In yet another comeback attempt, Geoffrey the Giraffe will be opening up shop at every U.S. Macy’s store in time for the holidays.
The New York-based department store chain on Monday said it plans to roll out Toys R Us in-store shops to all its locations starting later this month through Oct. 15. The Toys R Us shops will range from 1,000 square feet to up to 10,000 square feet in Macy’s flagship locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. As of the first quarter, Macy’s had 511 stores.
“The footprint of stores may flex up an additional 500 to 3,000 square feet during the holiday season to offer an even wider assortment of products,” Macy’s said in a statement.
The retailer is expanding its partnership with WHP Global, owner of the Toys R Us brand and its trademark Geoffrey mascot. In August last year, Macy’s announced it would debut the in-store Toys R Us boutiques at more than 400 of its locations this year, and it started selling Toys R Us products online at Macys.com/toysrus and ToysRUs.com, powered by Macy’s digital and fulfillment ecosystem. For the first quarter this year, Macy’s reported that toy sales were 15 times higher than the comparable period prior to the partnership.
Macy’s is looking to attract customers and increase foot traffic with the resurrected Toys R Us, a chain forced into bankruptcy and then liquidation in 2018 after being saddled with debt from a leveraged buyout. Since then, shoppers have been left with fewer options — mainly going to Target or Walmart or visiting independent toy retailers, all of which offer a much more limited selection than the original Toy R Us. Macy’s and WHP Global are looking to fill that void.
Toys R Us last December opened a U.S. flagship store, at 20,000 square feet, at the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Previously, several other Toys R Us stores that opened at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, and The Galleria in Houston were closed after the height of the pandemic. The partnership with Macy’s allows WHP Global to bring back Toys R Us in brick and mortar on a national level without investing in its own stand-alone stores.
“This is a sensible move by Macy’s, which does have a genuine opportunity to capture a greater share of the toy market over the holiday period,” Neil Saunders, managing director of analytics firm GlobalData, said in an email to CoStar News on Monday. “For many Macy’s shoppers, being able to buy toys as gifts for their own kids or those of relatives or friends, is convenient. In the flagship locations a big-toy offer may also draw in some new customers and makes Macy’s more of a holiday destination.”
Department store Kohl’s, in a strategy similar to Macy’s, has been opening up Sephora in-store beauty shops at many of its locations to attract more customers.
The Toys R Us shops will feature brightly colored fixtures as well as hands-on demonstration tables for shoppers to try out toys.
The in-store shops will also offer a life-size “Geoffrey on a Bench” photo opportunity for families. And to kick off the openings, all Macy’s stores will host nine days of in-store events, from Oct. 15-23, which will include family-friendly activities and daily giveaways from brands such as Barbie and Lego.
“Macy’s cannot wait to bring the Toys R Us experience to life in our stores,” Nata Dvir, Macy’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. “We hope Toys R Us kids of all ages discover the joy of exploration and play within our shops and families create special memories together. The customer response to our partnership with Toys R Us has been incredible and our toy business has seen tremendous growth.”
But Saunders offered some caveats about the plan’s possible success.
“Macy’s all too often falls down on execution,” he said. “The current toy offer in many of its stores often looks messy and disjointed. It needs to make more of an effort and have better shop-keeping disciplines if it is to maximize success. Consumers have a lot of options for buying toys — they can go online, get them places like Target or Walmart, or go to local independent stores — so Macy’s needs to work hard to stand out. Using the Toys R Us name helps with that, but on its own it isn’t a guarantee of success. Macy’s has to do justice to the magic Toys R Us still conjures up in the minds of shoppers.”
In an email in response, Macy’s spokeswoman Stephanie Jimenez said that although its customers have been able to buy Toys R Us products from the chain’s website since last August, “This is the first time Toys R Us will be coming to life in our full-line and Market by Macy’s stores, beginning now and rolling out through Oct. 15.”
However, some Macy’s stores long before now had already set aside areas where they had toys on display and Toys R Us signs posted.
“If this is the first time Toys R Us is being properly installed, why are there Macy’s stores up and down the country with Toys R Us signage?” Saunders said. “And why are those toy departments often an utter shambles?”
Macy’s Toys R Us flagship locations include:
- Lenox Square, Atlanta.
- State Street, Chicago.
- Ala Moana, Honolulu.
- Memorial City, Houston.
- South Coast Plaza, Los Angeles.
- Aventura, Miami.
- Dadeland, Miami.
- Herald Square, New York City.
- Roosevelt Field, Garden City, New York.
- Union Square, San Francisco.
- Valley Fair, San Jose, California.
Tru Kids Brands had bought Toys R Us out of its 2017 Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In March 2021, WHP Global, which owns other brands including Anne Klein and Joseph Abboud apparel labels, acquired the Toys R Us brand.