Your Favorite Childhood Toy Stores Are Popping up Inside Big Box Stores
If you've been pining for the thrilling toy store browsing experience of your childhood, you're in luck: Macy's recently announced that it will be welcoming more than 400 Toys "R" Us shops within the space of its flagship department stores.
You may soon be able to browse the aisles of a Disney Store on that weekly visit to Target as well.
Online shopping may be incredibly convenient, but sometimes it can feel cold and unexciting. This is especially the case when you're browsing for fun products designed to be touched and played with — like toys.
Once known as "the biggest toy store there is," Toys "R" Us experienced a rapid demise a few years ago. The beloved chain had nearly 900 locations in early 2017, but then announced hundreds of closures before going out of business by the summer of 2018.
The Toys "R" Us brand hasn't entirely gone away, however. Its website has been offering toys for sale under various owners and partnerships, and some short-lived Toys "R" Us pop-up stores appeared during the 2019 holiday shopping season.
The upcoming appearance of Toys "R" Us stores inside Macy's represents the brand's biggest revitalization, by far. While Macy's hasn't released many details regarding exactly how big the new toy stores will be, the department store promises that shoppers will be able to browse different "dedicated sections by age, interest and category, with interactive experiences, activation centers and iconic elements throughout." And yes, Toys "R" Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe will be on hand to welcome shoppers.
You won't be able to shop the Toys "R" Us aisles during the 2021 winter holiday shopping season, however. Macy's says the 400+ new Toys "R" Us "shop-in-shops" won't be opening until some time in 2022. In the meantime, the two brands are pairing up to offer plenty of toys online at toysrus.com and macys.com/toys-r-us.
Meanwhile, Target is expanding a similar "store within a store" partnership with Disney. Target rolled out the first of these concepts in 2019, and it just announced that more than 100 new mini Disney Stores will open inside Target locations by the end of 2021. This will bring the total number of "Disney at Target" stores to over 160.
For Disney fans, this is welcomed news, particularly because the company is in the process of closing at least 60 Disney Stores this year.
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