The New Toys “R” Us store opens at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey.
Source: Tru Kids Brand
Toys R You have closed the only two stores left in the United States.
The iconic toy retailer made the decision as a result of the hardships caused by the Covid pandemic and plans to shift resources towards opening new places where there is more buyer traffic, a spokesman told CNBC in an email release.
“Consumer demand in the Toys category and in Toys R Us remains strong and we will continue to invest in channels where the customer wants to experience our brand,” the person said.
Toy sales in the United States rose 16 percent last year to $ 25.1 billion, market researcher The NPD Group reported Monday, when families engaged in toys to support children. busy during the health crisis. But a significant portion of those sales have moved online.
Tru Kids, an entity that acquired the intellectual property of Toys R Us during its liquidation in 2018, opened two small-format stores in late 2019: one at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, in Paramus, New Jersey, and a second at The Simon Property Group Gallery in Houston. The Houston location closed Jan. 15, the spokesman said, while the Paramus location closed Tuesday.
Representatives from URW and Simon did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Tru Kids continues to run the Toys R Us website, which ultimately sends customers to Amazon to complete a purchase after selling them toys. It also continues to license the brand globally.
Many consumers have moved away from brick-and-mortar stores during the pandemic and bought more online. Retailers based in malls have suffered exceptionally. Buyers will likely take a while to adjust to the return to malls, and a retail research company predicts there could be as many as 10,000 store closures announced by retailers in the U.S. this year, setting a new record.
Bloomberg first reported Toys R Us closures on Friday.