Macy’s to Resurrect Toys ‘R’ Us in All Its Brick-and-Mortar Stores
By Mark Hallum July 19, 2022 11:43 am
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Macy‘s quest to Jon Snow the Toys “R” Us brand back to life continues as the department store plans to infuse the retailer into all of its own brick-and-mortar stores.
Flagship Macy’s locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco will each have Toys “R” Us stores, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet, opened inside them by Oct. 15 to meet the holiday season demand, the companies announced.
It’s an expansion of an initiative Macy’s unveiled nearly a year ago to install a Toy “R” Us in nearly 400 Macy’s department stores after WHP Global’s March 2021 purchase of the toy store chain, which filed for Chapter 11 in September 2017.
“Macy’s cannot wait to bring the Toys ‘R’ Us experience to life in our stores,” Nata Dvir, Macy’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. “The customer response to our partnership with Toys ‘R’ Us has been incredible and our toy business has seen tremendous growth.”
The customer experience is expected to be interactive with hands-on demonstration tables and a life-size version of the company’s mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe, sitting on a bench.
To ramp up awareness around Macy’s new Toys “R” Us experience, the department store is planning nine days of in-store events from Oct. 15 through Oct. 23 that will include activities and daily giveaways from brands like Barbie and LEGO, according to Macy’s.
Since August 2021, Toys “R” Us products have been available not only through its own website, but also on the Macy’s website and shipped through the department store’s fulfillment centers. Macy’s reported in its earnings for the first quarter of 2022 that toy sales for Toys ”R” Us increased 15 times over those during the first quarter of 2021.
The Macy’s outposts aren’t the only signs of life for the revived Toys “R” Us. Last year, WHP opened the first new standalone Toys “R” Us since its bankruptcy in a 20,000-square-foot space inside the American Dream mall in New Jersey.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
