for rent without the billboards.
[6]
The last stores closed by December 31, 2001.
[9]
International locations
[
edit
]
From 1997 to 2008 several stores operated in Australia with the flagship location being in
Crown Casino Melbourne
. These stores, however, were owned by now defunct Paradise Retail Holdings and were run completely independently from stores of the same name internationally.
[
citation needed
]
In January 2004, Warner Bros. announced they were opening the first Chinese Studio Store location, after agreeing on a licensing deal with
Hutchison Harbour Ring
.
[10]
On March 25, 2006, a grand opening celebration was held for the grand opening of the first Studio Store location in China.
[11]
In October 2006, the second Chinese Warner Bros. Studio Store location opened in Macau.
[12]
In 2016, Warner Bros., with the
Thinkwell Group
opened a new entertainment center in
Macau
, which featured a new Warner Bros. Studio Store location.
[13]
Locations
[
edit
]
Warner Bros. Studio Store is currently used as the name of various theme park stores around the world, including at the
Warner Bros. World
theme park
[14]
and at the
Warner Bros. Studios
in Burbank.
[15]
External links
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
McNARY, DAVE (September 20, 1991).
"Warner Bros. opens studio stores"
. United Press International
. Retrieved
August 23,
2019
.
- ^
Robaton, Anna (March 5, 1994).
"Corporations Showcase Stores On Rise"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
August 12,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Warner Bros. Studio Stores to Close"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Reuters. July 7, 2001
. Retrieved
July 11,
2019
.
- ^
What's Up on 5th Avenue? A Studio Store, The New York Times, David W. Dunlap Feb. 10, 1993
- ^
Our History
A Timeline Of Warner Bros. Movie World
(Official site)
Archived
21 July 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
Bagli, Charles V. (July 12, 2001).
"Bugs Bunny Is Losing His Times Square Home in October"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
July 11,
2019
.
- ^
James, Meg; Goldman, Abigail (February 5, 2001).
"THAT'S ALL, FOLKS: Warner Bros. to Shut its 130 Stores"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
July 11,
2019
.
- ^
Klein, Alec (7 July 2001).
"Warner Bros. Studio Stores to Be Closed"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
15 August
2020
.
- ^
Staff, Chronicle; Services, News (July 7, 2001).
"AOL to close all Warner Bros. stores"
.
SFGate
. Retrieved
July 11,
2019
.
- ^
Whiteman, Bobby (January 13, 2004).
"Warner Bros. sets up shop in China"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
August 23,
2019
.
- ^
"Warner Bross. Consumer Products And Pmw Retail Group Celebrate Grand Opening Of First Warner Bros. Studio Store In Shanghai, China"
. March 25, 2006
. Retrieved
August 23,
2019
.
- ^
Schiller, Gail (October 23, 2006).
"Warner Bros. opens store in Macau"
. The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^
"Making Macau Family Friendly"
. InPark Magazine. March 28, 2016.
- ^
"Shop Warner Bros. Studio Store"
.
- ^
"? THE EXPERIENCE ? Warner Bros. Studio Store"
.
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Motion Picture Group
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Television Group
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Other properties
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Former/defunct
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Key people
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Related
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