Remembering Warner Bros. Studio Stores

During the 1990s, back when retail stores were the No.1 place for consumers to shop, one of the best and most creative retailers on the high street was Warner Bros. Yep, the movie, television, and animation specialist had its own series of WB shops, better known as Warner Bros. Studio Stores.

Do you remember them? Well, if you do, you know they were absolutely awesome. Not just great, but awesome.

Customers interested in all things Warner Bros. could get their fix of their favourite characters all under one roof. I’m talking Looney Tunes, DC superheroes, Scooby-Doo, Friends, Animaniacs, Gremlins, and all the classic Warner Bros. movies of yesteryear.

Filled with all different types of memorabilia, from key chains, cups, fridge magnets, and sweaters, to animation cels, plush toys, T-shirts, and homeware (as well as everything in between), Warner Bros. Studio Stores were dedicated to highlighting and selling products related to all the Warner (and Warner-related) iconic characters. Put simply: Warner Bros. Studio Stores was an exciting place to part with your cash.

Shopping never felt so much fun. And in the pre-internet age it was the only place to get a wealth of merchandise for the likes of Bugs Bunny, Superman: The Animated Series, Freakazoid, or any other Warner character you could think of!

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Show-stopper

The first Warner Bros. Studio Store opened in 1991, with many cropping up in some of the biggest shopping centres across the UK. Manchester’s Arndale had one, as did Dudley’s Merry Hill, and stores were even found further afield in Australia and the Middle East.

Not only did Warner Bros. Studio Stores boast a range of neat products – including many exclusive items – they also looked amazing too. The exterior of each store were surrounded by huge statues, usually of a classic Looney Tunes character, while inside various movie stars, comic book heroes, and cartoon icons were referenced throughout.

There was a dedicated zone for DC Comics, so if you loved Superman, Wonder Woman, or Aquaman, you were in comic book heaven. Meanwhile, each store had a set of television screens, usually located towards the rear, which played clips and movie trailers all day long.

And of course, the products sold in each store were extensive and plentiful. So, should you want a Daffy Duck watch, a mug in the shape of Gossamer, or a Batgirl tee with matching baseball cap, then no worries, Warner Bros. had your back.

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The Gallery

Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of the Warner Bros. Studio Stores was the in-store gallery, which featured various pieces of collectable (and often quite expensive) artwork from classic Warner Bros. cartoons. For fans of Batman: The Animated Series, Tazmania, Tweety, or Foghorn Leghorn shorts etc, this was a pure treasure trove of delights as it was chock-full of one-of-a-kind pieces of art that you simply couldn’t find anywhere else.

Some of the artwork were canvases or framed pictures commissioned specifically for sale in stores, while other pieces were genuine production art from a beloved cartoon. So, customers who nipped into the store, maybe while out doing their weekly grocery shop, could walk in for a browse and walk out with a genuine piece of animation history!

The gallery pieces carried a hefty price tag, but they were simply stunning and a real draw for customers. Even if customers couldn’t afford one, they would still pop into the store just to take a look at what was available as it was something to truly marvel at.

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The end of a brilliant era

Of course, maybe customers should have bought more products, instead of mostly just marvelling at what was on offer, as there always seemed to be more people walking around the store than actually buying anything. That’s the problem when you make your store so exciting to look at, the customers forget to open their wallets because they are too busy looking at Gizmo hanging from the rafters.

And when customers fail to part with cash, stores struggle to keep going. And yep, you guessed it, Warner Bros. Studio Stores ultimately came and went.

By the mid-late 2000s all of the UK Warner Bros Studio Stores had closed down. The fun was over, and a trip to the local shopping centre was not as exciting as it once was (and certainly not as magical).

As we’ve since discovered, retail has changed a lot over the past decade, but when Warner Bros. Studio Stores was a part of the retail landscape it truly was a golden age for shoppers. Disney had something similar, with a chain of Disney Stores, but nothing quite matched up to what Warner Bros. had on offer and today it is well and truly missed.

And unfortunately… that’s all, folks!

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Editor/Writer/Looney Tunes Fan

Alex Wiggan

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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Warner Bros. Studio Store. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.