Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us/Kids "R" Us

[danfifepsu]

Also what made some stores of they never had the inside changed at all since it opened in the 1980s and first half of the 1990s? those ones was like walking into a Kmart I feel.

I think that age has something to do with the early stores having that Kmart-like feeling. Give it a few decades, and most Walmarts and Targets will get aged up the same way. It does not happen overnight.

I'm more in favor of tearing down a Kmart, Sears, Value City, etc. to build Toys "R" Us' "store of the future" prototype which combines shopping with play.

I hope they would always be able to find property. Toys r us should not have gone.

Will if they make a comeback new stores be smaller?

Of that above, many stores had the inside rearranged in the 2000s and felt more modern, while some didnt. What you said of Walmart and Target, they remodel their stores every 10 years.

[TheFugitive]

A Stride Rite outlet store has opened up in a portion of the former
Toys R Us location in Village Square (south of Pittsburgh).

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Toys R Us plans on making comeback in time for the holidays:
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/toys-r-us-making-comeback-in-time-for-the-holidays-in-2019/918498188

[danfifepsu]

Toys R Us plans on making comeback in time for the holidays:
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/toys-r-us-making-comeback-in-time-for-the-holidays-in-2019/918498188

how many will be open then? And where? they aim for 10,000 square foot stores they say, so whats that mean of Inventory? and I guess a 30k to 45k store that sells toys I guess doesnt work anymore.

[Pikapower]

Toys R Us plans on making comeback in time for the holidays:
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/toys-r-us-making-comeback-in-time-for-the-holidays-in-2019/918498188

how many will be open then? And where? they aim for 10,000 square foot stores they say, so whats that mean of Inventory? and I guess a 30k to 45k store that sells toys I guess doesnt work anymore.

Toys "R" Us should come back as an online only retailer.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Toys R Us plans on making comeback in time for the holidays:
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/toys-r-us-making-comeback-in-time-for-the-holidays-in-2019/918498188

how many will be open then? And where? they aim for 10,000 square foot stores they say, so whats that mean of Inventory? and I guess a 30k to 45k store that sells toys I guess doesnt work anymore.

Toys "R" Us should come back as an online only retailer.

I want them to to come back as both online and physical. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this revival will work...

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Dan Fife and I wanted Toys "R" Us to come back, now here's its chance to come back this holiday season better than ever with smaller stores and a technological and customer-oriented focus.

[AmesNewington]

I just read up on the newly rebranded company that will undertake the new TRU and BRU vision (TRU Brands) and must say that it's nice to see that this type of retail isn't dead and there is a new business model in smaller store footprints. This is what Sears should have looked in to during the last decade (downsizing stores). Stores have become too large over the years, which hurt them as they had to fill so much space, and did not generate the revenue to support them. With smaller stores, inventory can be better controlled. It also will help shopping centers and perhaps malls. It's nice to see legacy brands and names not completely going away.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

It's official!

https://www.trukidsbrands.com/

[retailisking]

https://www.pressherald.com/2019/03/08/furniture-store-to-occupy-former-toys-r-us-space/

[rsammataro1126]

Hey would anybody happen to have that old image from the Milford, CT property archives of the Toys "R" Us there before it was redone? I saw it a few weeks ago and can't seem to relocate it... It was one of the 'L' shaped facades if that helps at all

Thanks!

[rsammataro1126]

^This could be helpful for the USA Store Fanon Wiki despite the fact that Toys/Babies/Kids "R" Us is still around in the USA Store Fanon Wiki universe.

There was a Kids "R" Us store in Waterford, CT at 925 Hartford Turnpike. It's currently re purposed as a PETCO and liquor store. I believe it opened in 1987 (the TRU in Waterford opened in 85) and closed in '03. Here's an ad from the Grand Opening I found in the Newspaper archives

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brandhistoryusa/42976382072/

[standa]

There was a Kids R Us at the Parkway Plaza in Hamden, CT. Its building was torn down and a Home Depot was built on the site.

[Pikapower]

If anyone's interested, I've started two lists of Kids "R" Us store locations. I just wanted to let you guys know that both lists are fictional, but they include real life Kids "R" Us locations.

Links below

Current : https://usastorefanon.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_current_Kids_%22R%22_Us_locations

Former: https://usastorefanon.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_former_Kids_%22R%22_Us_locations

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The corporate offices are down to a "skeleton crew" of a few executives, and the name of the parent company of Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us is now TRU Kids Brands. They hope to bring back Toys "R" Us by Christmastime.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The former Toys "R" Us in Moline, Illinois is now Big Lots.



You're going to need to scroll to see the whole picture.

[Pikapower]

Didn't Toys "R" Us had a short-lived kids bookstore chain called "Books "R" Us"?

[Pikapower]

Didn't Toys "R" Us had a short-lived kids bookstore chain called "Books "R" Us"?

i'm pretty sure they most likely didn't. it was most likely a one-off store called books r us that wasn't apart of the toys r us brand. probably a parody of toys r us. i've seen stores like that before. like "bookbuster" which was a parody of blockbuster.

I could've sworn "Books "R" Us" existed, but maybe it was a test market thing that Toys "R" Us at one point?

[danfifepsu]

The former Toys "R" Us in Moline, Illinois is now Big Lots.


You're going to need to scroll to see the whole picture.

When I saw it vacant last summer!

Ok as many of the Toys r us have been replaced, how can Toys r us make a comeback? It is nearing a year since they all closed already. That has gone by fast. I have noticed the prices in toys at Walmart have GONE UP. And if Toys r us comes back with new stores, will they carry all the same stuff they had before like stuff I bought at the Fan Vault area? Well of these new movies like Toy Story 4 and Aladdin there wont be the big displays of their merchandise that Toys r us had of new movies out.

[BillyGr]

Didn't Toys "R" Us had a short-lived kids bookstore chain called "Books "R" Us"?

i'm pretty sure they most likely didn't. it was most likely a one-off store called books r us that wasn't apart of the toys r us brand. probably a parody of toys r us. i've seen stores like that before. like "bookbuster" which was a parody of blockbuster.

I could've sworn "Books "R" Us" existed, but maybe it was a test market thing that Toys "R" Us at one point?

Toys r us doesn’t seem like a brand that would go into the book market, well I guess if hooters tried to run an airline anything’s possible

Or the even worse idea of another toy store using it (Toys R Joy in the Albany NY area, before they went to spelling it out Toys Are Joy then Toys for Joy).

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The former Toys "R" Us in Moline, Illinois is now Big Lots.


You're going to need to scroll to see the whole picture.

When I saw it vacant last summer!

Ok as many of the Toys r us have been replaced, how can Toys r us make a comeback? It is nearing a year since they all closed already. That has gone by fast. I have noticed the prices in toys at Walmart have GONE UP. And if Toys r us comes back with new stores, will they carry all the same stuff they had before like stuff I bought at the Fan Vault area? Well of these new movies like Toy Story 4 and Aladdin there wont be the big displays of their merchandise that Toys r us had of new movies out.

I'll believe it when I see it next holiday season. It's very very likely that new locations will be found, and they will be smaller, same thing with KB.

[Pikapower]

Here's an interesting fact from Wikipedia about a prototype concept by Toys "R" Us in the 1990s.

Toys "R" Us Kid's World, a prototype store also opened which included 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2). of space, including Toys "R" Us, Kids "R" Us, Babies "R" Us, the Warner Bros. store, Kids Foot Locker, a photo studio, children's hair salon, play area, candy store and Pizza Hut. Only one year, but it closed in 1999. other Kid's World location was built in Fairfax, Virginia, but was later converted into a regular Toys "R" Us store.

[giantsfan2016]

There is an empty Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us all-on-one stores walking distance to the hotel where I'm staying in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. One year later signs are still up. Took numerous photos with my phone. Will upload them to this board when I get back home tonight or I will do it tomorrow.

[giantsfan2016]

Former King of Prussia, PA Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us. 250 Mall Blvd. 63,156 Square Feet. Pictures Taken 6/7/19.

[giantsfan2016]

Former King of Prussia, PA Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us. 250 Mall Blvd. 63,156 Square Feet. Pictures Taken 6/7/19.

[giantsfan2016]

Former King of Prussia, PA Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us. 250 Mall Blvd. 63,156 Square Feet. Pictures Taken 6/7/19.

[mixedday]

Maybe the owner should look into selling it, so it gets converted to other use, like hotel. It's a good location and hotel room rates are typically high between King of Prussia area and Plymouth Meeting area.

[giantsfan2016]

Maybe the owner should look into selling it, so it gets converted to other use, like hotel. It's a good location and hotel room rates are typically high between King of Prussia area and Plymouth Meeting area.

King of Prussia already has a bunch of hotels. There's also 3 within walking distance of this old TRU. - The Crowne Plaza (where I stayed), Fairfield Inn, and something in the Hyatt Family. The Crowne Plaza and Fairfield Inn are next door to each other.

Except for the fact the parking lot is really small I was thinking a ShopRite could go there. There's no ShopRite stores in that area. But with the parking lot being really small, maybe the old ACME on Dekalb Pike is a better spot for ShopRite.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Toys ‘R’ Us Is Coming Back From the Dead and Opening Stores in 2019

Matt Townsend
Fortune
June 21, 2019

Maybe American kids will only have to live through one Christmas without Toys “R” Us.

About a year after shuttering U.S. operations, the remnant of the defunct toy chain is set to return this holiday season by opening about a half dozen U.S. stores and an e-commerce site, according to people familiar with the matter.

Richard Barry, a former Toys “R” Us executive who is now CEO of new entity Tru Kids Inc., has been pitching his vision to reincarnate the chain to toymakers, including at an industry conference this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.

The stores are slated to be about 10,000-square feet, roughly a third of the size of the brand’s big-box outlets that closed last year, the people said. The locations will also have more experiences, like play areas. The startup costs could be minimized with a consignment inventory model in which toymakers ship goods but don’t get paid until consumers buy them, some of the people said.

A spokeswoman for Tru Kids said the company wasn’t ready to publicly share details on its U.S. strategy.

New rivals

It remains to be seen how much of a boost the retailer’s comeback will provide the toy industry, including giants such as Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. The original Toys “R” Us, the only national toy chain, left a huge hole when it went under. It had been generating about $7 billion in sales a year in the U.S. through more than 700 locations, including the Babies “R” Us brand.

Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have swooped in to fill the void. They have all expanded toy assortments and marketing, including a printed toy catalog from Amazon. Other non-traditional chains jumped into the category, including grocery stores and Party City Holdco Inc.

There is also a question of how many toymakers will do business with the new Toys “R” Us after many lost money when the former company announced liquidation in March 2018, just months after filing for bankruptcy.

MGA on board

MGA Entertainment Inc., one of the best-performing toymakers in the world, is already on board to sell at the re-imagined Toys “R” Us shops, said Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian, who said he has been pitched the plan. His company’s properties include Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise! and Bratz dolls.

“This market needs a self-standing toy store, that’s for sure,” Larian said in an interview. “We will sell them inventory.”

During the chain’s bankruptcy, lenders led by Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon took control of the company’s assets. After results didn’t improve, they opted to shutter operations in the U.S. Units in Australia and other regions also closed, with divisions in Asia and Canada acquired by new owners.

This group tried to sell the intellectual property, but opted to keep it to garner a better return. As owners of the intellectual property, they have been collecting licensing and other fees from the units still operating and selling them private-label goods. The lenders then formed Tru Kids with the goal of reviving the brand in the U.S. and other regions it exited. It has since hired several industry veterans and signed a deal to bring Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us back to Australia through a partner.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/toys-r-us-coming-back-191650809.html

[Retail Regents]

The least altered Toys R Us in Clay, NY has been converted to The Great Outdoors RV Superstore. The rainbow slats are green in color. And ten shopping carts have been re-used for the store section.