Toys R Us to Open 120 New US Stores by 2026 Holiday Season

Toys R Us plans to open 120 new standalone stores across the United States, pushing its standalone footprint to 160 locations by the 2026 holiday season. The company announced the expansion in partnership with Go! Retail Group.

The new stores will sit alongside the brand's current U.S. retail base: 40 standalone locations plus Toys R Us shops inside Macy's stores nationwide. The deal marks the most aggressive brick-and-mortar push since the retailer liquidated its U.S. store fleet following its 2017 bankruptcy.

"This is a major moment for Toys R Us as we significantly expand our presence across the United States," said Jamie Uitdenhowen, Toys R Us Executive VP at WHP Global, in a statement.

"Together with our incredible partners, we are growing Toys R Us in unique ways to meet customers wherever they are, whether that's at a standalone store in their hometown, inside Macy's, at the airport or at a Navy Exchange."

The strategy treats physical retail as a portfolio of formats rather than a single store model. Standalone locations anchor the comeback. Macy's shop-in-shops, airport outlets and Navy Exchange units extend the brand into high-traffic venues.

From 1,500 stores to liquidation

Founded in 1948 as a baby furniture store in Washington, D.C., Toys R Us grew into a global retailer of toys, clothing and baby products. At its peak, the company operated more than 1,500 stores plus e-commerce businesses in over 35 countries.

The collapse came fast. Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017 to restructure its U.S. and Canada businesses, reporting approximately $5 billion in debt. At the time, the retailer ran roughly 1,600 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores worldwide under the ownership of an investment group that included Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Vornado Realty Trust.

The restructuring failed. Less than a year after filing, Toys R Us moved to liquidate its U.S. stores.

The brand survived the liquidation through changes in ownership and licensing. WHP Global, the current owner, has now chosen scale over scarcity: 120 new stores represent a tripling of the standalone fleet, not a pilot.

The bet behind the expansion

The move reverses years of retreat for a name that consumers had largely stopped expecting to see again. It also tests whether a brand built on the in-store toy-shopping experience can win back traffic in a market that pushed it into bankruptcy once already.

If the openings stay on schedule, shoppers will find 160 standalone Toys R Us stores across the country by the 2026 holiday season — a milestone that would restore much of the physical presence the brand lost after 2018.