Toys ‘R’ Us Plans 120 Store Openings Despite Vendor Financing Tension

By Olivia Hart

How large is the expansion?

Toys “R” Us plans to open 120 stores by Thanksgiving, according to the New York Post, in a plan that would take its standalone U.S. footprint to 160 locations. The Post reported the expansion was announced in September.

The Post said most of the new stores would be temporary mall locations, although the total counts standalone U.S. stores. According to the Post, Go! Retail Group operates the chain under a license from brand owner WHP Global.

The Post provides no capital budget, full location list, sales target or explanation of how long the temporary sites will remain open. Takeaway: The reported expansion raises the store count sharply while remaining weighted toward temporary mall space.

How much financing would vendors provide?

Go! Retail Group is asking vendors for up to 180 days to pay after goods are delivered, the Post reported. The Post describes 30 to 90 days as the industry norm, making the maximum request twice the longest customary term and six times the shortest.

In practical terms, suppliers could wait roughly three to six months for payment, versus one to three months under the normal range. Many suppliers still remember Toys “R” Us’s 2017 bankruptcy and 2018 liquidation, which the Post said caused millions in losses across the toy industry. The report does not quantify those losses or connect them to a named supplier.

The Post used a Jenga metaphor, noting that some vendors who watched the Toys “R” Us tower fall in 2017 are not eager to stack it again. It names no supplier that has withheld goods or ended a relationship. Takeaway: Under the terms the Post reported, Go! Retail would shift more inventory financing onto suppliers as the network expands.

What is driving demand?

Toys “R” Us is counting on adult shoppers, who now account for 55% of toy sales, according to Newsweek. That makes adults the majority of the customer base as the retailer expands its store footprint.

The Post also reported 17% U.S. toy-sales growth in the first half of 2026, the largest increase in six years. At that rate, sales added $17 per $100 generated in the prior-year period. Neither Newsweek nor the Post ties that growth to temporary mall stores or adult shoppers. Takeaway: The sales rebound supports the category, but it does not forecast results for the new stores.

Where do the accounts differ?

“They should be the ones financing the business, not their vendors,” Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman told the Post. Foreman’s company makes Tonka Trucks and Care Bears, and his objection centers on who carries the working-capital cost of stocking the new shops.

Go! Retail CEO Gideon Schlessinger says the company has not seen hesitation from suppliers. That assertion sits uneasily with the Post’s reporting that some toy makers are nervous about the expansion.

Schlessinger addressed reluctance, but the report does not show how many vendors accepted terms of up to 180 days or whether any refused to ship. Nervousness is not a supply disruption, and the Post offers no evidence of one. Takeaway: The Post documents vendor unease, while Schlessinger reports no hesitation and no acceptance count.

Can the plan hold together by Thanksgiving?

The next test is operational, not demographic: whether Go! Retail can open 120 stores by Thanksgiving, most of them temporary mall locations, and obtain enough merchandise to stock them. The Post does not disclose a store-opening budget, the number of vendors that have agreed to extended terms or a sales target for the new locations.

The Post’s 17% market-growth figure supplies a favorable category backdrop, but it cannot resolve the financing disagreement between the operator and suppliers. Takeaway: By Thanksgiving, actual openings and vendor acceptance will show whether Go! Retail can expand without placing the financing burden back on suppliers.