Toys R Us Announces Plan To Reopen
At the onset of 2018, kids big and small mourned the closing of the toy store many of us grew up with during those most formidable childhood years.
Toys R Us was the store of dreams. Aisle upon aisle of toys and games, dolls and action figures was something rare.
TOYS R BACK: Toys R Us will return by the holiday season with a new name and look https://t.co/k1PI4SAC4R pic.twitter.com/7XxeqJKwTx
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 11, 2019
But with online retailers like Amazon making parents’ lives easier, the company sadly closed the last of its stores in June 2018.
And then, a spark of hope shone through the darkness. In October of the same year, The Washington Post reported the brand might make a comeback … eventually.
Now new reports say that comeback could happen as soon as the 2019 holiday season. CBS News reported that Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Geoffrey brands are now being managed by a group of former Toys R Us executives, including Richard Barry.
The new Tru Kids Inc. was founded by the executives in January; they are reportedly planning to take the brand worldwide.
Toys R US plans second act under new namehttps://t.co/nRSJnWjJ3d pic.twitter.com/3VoUgCmnCS
— Las Vegas Sun (@LasVegasSun) February 11, 2019
According to CNN, 900 Toys R Us stores remain open in Asia, Europe and India, even after over 700 U.S. locations closed.
“We have significant interest about how to bring the brand back to the US,” Barry told CNN. “We’re talking to a whole series of different companies, some are existing retailers, some tech companies.”
Good news! Toys ‘R’ Us plans on making comeback in time for the holidays — https://t.co/H3I0qcKV5H pic.twitter.com/YXWJJafiNU
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) February 12, 2019
“We’re working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to bring it to life,” the former global chief merchandising officer for Toys R Us added. “At this point, we’re not ready to commit to what that might look like.”
Thankfully, fans in the U.S. may have a reason to rejoice, despite the fact the company isn’t ready to commit to anything yet.
“The U.S. is the biggest toy market in the world,” Barry told CNBC. While he shared the company plans to be cautious of repeating former mistakes, future shoppers might look forward to new in-store experiences, as well as a focus on technology and customer service.
In the end “price will always be a factor,” Barry said. We’ll be keeping our eye out for more to come from Tru Kids. Until then, we’ll always be Toys R Us kids at heart.
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