FAO Schwarz names new CEO

Toy retailer FAO Schwarz Inc. said Wednesday it had replaced Ed Schmults as chief executive with Barry Erdos, former president of online retail site Bluefly.com.

Erdos had been president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Bluefly.com since January 2008. Before that, he was president of Build a Bear Workshop Inc.

Schmults had led FAO Schwarz since 2005. The company said he resigned to pursue other interests.

The privately held, 147-year-old company does not release sales data, but Schmults told the Associated Press in December that, like most retailers, the company experienced a drop in overall holiday sales, crucial to toy retailers.

It has faced financial difficulty in the past, filing for bankruptcy protection twice in 2003. It was bought by the D.E. Shaw group in 2004.