When was the first American Girl store opened?

The first American Girl store to open its doors was the American Girl Place in Chicago, Illinois, which opened in 1998, according to the New Yorker. In total, the company's retail stores have served more than 72 million customers since then, as reported by the American Girl website.

American Girl manufactures lifelike dolls for children. The company also produces accessories for these dolls and publishes stories about the characters on which the dolls are based. Dolls and other products are sold through the retail stores as well as online and through the American Girl catalog. Customers have purchased more than 27 million American Girl dolls since the company's inception in 1986.