Here’s some good news for adults who “didn’t wanna grow up,” as the old ad jingle had it.
Toys “R” Us is kicking off its biggest expansion in nearly a decade, opening 120 stores amid surging demand from adult customers, the company said Thursday.
The retailer — whose 2017 bankruptcy devastated the toy industry — inked one-year leases across the country as toy sales notched their biggest spike since 2020, according to Circana, which tracks consumer data.
The new locales include Woodbury Commons and the Westchester in White Plains, NY, and the Mall at Short Hills in Millburn, NJ.
Toy sales in the US grew 17% in the first half of the year – the strongest first-half performance in six years – largely fueled by adults who are snatching up trading cards and collectibles, according to Circana.
Adults now account for 55% of all toy sales, the researcher found.
Mall operators like having toy stores on premises, “so shoppers don’t feel like they have to leave the mall and go to Walmart or Target,” observed former Toys “R” Us chief executive Gerald Storch.
The new stores will offer some of the biggest brands, including LEGO, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Pokémon and KPop Demon Hunters – and some will have cafes and candy shops, according to the company.
New York-based Toys “R” Us is owned by WHP Global, the brand licensing firm that also owns Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang and Lands’ End.
The brick-and-mortar strategy is being led by Go! Retail Group, which operates pop-up stores and quietly began the Toys “R” Us expansion last year.
There are currently about 40 stores, including 20,000-square-foot flagships in American Dream mall in East Rutherford, NJ and at Minnesota’s Mall of America. “There are also 400 Toys ‘R’ Us shops inside Macy’s stores, including the Herald Square flagship.”
The expansion push started last month when Go! Retail began opening 3,500- to 7,500-square-foot stores, said a spokesperson for Toys “R” Us.
The number of stores is set to reach 160 in the coming weeks – a fraction of the 750 outlets Toys “R” Us had when it filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its US stores in 2017.
Its iconic Times Square store featured a ferris wheel and 20-foot-tall animatronic T-Rex –generating sales of $75 to $100 million a year before closing in 2015, according to Storch.
Founded by Charles Lazarus in 1948 as a baby furniture store – which eventually became Babies “R” Us – the company went belly up due to a $5 billion pile of debt. Private equity firms Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado bought the chain in a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2005.
Its demise crippled the industry, which depended on Toys “R” Us to drive sales and launch new products.
Many toy company owners were bitter about the filing, which saddled them with millions in unpaid bills.
Since then, Walmart, Amazon and Target have largey stepped into the void.
“The toy industry is incredibly strong,” said former Toys “R” Us veteran Jamie Uitdenhowen, now WHP Global executive vice president.
The industry has “a growing consumer base that extends well beyond kids,” he added.
“’Kidults’ have become an important part of the category,” said Uitdenhowen, using the newfangled word for grownups with tastes typically associated with younger people.
WHP controls the global license for Toys “R” Us, which includes 1,680 stores in 37 countries and some $2 billion in annual sales.