Toys R Us Is Making a Comeback

Toys R Us is continuing its comeback with ten new store locations and twice as many seasonal holiday shops, all of which are planned to open before the end of 2025. The move will see the company accelerate its return to brick and mortar.

Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, five months following its 69th anniversary. After liquidation proceedings began, brand management firm WHP Global took control in 2021. Four years later, WHP now partners with Go! Retail Group to run new U.S. flagship stores. Today’s Toys R Us footprint includes major stores at Mall of America and American Dream, as well as shops inside every Macy’s and a physical presence at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Toys R Us Announces 10 New Flagship Stores, 20 Holiday Shops

Continuing this comeback tour, the group just announced plans to open 10 new Toys R Us flagship stores, in addition to 20 seasonal shops. The latter are essential pop-ups which will only be in business for the duration of the upcoming holiday season. Both the ephemeral shops and permanent stores are on track to open in the coming weeks. Seven locations have so far been confirmed for the flagships, including three California sites in Emeryville, Camarillo, and Long Beach. WHP Global has also greenlit stores in Thornton, Colorado and Hanover, Maryland, as well as Omaha, Nebraska and West Des Moines, Iowa.

In total, the American company confirmed seven fresh locations, with several more still to be announced. The new Toys R Us stateside stores will mostly be located in malls and outlet centers. The expansion follows the opening of a 13,000-square-foot flagship store on September 20 in Aurora, Illinois. That location marks the brand’s second Chicago-area site after Norridge. As is typical for flagships, the store includes a Babies R Us section and an arcade area, a combo that underscores the updated, family-focused pitch of the Toys R Us comeback format.

Toys R Us originally filed for bankruptcy following years of declining sales, mounting debt, and intensifying competition from (largely online) rivals. Once its efforts to modernize failed to produce results, its debt-heavy balance sheet, saddled with over $5 billion in obligations from a 2005 leveraged buyout, ended up breaking, pushing the company into insolvency and leading to hundreds of Toys R Us locations closing.

New Toys R Us Locations

• Emeryville, California
• Camarillo, California
• Long Beach, California
• Thornton, Colorado
• Hanover, Maryland
• Omaha, Nebraska
• West Des Moines, Iowa
• Aurora, Illinois

Informed by that experience, the brand’s comeback has been focused on cost-effectiveness and highly targeted expansion. The newly announced holiday shops are emblematic of that strategy, generating revenue during the most lucrative retail period of the year without a fixed-cost profile.