Revived Toy R Us has stepped up the launches of its standalone stores, with one debuting this weekend in the Chicago suburbs and another coming to Austin, Texas, as the latest chapter in yet another once-extinct U.S. chain forging a comeback.
The specialty toy retailer is slated to open a 10,000-square-foot location at the Harlem Irving Plaza mall in Norridge, Illinois, on Saturday. And next weekend, a Toys R Us store is set to bow at the Tanger Outlets center in San Marcos, Texas, a spokeswoman for the retailer told CoStar News in an email Friday.
The company's other two standalone brick-and-mortar stores are flagships at the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Just over year ago, CNBC reported that the toy retailer's parent, WHP Global, was looking to roll out as many as 24 Toys R Us stores nationally.
Toys R Us, known for its catchy "I'm a Toy R Us kid" jingle and Geoffrey the Giraffe mascot, closed all it stores in 2018 when the debt-laden New Jersey-based retailer filed for bankruptcy protection and then opted to liquidate. WHP Global, headquartered in New York, acquired its intellectual property rights in March 2021. Since then, WHP Global has taken a multipronged strategy — and made strides — to resurrect the chain with a physical footprint.
There are also others who took, or are taking a stab, at relaunching a defunct retail chain. Utah-based Beyond, which purchased the IP rights to Bed Bath & Beyond when that retailer went out of business last year, in the past week or so announced two deals aimed at revitalizing the chain in brick-and-mortar. Home goods retailer Kirkland's will be opening small-format Bed Bath & Beyond stores, while The Container Store will start selling Bed Bath & Beyond items at its locations. Those forays represent Beyond's attempt to jump-start Bed Bath & Beyond's physical comeback by partnering with an existing retailer.
But the company that acquired IP rights to Buy Buy Baby, a Bed Bath & Beyond sister chain, failed to bring it back in the brick-and-mortar world. A week ago Dream on Me Industries said it was shuttering the 10 Buy Buy Baby stores that it had reopened a year ago after acquiring their leases.
WHP Global opened its first standalone Toys R Us store at American Dream in December 2021, a two-level location with 20,000 square feet. In November a year ago, it debuted its second store, this one roughly 11,000 square feet, at Mall of America. Both those malls are owned by Canadian retail landlord Triple Five Group. Go! Retail Group operates the Toys R Us store at Mall of America, as it will for the locations in Illinois and Texas, according to the company spokeswoman.
In addition, there are now Toys R Us shops inside every Macy’s store across the country. The retailer has also opened up a shop at Dallas- Fort Worth International Airport.
In September last year, WHP Global said it planned a national relaunch of Toys R Us in partnership with Go! Retail, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas. In addition to those plans, WHP said it would bring Toys R Us to the travel industry by opening up locations in airports and on cruise ships.
"Toys R Us has been dipping its toes back into brick-and-mortar retail through shop-in-shop partnerships with Macy's since 2022, including a large branded shop in the iconic Macy's flagship in Chicago's Marshall Field's building," Amanda Lai, a director at retail consultant McMillanDoolittle, said in an email to CoStar News. "Following this test-and-learn phase, it appears they are gearing up for a more concerted effort to revive their own standalone retail stores, which would allow the company greater oversight over operations, merchandising, and staff training than in the Macy's branded shops."
For the record
JLL Executive Managing Director Erin Grace and senior vice presidents Jesse Wolff and Steve Schwartz represented Toys R Us for the Harlem Irving Plaza lease. Landlord Harlem Irving Cos. was represented in-house by vice president of leasing Wayne Marks and his team.