[US] Toys "R" Us Comeback (Again)

madforLEGO

It appears that Toys "R" Us is coming back to Macy's as a physical department in Macy's stores by Mid October, to be honest I did not realize they were online again as well... Nice to see Geoffrey back though!

What does everyone think? Is it possible for Toys "R" Us to be actually become a stand alone toy store again in the US?

daewoo

Maybe?  I think they've got a long road ahead and the trend has ben less emphasis on brick & mortar vs online.

Bumblepants

I doubt we will ever get make-and-take events from them again or store exclusives. 

daewoo

I've learned over the years to never say never, and it's possible that this new iteration will grow and be a successful chain again, but I'm not sure how probable that is.  But to get back to where they can have make-and-take and store exclusives will be a feat.

madforLEGO

I have to say, while their stores were iffy and their prices were sometimes insane, I have fond memories of going to the Toys'r'Us stores, even recently, to check things out, or get polybags, or bricktober sets... Hopefully if they can get stores back up and going they are a clean slate and their employees will give a damn about the store and products in it.

ReesesPieces

I'm just excited to see some Chima sets back on the shelves!

scotty12

^^ totally agree.  My local TRU closed about a year or two before all the major city stores closed.  My smaller TRU(120,00population and NOT a Babies R Us) was decent but still had aisles of non sellable stuff.  Shelves of phone accessories and computer stuff, baby accessories, diapers.  Stuff I never saw anyone buy...let along walk down the aisle.  I have hesitations about TRU getting back to brick and mortar stores...it'd be great...but stick to toys.

Astrobricks

scotty12 said:

^^ totally agree.  My local TRU closed about a year or two before all the major city stores closed.  My smaller TRU(120,00population and NOT a Babies R Us) was decent but still had aisles of non sellable stuff.  Shelves of phone accessories and computer stuff, baby accessories, diapers.  Stuff I never saw anyone buy...let along walk down the aisle.  I have hesitations about TRU getting back to brick and mortar stores...it'd be great...but stick to toys.

I'm guessing they would stick to toys. It's hard to create "experiential retail" for diapers :-)

Charmiefcb

While not their own stores it's good to see Toys R Us back in some form. It was a huge part of my childhood. Every birthday Dad would give us a certain dollar amount and take us to Toys R Us and we went nuts. The Toys R Us visit was the highlight of my year.

madforLEGO

Ill never forget the long aisles of toys before they reconfigured their stores to break up the aisle into those weird little squared off area. Being a kid and seeing that, it was incredible. That and Child World. Seeing like a long aisle of nothing but LEGO was a sign to behold!

Charmiefcb

That's a memory. The only time I ever saw a completely empty aisle was when Power Rangers was a thing. It was completely empty except for what I wanted. A Pink Flip Head Kimberly. I do remember the aisles. The Barbie and other girls toys aisle was this bright pink and you could see it from anywhere in the store. Just looking up at seeing Lego, or Hot Wheels or Batman toys as far as a kid can see. That was the magic of Toys R Us. Every toy we could think of or knew about was in that one store.

When I moved from the US to Aus there was Toys R Us. It was big but something was missing. I guess I was getting older and only went to one here a couple of times.

sklamb

I hope it works out. Even though I'm an adult, the loss of TRU left a hole in my world not unlike the hole a missing tooth leaves.