Wizarding items for Muggles
28 June 2021/ Shopping, photo opportunities and entertainment: Harry Potter flagship store now open in New York /
“New York is considerably more interesting than I expected,” says Newt Scamander in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, and since June 3rd the City has become even more interesting with the opening of the new official Harry Potter flagship store. In the heart of the Flatiron district at 935 Broadway, the new store spans 3 floors and over 1,800sqm and offers visitors the largest collection of products from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts world, from books to collectibles and from wands to soft toys.
When entering Harry Potter New York, visitors are greeted by a huge, floating model of Fawkes the phoenix, Albus Dumbledore’s animal companion and defender. The model, created especially for this new store by a team of specialist prop-makers over a number of months, weighs over 100kg and is meticulously detailed, but it is just one of hundreds of Wizarding World props spread throughout the store, including some authentic props that were used in the films. Other props include the rotating Griffin that guards the entrance to Dumbledore’s office, placed in the main atrium, a London-style phone box (acting as a doorway to the Ministry of Magic), and Hagrid’s boots, which are described as “baby dolphins” in the first book and which the visitors will be able to try on.
“We are looking at it not as just a distribution point. It is retail and entertainment coming together,” said Karl Durrant, VP and General Manager of Warner Bros Retail Destinations. “We are bringing the best of our retail offer, we’re bringing the best of our theming, and we’re bringing entertainment together in one space. We truly believe the Harry Potter Store New York is unique. There really isn’t anything else like this anywhere in the world.”
In the store, each of these three facets (retail, theme and entertainment) is given full attention. For theming, “we have the luxury of working with the filmmakers,” said Durrant, “so we have been able to recreate many elements of the film.” This is the first store, for example, to include an area dedicated to the House of MinaLima (the graphic designers who created the iconic props for the films), with graphic art creations that range from Daily Prophet and Quibbler covers to Hogwarts acceptance letters.
For retail, the wide range of products includes…
Continue reading Games & Parks Industry June 2021, page 27
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