Toys “R” Us, an iconic brand that many assumed was dead and gone forever, is coming back to a New Jersey mall in a big way.
The resurrected toy store chain will open a two-level, 20,000-square-foot location at the American Dream mall in New Jersey by the middle of this month. The news comes 3.5 months after the company’s current owner, WHP Global, relaunched the Toys “R” Us website via a partnership with Macy’s.
Since its 2018 bankruptcy filing and subsequent rebirth, Toys “R” Us has opened a series of pop-up shops in stores like Target and focused on online sales. The American Dream location represents a much bigger bet, though.
The facility will be reminiscent of the former Times Square flagship location in Manhattan (which included a life-size Barbie DreamHouse, a 34-foot-tall animatronic T. rex, and a 60-foot-tall indoor Ferris wheel). Among the amenities in the new location are a two-story slide, as well as a café and ice cream shop.
Toys “R” Us had largely been wiped out of American malls after its financial troubles, but actually had two stores open through January. Those shut down as mall foot traffic evaporated, and WHP, which also owns Anne Klein and the Lotto activewear line, bought Toys “R” Us in March.
It was just over two years ago that Toys “R” Us sought a notable retail presence in New Jersey. Then-owners Tru Kids opened a 6,000-square-foot store at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus. That was one of the stores that closed in January.
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