Toys R Us plans to open new flagship stores

Toys “R” Us, the once-ubiquitous chain that attracted generations of children with its distinctive primary colors and Jeffrey the Giraffe mascot, will attempt a comeback six years after declaring bankruptcy. It plans to open up to 24 flagship stores across the United States starting next year, WHP Global, its parent company, announced Friday.

WHP Global, which took a controlling stake in Toys “R” Us in 2021, said in a statement that in addition to the new stores, Toys “R” Us will also open stores in airports and on cruise ships through a partnership with Go! Retail group.

The company said the first airport store will open in early November in Terminal A of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, before the holiday shopping season.

Toys “R” Us “is growing rapidly and our expansion in the air, land and sea is a testament to the strength of the brand,” Yehuda Schmadman, chairman and CEO of WHP Global, said in a statement.

WHP Global, which also owns brands such as Anne Klein, Joseph Abboud and Bonobos, did not say in its statement where the flagship stores would open. A company spokeswoman said “key locations” were being identified.

Toys “R” Us signaled the beginning of a comeback attempt in 2021, when it opened a 20,000-square-foot flagship store at American Dream Mall in New Jersey. Subsequently, Toys “R” Us launched 452 convenience stores within Macy’s stores across the United States.

Toys “R” Us’ comeback attempt comes during a difficult time for brick-and-mortar stores, many of which have closed in the past several years as they have had to contend with continued e-commerce growth followed by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Founded by Charles Lazarus who opened the first Toys “R” Us store in 1957, Toys “R” Us was one of the world’s largest toy store chains with stores in Australia, Asia and North America. But in 2017, facing long-term debt totaling more than $5 billion, the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Toys “R” Us closed the last of its 735 U.S. stores by June 2018. Toys “R” Us has maintained a global presence, with stores in Canada and South Korea.

Lars Perner, an assistant professor of clinical marketing at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, said he did not expect the flagship Toys “R” Us stores to return.

“It’s a pretty contradictory strategy when you see so many others pulling out of traditional retailers,” he said.

It’s possible that nostalgia plays a role in driving business for new anchor stores, Berner said.

Many parents and children born after 1957 likely have fond memories of giant roving Toys “R” Us stores filled with everything from scooters to video games to dolls and action figures. Some may remember seeing Jeffrey the Giraffe, the Toys “R” Us mascot, or having their own stuffed Jeffrey.

“If you have people who got gifts from Toys R Us when they were growing up and now have their own kids, there might be some appeal,” Berner said.

Mr. Berner said tapping into the travel industry could be successful, especially since research shows that consumers tend to spend more on vacation.

However, Toys “R” Us’ new flagship stores will have to compete with the likes of Amazon, giving consumers the convenience of making purchases from their phones. The stores must also compete with big-box stores, such as Walmart and Target, which Mr. Berner said “offer very low prices.”

“I think this could serve as a kind of novelty in the short term,” Berner said. “It would be hard for me to see this succeeding in the long term.”