Toys "R" Us to Open 120 US Stores, Betting on Grown-Up Fans

Toys "R" Us will open 120 stores across the U.S. this holiday season, nine years after filing for bankruptcy and shutting all of its more than 800 locations nationwide. The rollout would bring the chain to 160 standalone U.S. stores for the holidays, with many new locations expected to stay open well into 2027, though the company said it will evaluate performance and shopper response.

The expansion targets a customer base that now extends well beyond children and parents. "Our customer base now extends well beyond kids and parents," Jamie Uitdenhowen, the retailer's executive VP at WHP Global, told Fortune in a statement. "Adults are increasingly buying toys, collectibles, and trading cards for themselves, and fandom has become an important part of the category."

The timing tracks a real shift in spending. U.S. toy sales rose 17% in the first half of 2026, while sales of toys bought for adults climbed 25%, according to data by Circana. The Sonny Angel craze, Labubu collectors lining up for blind boxes, and LEGO's adult-oriented flower bouquets and display sets all point to the same trend: grown-up shoppers with grown-up budgets.

Toys "R" Us is trying to give those shoppers a familiar place to browse, even if the next must-have toy first caught their eye online. "We're not trying to recreate the Toys 'R' Us of the past," Uitdenhowen said. The company plans to sell toys tied to popular characters and fandoms, and some stores will feature Creator Studios — spaces where toy brands and creators can film videos, unveil products, and host launch events. Fans can attend events in stores featuring these studios, while the videos reach people watching from home.

The model echoes Jellycat, the plush brand founded in 1999 that turned in-store experiences into social-media events worth filming and sharing. Toys "R" Us is betting the studios can make toy launches similarly shareable, both inside the store and online.

The stores shoppers remember are not the ones coming back. Gerald Storch, who led the chain from 2006 to 2013 and now runs a retail consulting firm, told Fortune he expects the new stores to be smaller and require less investment than the traditional locations he once ran, comparing them to pop-up style stores in malls and shopping centers.

Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData, told Fortune nostalgia is only part of what draws adults back to toys. "People are looking more for those kinds of craft-based, quiet activities where they can just take a moment out and sort of disconnect from the noisy world."

Saunders also noted the original chain did not collapse simply because shoppers lost interest. In 2005, Bain Capital, KKR, and real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust bought the chain in a $6.6 billion deal financed heavily with debt. By the time Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017, it was carrying more than $5 billion in debt. That left little financial room to adapt as shopping habits changed.

Storch still sees an advantage in a brand people remember. "The brand's incredibly powerful," Storch told Fortune, calling the expansion a "smart move." But he cautioned against measuring the comeback by store count alone. By his estimate, 100 of the smaller stores might generate the sales volume of just a handful of traditional Toys "R" Us locations.

The chain also faces a familiar squeeze: parents shopping for their children still care about price and convenience. Saunders said that can send them to Amazon, Walmart, or Target, where they can have toys delivered or pick them up alongside everything else on their shopping lists. Toys "R" Us has to give families — and its newly grown-up fans — a reason to make a separate trip back through the rainbow-colored doors.

The verdict will come quickly. "I'm sure everyone will make an assessment after the holidays of how many of these stores will stay open," Storch said.