Toys ‘R’ Us makes Bay Area return with two new stores

Toys ‘R’ Us was every 90’s kid’s favorite store.

And ask anyone to sing the theme song, and we’d all sing along.

Now, our children will get the chance to meet Geoffrey the Giraffe all over again.

According to SF Gate, Toys ‘R’ Us will be returning to the Bay Area.

Well, okay. It may not be the big-box store you remember.

It’ll be a store-within-a-store.

Specifically, in Macy’s.

SFGate quotes the press release from Macy’s chief merchandising officer, Nata Dvir:

We hope Toys ‘R’ Us kids of all ages discover the joy of exploration and play within our shops and families create special memories together.

The brand originally went bankrupt in 2017.

The Fall of Toys ‘R’ Us

At the time, the general consensus was that Toys ‘R’ Us was struggling to keep up with the advent of online shopping.

Indeed, the company even cited Amazon and Walmart in its court filing, claiming they couldn’t compete with their lower prices.

Unfortunately, the truth was a bit murkier.

In 2005, Toys ‘R’ Us was bought by private equity groups Bain Capital, Vornado Realty Trust, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

At the time, the company had been profitable.

Within a few months, positions had been eliminated, schedules had been shuffled, and workers benefits had been slashed.

According to the Atlantic, Toys ‘R’ Us were in debt up to $1.86 billion prior to their buyout.

After? They were on the hook for $5 billion.

Even when the company was able to generate upwards of $11.1 billion in sales…

The majority of the revenue was being “consumed” by interest expense.

And while the company struggled to compete with other online-based stores, The Atlantic says Toys ‘R’ Us’ interest expense “handcuffed” their ability to adapt.

At the time, thousands of retailers were shuttering their doors.

The so-called “retail apocalypse.”

And a full two-thirds of those companies were owned by private equity firms.

Toys ‘R’ Us rebounds

Flash forward to 2021, and a new vision for the store emerged.

Now owned by WHP Global, the toy brand has partnered with other big-box stores, such as Macys, to re-create physical toy departments.

They’re planning two locations for the Bay Area:

One in the Macy’s in Union Square, San Francisco.

And another at the Macy’s in Valley Fair in San Jose.

And while they’re hinting that something “bigger” could be coming soon…

Every 90’s kid will be singing the theme song to our children.

Read more on this story at SFGate.com