WHP Global, the parent company of Toys “R” Us, partnered with the Go! Retail Group to open as many as 24 Toys R Us flagship stores in the U.S. starting next year.
The flagship stores will resemble the 20,000-square-foot store at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, NJ, operating under license by Toys 4 U. Store locations will complement the Toys “R” Us in-store-shops found at Macy’s locations, of which 452 opened in 2022.
The store openings are part of WHP Global’s “Air, Land, and Sea” rollout for Toys “R” Us, which includes the recently announced airport store at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in partnership with Duty-Free Americas that opens in November 2023.
WHP Global also announced plans to open Toys “R” Us stores on cruise ships, with details to be released later. WHP said the cruise ship expansion would offer families exclusive, cruise-inspired merchandise to “enhance their travel journeys.”
Toys “R” Us, founded in 1957, filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and liquidated all its stores. In January of that year, the company operated 1,691 stores and licensed 257 stores across 38 countries, according to an SEC filing.
WHP acquired a controlling interest in Toys “R” Us parent company, Tru Kids, in 2021. The company planned to open a combination of flagships, pop-ups and airport Toys “R” Us stores across the country after the brand’s two remaining locations in the U.S. closed earlier in 2021.
In summer 2021, WHP announced a rollout of more than 400 new Toys “R” Us stores at Macy’s locations in the U.S. In December 2021, the American Dream mall location opened to mark the first stand-alone Toys “R” Us store under WHP’s ownership.
“The Toys “R” Us brand is growing fast, and our expansion into air, land and sea is a testament to the brand’s strength. Since acquiring Toys “R” Us, we have increased our global retail footprint by more than 50 percent, with openings in the U.S., U.K., India, Dubai, and Mexico. We now have over 1,400 stores and e-commerce sites across 31 countries, and as we head into 2024, we are excited to bring Toys “R” Us to consumers everywhere, whether you’re visiting one of our stores at Macy’s, at our flagships, in an airport, or onboard a cruise ship,” said Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and CEO of WHP Global, in a statement.
Go! Retail Group, which operates toy and game stores in malls across the U.S., plans to tap into its existing logistics infrastructure to support the Toys “R’ Us expansion.
“With over 30 years of experience in all 50 states, our focus will be to do what we do best—provide valuable brick-and-mortar logistics and operational excellence to this iconic brand,” said Gideon Schlessinger, CEO of Go! Retail Group.
Photo courtesy Toys “R” Us
