It hasn’t been an easy road for Toys R Us since their mass closing of the iconic toy store chain back in 2018 (see our story HERE). Emerging from bankruptcy in 2019 under the ownership of Tru Kids, Toys R Us held a small grip on its 60-year-plus run of toy store nostalgia with two locations that remained open in the United States. Alas, even those closed down in early 2021 due to financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 15, 2021, it was announced that brand management company WHP Global had acquired a controlling interest in Tru Kids, which is the parent company of the Toys R Us, Babies R Us, and Geoffrey the Giraffe brands. Going forward WHP will be managing Tru Kids business, and help to guide its (resurrection) expansion. In North America WHP plans to open Toys R Us stores – again – including possible new flagship stores and pop-ups in places like airports and inside other retailers’ shops.
In recent news, it has come to our attention that the new owners of Toys R Us have gone bolder with their plans, with several trademarks filed for potential theme park names! These include filings for Toys R Us World, Toys R Us Park, and Toys R Us Land.
Could this mark the rebirth of the toy store giant? With new ownership, shots getting into arms, and an end to the pandemic in sight, one can only hope. Fingers crossed we see Geoffrey the Giraffe in stores – and theme parks (!) – soon.
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Erik
What awesome news if this turns out to be true. TRU deserves a comeback.