Toys R Us Headed to the Travel Industry
WHP Global, the parent company of Toys R Us, has unveiled big plans to bring the toy brand to new places and industries. Through a partnership with Go! Retail Group, WHP will roll out as many as 24 Toys R Us flagship stores across the U.S. beginning in 2024.
WHP is also set to bring Toys R Us to the travel industry with retail experiences for airports and cruise ships. The first Toys R Us airport store will open this year in early November at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in partnership with travel retailer Duty Free Americas, according to a media release from WHP. Located in Terminal A, the store will offer popular toy brands and exclusive regional merchandise.
In addition, Toys R Us is designing a retail store for cruise ships, which will offer a wide range of toys and exclusive cruise-themed merchandise for children and families.
"The Toys R Us brand is growing fast and our expansion into air, land and sea is a testament to the brand's strength,” Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and CEO of WHP Global, said in the release. "Since acquiring Toys R Us, we have increased our global retail footprint by more than 50% with openings in the U.S., U.K., India, Dubai and Mexico. We now have over 1,400 stores and e-commerce sites across 31 countries, and as we head into 2024, we are excited to bring Toys R Us to consumers everywhere, whether you're visiting one of our stores at Macy's, at our flagships, in an airport, or onboard a cruise ship."
[Also Read: Toys R Us Shops Coming to WHSmith in UK]
Toys R Us marked its return in the U.S. after WHP acquired the company in March 2021 and opened a 20,000-sqare-foot flagship at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The toy giant had previously shut down all of its brick-and-mortar operations in the U.S., the last stores closing by January 2021, after filing for bankruptcy in 2017. WHP continued to resurrect the brand by launching 452 Toys R Us shops at Macy's stores nationwide in 2022.
WHP says Toys R Us flagship stores will open in prime locations “that complement the existing retail footprint at Macy's” and “serve as epicenters of immersive fun,” per the release.
Go! Retail Group operates a fleet of pop-up stores spanning seven countries and is an independently owned toy and game retailer in the U.S. It owns, operates or manages a slew of flagship year-round stores, in-house brands and e-commerce websites, including Calendars.com, Go! Toys & Games, Snoozimals and Calendar Club in Canada, the U.K. and Australia.
"As a specialty retailer and with deep roots in the toy and game industry, we are thrilled and honored to partner with WHP Global to expand the base of Toys R Us flagship stores," Gideon Schlessinger, CEO of Go! Retail Group, said in the release. "With over 30 years of experience in all 50 states, our focus will be to do what we do best — provide valuable brick-and-mortar logistics and operational excellence to this iconic brand."
In related news, Toys R Us Canada parent company Putman Investments has nearly opened all 10 of its new Toys R Us and standalone Babies R Us Canada locations across the country.