Macy's brings back Toys 'R' Us in time for the holidays
Is Santa calling in early reinforcements this year? A classic toy superstore is being brought back to life ahead of the holiday season.
Macy's, in partnership with Toys "R" Us parent company WHP Global, announced Monday that it plans to bring the Toys "R" Us brand to every Macy's store in the U.S. for the holiday season.
The rollout of the new pop-up stores is set to begin in late July, with all locations expected to be complete by Oct. 15, according to a press release. In-store shops will vary in size, but span up to 10,000 square feet in flagship locations like Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco.
Toys "R" Us, a beloved toy chain, liquidated its U.S. stores in 2018 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017. The brick-and-mortar toy megastore buckled under the competition from online retailers like Amazon.
For the past three years, there has been chatter that Toys "R" Us had plans to revive itself in a new direction. Richard Barry, a former Toys R Us executive and CEO of Tru Kids Brands, told the Associated Press in February of 2019 that he and his team had plans to explore new freestanding stores, shops within existing stores and expand e-commerce.
According to a recent report by the U.S. Commerce Department, U.S. retail sales rebounded more strongly than expected in June, even amid historically soaring inflation. Retail sales rose 1% last month, and revised data from May showed sales falling only 0.1% instead of 0.3%, as previously reported.
As to where it stands, retail sales are 18% above pre-pandemic marks, according to data collected by Mastercard.
Since last summer, Toys "R" Us products have been available at Macy's exclusively online. In Macy's reported earnings for the first quarter of 2022, the retailer recorded that toy sales were 15 times higher than before its partnership with Toys "R" Us.
"Macy's cannot wait to bring the Toys 'R' Us experience to life in our stores," said Nata Dvir, Macy's chief merchandising officer, in part of a statement. "The customer response to our partnership with Toys 'R' Us has been incredible and our toy business has seen tremendous growth."
