Toys 'R' Us Could Reopen By Christmas

It looks like Toys 'R' Us may be making a return, with a former CEO of the huge retail chain saying 12 stores could be opened in the US by Christmas.

The toy seller closed down its franchises both in the UK and US, with attempts to sell the struggling firm failing in 2018.

Up there with the Coke truck, its iconic adverts were a true sign that Christmas was coming.

PA

If the new shops do well, it could mean that the much loved brand may make a return to the UK as well.

Richard Barry, who used to run Toys 'R' Us, is now CEO of new entity Tru Kids Inc.

According to reports in Bloomberg, he has been hatching a plan to bring back the chain to toy-makers and other companies, apparently his idea at an industry conference this week.

The plans aren't public yet, but the new stores are set to be quite different to the ones we're used to.

Apparently, they will be about 10,000-square feet, roughly a third of the size of the brand's usual outlets that closed last year.

The shops will be more experience based, said to hopefully include things like kids play areas, to give them more of a USP and entice people away from online shopping.

Startup costs could be minimised with a different business model, which is known in the business world as 'consignment inventory model'.

It would essentially mean that toymakers ship goods but not get paid until customers buy them.

This is promising news either way, and will also give hope to the people who lost their jobs when the toy shop closed at the end of April last year.

PA

Of course, these things happen for a reason - with many of us now shopping online.

Our spending habits led to 106 stores closing in the UK and the loss of 3,000 jobs, taking the magic of shouting 'I want that' at literally everything away from today's youth.

In the US, 800 stores were closed, resulting in 33,000 job losses.

Although the photos of a deflated looking Geoffrey the Giraffe were pulling at all our heartstrings last year, it wasn't all doom and gloom; an anonymous donor at a North Carolina store bought $1 million (£757,000) worth of left over stock and donated it to local kids.

The new, revamped version of the stores will hopefully give the brand the edge it needs to survive on the high street.

Topics: Business

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@amelialadbible