Toys 'R' Us is opening 120 stores across the U.S. this holiday season, nine years after the company filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its more than 800 stores nationwide.
The chain is not trying to recreate the old model. Jamie Uitdenhowen, executive vice president at WHP Global, said the customer base now extends well beyond kids and parents. Adults are buying toys, collectibles and trading cards for themselves, she said, and fandom has become an important part of the category.
The expansion comes as toy demand is improving. U.S. toy sales rose 17% in the first half of 2026, while sales of toys bought for adults climbed 25%, according to Circana data.
Toys 'R' Us is also planning stores tied to popular characters and fandoms. Some locations will feature Creator Studios, where toy brands and creators can film videos, unveil products and host launch events. The company is betting that in-store events and online sharing can reinforce each other.
The new footprint will not mirror the chain's old scale. Gerald Storch, who led Toys 'R' Us from 2006 to 2013 and now runs a retail consulting firm, said he expects the new stores to be smaller and require less investment than the traditional locations he once ran. He compared them to pop-up stores in malls and shopping centers.
Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData, said nostalgia is only part of the appeal. He said some adults are looking for craft-based, quiet activities that let them disconnect from a noisy world.
Saunders also pointed to the old balance sheet. Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado Realty Trust bought the chain in 2005 in a $6.6 billion deal financed heavily with debt. By the time Toys 'R' Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017, it had more than $5 billion in debt. That left little room to adapt as shopping habits changed.
The challenge now is familiar. Saunders said parents still care about price and convenience, which can send them to Amazon, Walmart or Target, where toys can be delivered or picked up with everything else on the list. The company has to give families and adult fans a reason to make a separate trip.
Storch said the brand remains powerful and called the expansion a smart move. He also warned against judging the comeback by store count alone, saying 100 of the smaller stores could produce the sales volume of only a handful of traditional Toys 'R' Us locations.
The market has already voted on the next retail winner. Convenience, price and scale keep winning because they reward capital discipline and punish sentimentality. Toys 'R' Us is trying to turn memory into margin, and that is a harder trade than it looks.
Still, there is a lesson here for retailers and investors alike. Brands do not die only when shoppers stop caring. They die when leverage leaves them no room to adapt. If this comeback works, it will be because the company is leaning into free enterprise realities: smaller stores, sharper targeting and a customer who still pays for novelty.
