HARRY POTTER FLAGSHIP STORE OPENS IN NEW YORK CITY

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Walter Loeb Senior Contributor FORBES.

It has finally happened. After a 20 year wait, we can go to a Harry Potter store and see all of his wizardly world. A huge throng of fans welcomed the store.

The store, located next to the Flatiron building, at 935 Broadway, boasts as having the largest collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts merchandise in one store in the world. The store is 21,000 square foot in size and has 15 themed areas.

Each of the themed areas will bring the magic of Harry Potter Wizarding World to life. There are 1,000 props on display, including some authentic items used in the movies. As you enter the store you are greeted by one of Harry Potter’s creatures – Fawkes the Phoenix. Further inside there is a statue of a Griffin standing guard in the main atrium of the store, adjacent to the Wand shop.

Visitors can take pictures throughout the store. Photos can be taken anywhere from posing inside a London phone box to inside Hagrid’s boots. Digital technology is integrated throughout the store, there is, for instance, a Harry Potter fan club app. With enchanted keys visitors can unlock some facts and figures and videos to bring the store to life.

For the thirsty, the store has a Butterbeer Bar that serves Butterbeer, Butterbeer Ice cream, bottled Butterbeer and other soft-drinks. (Butterbeer is a butterscotch flavored soft drink that will appeal to young customers).

For the three readers who have not heard about Harry Potter I note that Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels by British author J.K.Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of young wizard, Harry Potter and his friends. The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was released on June 26, 1997 to immense popularity. The last, of seven, books was released in 2007. The seven books have been translated into eight languages. The last four books set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment, Deathly Hallows, selling roughly eleven million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release.

Warner Bros. Pictures adapted the novels into an eight-part film series, which turned out to be the third highest grossing film series of all times. There also have been plays and most recently the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has been built by Universal Parks and Resorts. The addition of a Harry Potter store in New York City will certainly attract a lot of fans who have devoured the novels. The younger wizards and witches now can have a place to get their robes and wands.

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