My biggest thing with AG is that they have to tackle the problem that collectors have to buy 2nd hand. Meaning a lot of collectors are not buying from them, but Mercari, eBay and all that. AG needs to bring back so many of the retired dolls, outfits, big ticket items. Bring back these beloved dolls , and full collections and they will see an immense rise in sales. A big portion of AG lovers are adult collectors. I completely understand the brand caters to kids but they should put some love into adult collectors.
Honestly I agree but also I think they should put more effort in expressing to children that history matters. Pushing the teaching aspect of the dolls again instead of a random high end ice cream collab that I never heard before until then lol
@@sweet.baby.ophelia Maybe they decided it doesn't matter anymore or perhaps never mattered at all in the first place. Perhaps they are trying to get people to forget it ever war. I hope I'm wrong, though.
That would be awesome! It seems that AG is starting to do that. :) Are you talking about any specific dolls? Perhaps the Historicals? Other dolls as well?
@@jadestarletia yea I hope you're wrong too LOL. The premise of AG when I was a kid was of the storytelling going with the dolls, and it was really cool to me that it was actually placed in history. I of course played with my dolls outside of historical reference but I just really liked knowing who my Kit was besides just what I did with her? I'd hope other kids may feel the same sometimes.
I’ve gone to the new LA store twice now and yeah… it’s disappointing. I grew up going to the one at the grove and that place is pure magic I’ll never get to experience again. Each historical character has their own booth Julie had her egg chair and now they each have a mini cube with some of their collection. The grove was so special and god I wish they didn’t close it for this one.
I was prime AG age riiight before an AG store opened in my state and when we were 11 my best friend and I got to travel with our moms to Chicago so we could finally visit the AG store. Because we had to travel so far, that "luxury" feel of the store in the 2000s really went a long way in making it feel like we were getting the special experience we'd begged our moms for. If AG really downsizes down to 3 or 4 stores (and I agree it's likely to happen), I can't imagine they'll get as many long distance customers. I don't know how kids perceive the new design, but as an adult I wouldn't want to go out of my way to visit a store that feels like any other big box toy department and I have to imagine that would be a tough sell for parents.
I remember taking my daughter to the American girl store the original location in downtown Chicago well actually it was up on the magnificent mile. Right next to Ralph Lauren‘s restaurant. It was just our private day downtown doing the things we want to do no matter how hard I tried I could never get us booked into the café, but I really didn’t care personally because I knew we were having lunch at Ralph Lauren, which I thought was a much better idea as a mother. And of course my daughter was in a very fancy dress because we were going to do something special so people people took a second look at a child coming into the store to the restaurant, but she was properly dressed and she has very very good manners, so there was absolutely no problem at all, we had a lovely lunch and then the store wasn’t big enough at the time so you would wait outside in a cue and they would let so many people in ahead of time. Of course, this was really really difficult in the winter when everyone wanted to go downtown to buy their things for their dolls are to make their wish list for Santa, but it was a lovely store and we had a very, very good time and always walked out of there with bags of goodies that, some she would know because she picked them out and others secretly handed off to a sales associate who knew that I was shopping for her while I was downtown. About a block down this water place and water place its hay day was the place to be, but First and Taylor went out and then Macy’s went out and many many other stores on the seven story mall disappeared. Originally American girls took the original floors from Lord and Taylor and revamp their store. They now had an amazing amount of rooms and could display all of the dolls from each of the eras had not only displays that were not to be played with, but also displays that were out that the children could play with. Well, Covid hit and the economy hit and all of a sudden, Monday American girls was remodeling the store and now it is three floors you described it as wide and spacious, but the thing that made it magic and special was gone. I couldn’t agree with you more in someways this almost sterile. You can still go between the floors and do the things that she wants to do, but it suddenly is different and of course, since we were in on the ground floor, I made my daughter got her dollars in 1986 and started collecting and we collected them for the next at least 10 years. She has $14 including what were the original six before felicity was sent away because unfortunately her family had slaves. I think this whitewash no pun intended of the situation shows something that is wrong with this country. Overall, we can’t accept our history this happened. It’s not made up it’s it’s not a fair story. These people were slaves and they worked and were beaten and were treated poorly horribly by the slave owners. Certainly not every single one of them was bad, but I would bet you that more than not we’re abusive to their slaves, but instead of focusing on the story and developing it and telling it some of the story of the black migration into the Chicago area and then into Detroit, these are things that are just swept under the table and they just wiped for Felicity and her family off the map. We have all of Felicity and I said to my daughter I hope that you have all the collections with you and Texas. The only one that you should not let the girls play with is Felicity I want you to keep that pristine because she’s special and she’s different. I’m sure that my granddaughters enjoy playing with the other 13 dolls that my daughter had. I was downtown Chicago last week for the first time in well since 2011 and I went to the store and I was shocked. It’s a merchandiser dream come true too much lighting, too much hype. It wasn’t the elegant store that was worth waiting in line for anymore. It was a disappointment. I did look at a few things while I was there, but that quite frankly, I decided I didn’t want to track them home on the train and I certainly would have enough to cover free shipping so I ordered things when I got home, if my granddaughters come to town, certainly will go downtown to the store if they wish to, but it certainly will be the experience that it was in the very beginning.
I recall the opening of the Palo Alto store at Stanford Shopping center. It was luxurious experience. It has also closed down sadly. Now shopping for us in Nor-Cal is thru online only.
Thanks for the mention on my video! I am thankful to still have a store in California, but this new store is not the same. My husband and I had a long talk on our drive home about all that was missing with the new LA store.
I think that they overlooked the adult collector. The collector who remembered the high-quality of the dolls from the 50s and 60s and was looking for that type of return to quality and overall specialness. The stores are set up for children, which is great that’s their key market their key demo however, it’s the parents and the adult collectors that have the bucks that keep them going. And I think that they need to be considered when they are making these changes in the stores .
The Mall of America location was my local American Girl store and I miss it so much!!! Such a staple of my childhood and American girl collecting journey. Buying online just isn’t the same. So sad it closed:(
The Orlando store has all 3 Disney princess dolls. The employees said they were not allowed to display them but customers can ask to buy them. The FAO doll is there too, on display, and available for purchase.
I’ve been in the Atlanta store and it had the luxury carpet feel you are talking about! Nashville is too small for the full experience but it is the older design which I love! I have not ever been in a store that has multiple floors before but it’s on my bucket list!
Weird that they would lose the special/luxury feel, since there are so many competitors. I have lots of friends whose kids play with Our Generation dolls and the parents always say, “It’s the same as American Girl.” So who is AG marketing to without keeping the details that makes AG special?
Lighting and texture add a lot of nostalgic ambiance, if they would tone down the cool toned lighting and make it warmer while sticking to their tan and burgundy color palette it would bring back a lot of that ambiance! I think the shiny white and chrome “newer “ look is what’s making it feel department store like!
That original NYC store is the one we went to when my daughter graduated from NY Med College. She wanted to go there and have lunch for graduation and then pick out a doll. The food was out of this world (my parents were in the restaurant business and I have eaten many of international chef's cuisine) fantastic. She picked out her doll of the year Jess, and we had a wonderful time. We live near Orlando, so we party there. Also, when they were very little in the early 90's there was only the NY store, then Chicago, then LA or you ordered from the catalogue. Thank you Kris!
Your narrating voice is amazing! Just come across your channel and I live in Australia and always buy from AG and ship it over here! LOVE AG dolls for my girls and I. 😂😂❤
I’m pretty new to American girl. I live close to the Washington D.c store so I’m also in driving distance from New York. Those are the only two I’ve been to and I was shocked because I loved the dc store much more! I prefer going there for the cafe instead of New York. It’s such a cute store and I feel like New York has cool stuff but it doesn’t feel as warm and welcomes😭 My friend told me that. The New York store before it moved was amazing and she remembered it much more fondly.
Now as someone living in Orlando, and the Orlando store being the first store I went to at 22ish, I think one of the only saving graces is that it’s attached to the Florida Mall. With the hotel attached and I believe the hotel has some American Girl packages last I saw and it not being too far away from the touristy areas, but if it was attached to the Altamonte Mall or even Mall at Millenia I don’t think it would have lasted
Mattel had a Barbie section in Toys R US and now in the new FAO Schwartz store. It seems that Mattel is trying to model AG off Barbie, to make the brand successful. So to me the new stores make sense because of what the Barbie sections are/were in TRU and FAO.
Totally agree with you Kris! I had the pleasure of visiting the Chicago AG store twice in the 2000’s/2010’s. And the standard of luxury was there!!! The carpet, the decor, even in the restrooms! It was in the salons, in the café, everywhere in the store it could be seen and felt! You truly got an EXPERIENCE while there! Now, going off of the photo of the store and you showed, it saddens me because it does look like AG is moving closer to a Sear or Toys R Us feel. I don’t want a department store! Bring back the old and gold standard and AG of years past! Let us enjoy the experience! (After all, for the prices of everything, we should at least get that much).
The Boston (Natick) store was my introduction into American Girl when my daughter was collecting and where I got my first 2 dolls. I think it was really nice. The historical stuff was on the first floor and the JLY and bitty baby stuff was upstairs. There was a fountain in front of the entrance. I was sad to hear it closed. I visited the Dallas store once when we lived in the area for a short amount of time and I’ve also been to the Chicago store once. I love the Chicago store. I now live really close to the Columbus store and while it is small, I think it is cute and the associates do an outstanding job with the displays. There are 2 entrances to it. I would be devastated if it closed. My husband will pop into the lego store with one of our younger sons while I go into the AG store. They are actually pretty close to each other at the outdoor shopping center where they are located. I would love to visit the NYC store and get back to the Chicago store.
I've only ever had the chance to go to one store and only one time but it was the MOA one (I live in Minnesota) and I remember it was a really beautiful experience. The thing I remember most is the historical girls displays and how special it felt looking at them. I wish that they would get rid of the horrid Beforever stuff forever and bring back all the historical girls and really focus on them again, online and in stores.
they got rid of the beforever label a few years ago (courtney was the first to be released after the switch back) but i completely agree. they need to do what they did with molly to ALL the dolls. bring back their og clothes, items, accessories, everything! they’re just passing up so many great opportunities to make money just to sell to a younger audience and it’s such a waste of the amazing potential the historicals have.
When I went to the grand opening of LA with ag-4ALLAGES I liked the store however it’s smaller than the old LA store and they didn’t have Claudie’s new stuff at least from what I saw either that or it all sold out. It felt crowded I couldn’t really enjoy it because of the crowd. I thought the store would’ve been bigger. I love the photos they put up and I love the way the cafe looks overall I’m happy with the new store but do miss the old store with the American girl colors.
I really honestly miss how they had the historical dolls with you know you could buy their play theater books that you could buy they’re cooking book the crafts book they need to do that for all the other lines i’m glad that they corporative the Disney doll and Harry Potter stuff but the price is what kills me
It’s so cool you used to work at the old AG store in NYC I used to LOVE that place the new store is cool too but the old store is just soooo nostalgic for me!
I may be the only one but I kind of wish they made a floor/section for the historical that would look more like a museum than something you shop. Like wouldn’t it be great if they displayed all the old accessories, even if you couldn’t buy them? For example, Samantha’s ice cream parlor or Kirsten’s table and chairs etc :)
If American girl gets rid of most of the stores they could maybe make little boutiques like they do in Canada and other bigger stores that might be a good idea. If they went down this route I would hope they wouldn’t have less stock because in Canada they don’t have as many of the new stuff.
I haven't been in an AG store since the old NY store, and im honestly scared to go to one today. I've seen a bunch of walkthrough videos, and it's just so modern and cheap to me.
The one in Atlanta is the one I grew up with. I remember being a kid and feeling a classy museum-like vibe. My mom and bonded over lunch a few special times there. It feels surreal to know it's gone now.
I never been to one, but I think It is a move to win the hearts of the middle class as they are not the only ones in the market anymore (our generation made It) and It is getting harder to convince parents to pay $$$ for a toy or the experience especially now that the quality I going down. They are trying to sell a more achievable status.
You have made me nastalgic for the old 5th avenue store It really was an amazing experience to go to the American Girl store. The new New York Store does feel like a department store when compared to the old store.
I'm really bummed that the new LA store is smaller and it does not have the iconic past GOTY dolls display, like thats a step backwards, atleast the New York one remembered that. Its really sad how the historial doll displays are so small and feature less stuff.The dallas store looks like its bigger than this one which doesnt make sense as the LA store is supposed to be a flagship location.
I went to the grand opening of the MOA store back in 2008 and 10 year old me had an amazing time. The displays were so beautiful and it had 2 floors so it felt huge. I liked how the Truly Me/Bitty Babies had one floor and the character dolls had their own floor. I ended up working in the bistro at that store and was still working there when it closed. The closing was devastating but employees got to purchase the display items for a crazy discount so that was pretty cool. Still one of the best jobs I've ever had.
American Girl was originally pleasant company meaning they were for older girls and now they've been going for a younger generation of girl's and their don't want to be know as the Lug doll anymore they want to be more available to more people which is great
The thing that bothers me the most is they overprice everything dolls, their accessories, their furniture and the fact that they make people pay to get their dolls hair done rather than paying for the police and giving employees health benefits is crazy I think it’s good to have a variety, but so many people want the dolls and they’re just so expensive including the well we wellie wishers
Sigh. American Girl --- department stores and toys r us stores have died out/are barely squeaking by. They are no models to mimic in the big year of 2023!
AG Dallas is actually moving next year. I’m curious about what they’ll do with it. I still like the store but it looks so different from when I was a kid! I really hope they go for the more classic look and that there’s more space for the historicals. Anyway, all of the AG stores is closing I think is due to people doing more of their shopping online. I live 15-20 mins from AG Dallas but me and my mom still decide to buy from AG online like 90% of the time.
I know I will ruffle someone, but Charlotte needs to close. It's not a "store" like DC or Columbus. It's just another shop in the mall with no external storefront. It is so cramped and it only has products, no extra displays and nothing to highlight the historical dolls beyond minimal product displays. When they had 3 GOTY out at the same time (Joss, Kira, Corinne) it was really bad in their tiny part of the store dedicated to GOTY. If it sticks around, I'd like to see them get rid of the bistro to open up the space a bit (bistro only does not so private parties, no casual dining). AG doesn't always do pop up stores well either though. The one that popped up for a while closest to me was like shopping at a Toys R Us with bad fluorescent lighting and very little organization. Solely there to push product. I have been to the three flagships and they are something special where memories can be made. Charlotte is far far from that experience and the closer pop up store was even farther from that idea. For now, I am thankful that I have the Charlotte store to pick dolls out in person, even if it requires planning an entire day to drive down and back (and I am thankful for the privilege I have of time and money to do that). I won't be sad when it's gone though.
Oh thats an interesting observation. I went to the Charlotte store earlier this year and enjoyed it. I am more familiars with the DC one since I am from Virginia.
I do want to update my observation that Charlotte has always been busy when I've gone, so I do think it is doing well. Instead of closing when it's lease runs out next year, I also would not be surprised if they expanded into a new store with an actual storefront. Then perhaps they will get the extra space they need.
so true they closed atlanta. i went to chicago when i was younger now i take my daughter to nashville she wants to go to new york so she can have the whole experience !
I go to the Columbus store, which opened in 2013, and most of the closed stores had a 10 year lease and i HOPE AND PRAY every single day it doesn’t close… it’s one of the smaller ones but it still looks like it did the day it opened! Each historical has their own large display case, but it’s not as grand as the old flagship stores. However, they have nice pink bathrooms with the little doll holders, they have the carpeting, they have a cafe and the doll hair salon still looks straight out of the 2010’s just with the updated salon chairs. The displays there are actually better than they were when it first opened because they put SO much more detail into them than they used to! It’s still nostalgic every time I go there even though I visit all the time because I can still feel the experience of when I walked in for the very first time
I have been getting my AG dolls from Amazon and Costco lately also marketplace and Ebay sometimes thrift stores and I feel that the stores should not shut down cause it is the memories that I want to keep forever
The first AG store that I went to was the old NYC one. It was magical. There were so many floors and so many dolls. We couldn’t stay long, but I remember it so vividly. Finally got back to NYC in December 2019 to see the new store. I was very disappointed. There was AG stuff but, yes, it felt like a small toys are us. I thought it felt crowded and poorly laid out. My home store is the DC store and it’s the nicest store I’ve been to besides the old NY store. I’ve only been to DC, KC, Seattle, Scottsdale, Columbus and NYC. I really hope DC keeps the store. It’s in a great location and I love the 2 stories.
One thing that AG has done is that they had and have dolls available to buy at toys r us,Macy's, Kohl's and Casco. Then Amazon online so American Girl is more available vs going to one of the old stores
I remember going to the NY store when I was 10 and it was absolutely magical and I feel like the newer stores lack that magic and it makes me really sad I have yet to go to the new LA one but I want to go at some point to check it out and see what it’s like!
I actually did get to go to the grand opening of the original Los Angeles American girl store. The only other one I’ve been to was the one in New York. But that was in the early 2000s I have not been to either of them in years, so I don’t know what the new ones are like. But, I am sad that kids nowadays won’t get to experience the stores how they originally were and I was definitely sad when the theaters closed. Because that was my favorite part besides the shopping and the restaurant.
I've only gone to the Scottsdale store once before it closed. I don't understand why once 2019 happened and then 2020 covid and today 2023 theirs not that many stores anymore.
I am from Kansas and it is really expensive to travel to these big cities like New York or Orlando or Chicago so I never got to go to any of those stores but we could go to the Kansas City location and I remember going to it on opening day and it was like a dream and one of my fondest memories of the brand. It really sucks that that it was closed in 2020 because now me and so many that I know can’t go to the stores anymore because they are too far away or it’s too expensive to get there. Not to mention if they are turning the stores into glorified department stores than I’m not sure if it would even be worth the trip.
Well, I just watch sew4dolls video and loved it as did other people who watched it. I love the displays that they have. 💕 I have never been to an American Girl store because they weren't around when we had dolls. My introduction to them was a little section in a Toys R Us in 2018 and I had no problems going there and ultimately getting a doll. I didn't need a luxurious environment even though we were brought up with what was proper, etc. As someone noted there are so many sources for acquiring AG dolls that having a luxurious store may not be a reasonable option or direction for AG to take at this point.
I only live about an hour and a half away from the Orlando store and somehow I've never gone 🙃 but I'm going for my birthday next week! Can anyone tell me WHY their bistro menu is smaller, yet more expensive than the other stores?? 😭
In my opinion, I hope I'm wrong about this though, I think everything about American Girl stores are hopeless and they will ALL be closed forever someday and kids and perhaps even adult collectors like us won't even know they existed in a few decades. Perhaps AG won't even admit they even existed at that point and will try to get everyone forget they did. I hope not... :`(
I went to 5th Ave once and my mom wouldn't let me do any "activities " . Went to the new store and they didn't have merch that said NYC (and the friend I was with was shocked on the prices lol )
I only have been to the new American Girl place I wish I could have went to the old American Girl place I have seen the Orlando store in person but I never went inside it was closed I wanted to go inside but it was closed when I went to see maybe when I go back to Orlando I would love to go check it out
I wish i could remember it better when i went to the Mall of America store. It was the only time so far that ive gone to an AG store. I remember enjoying the cafe a lot and just focusing high key on the GOTY Chrissa and ended up getting Sonali (and not Chrissa loool. I was an actual Genuis girlie). I love this discussion. I dont remember it feeling luxurious in the store but it felt like a whole experience ™️ just being in that world.
i never got to experience AG as a kid, so when i got my first job and 'adult money' i became OBSESSED with collecting AG stuff! I only got to go to the arizona store a handful of times (shut down bc of covid) and the old LA store once while I was visiting! It truly was an experience like no other.. Its so sad that you can only visit the flagships now :( AG brought joy and happiness at a time when i needed it most, and yet, i cant see myself collecting them again if i cant see them in person first :(
also this video is definitely not about this, but ive been particularly upset with AG ever since they started those limited edition swarovski dolls. I remember the nutcracker one from years back was adorable and very popular .. but now it feels like they arent making enough in truly me/historical/GOTY and they have to make these cash grab disney dolls so people will actually buy their products
I was so upset when Seattle closed 😢 so many good memories there- it’s actually a toy store now and you can still see some of the AG elements like the carpet!
too big, too white, too bright, from what i remember from watching ag store vlogs back in 2012-2013, it was like a fairytale almost. kind of low warm lighting, lots of pink and stars all over, it looked magical
I totally know what you mean about the newer store design (specifically New York) looking like a glorified department store. I watched video footage of the new LA store, but I think it has a very different feel than New York. I am actually really impressed with the giant dollhouse display in the front and think that the art used around that (like the girl on the swing) is a throwback to the illustrations from the old (1990s) non-ficiton AG books and magazine. I also appreciate the original historical book covers used as art in the book area. The only stores I've visited in person are the old and new Chicago stores. Chicago definitely has an amazing historical section, but the last time I went (which was for the TM revamp/Claudie) there seemed to be so much stuff "behind glass" and you couldn't even feel the wigs of all the new dolls, for example. It felt like I was in a doll museum, not the fun AG store I used to love where you can play with everything.
I hope they don't go down to just the 3 flagship stores, but that definitely is a possibility. Thanks for sharing your opinions. Always interesting. :)
AGP Dallas is moving to a new location once the lease ends this year, and I've heard chatter that I might be a new flagship. It will be interesting to see when it opens.
Repeating what I said in the live chat but I would be surprised if they closed the Orlando store since Orlando is such a big vacation and shopping destination, especially for luxury brands (I mean just look at Disney Springs) and how a lot of families vacation in Florida. And especially people outside the US who come to vacation in Orlando and could potentially get introduced to the brand. I feel like that would be a wasted potential if they shut down the Orlando location completely.
I wouldn't be surprised (and also kind of hope) that the Orlando store moves to Disney Springs. As you said, the number of tourists who visit Orlando/Disney Bubble is huge and not likely to change. With the August release of the princess dolls, we saw that the brands are willing to work together. I think relocating there is a smart move.
I definitely agree that very shortly all the stores except the three flagship stores will be closing. 😕 There are so few left that I doubt Mattel is going to bother keeping anymore open, except the flagship stores. Yeah, I have noticed that the comfort element is long gone from the stores now, at least from the ones I've been too. And like you said, there seems to be so little connection to what AG was originally. I do think there are a few nice elements throughout the stores, like the dollhouse display and Sydney Rose's pictures at the new LA store, but it definitely lacks the beauty of what the company used to be. 😥
