Elgin Area Chamber Of Commerce: Toys R Us Attempts A Comeback With New US Flagship

Elgin IL

21 December, 2021

2:30 AM

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Press release from the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce: December 20, 2021 By Linda Moss CoStar News   Yehuda Shmidman gleefully recalls visiting Toys R Us when he was growing up in New Jersey. Now his company owns the brand and is trying to resurrect the chain, and reinvent the American toy store, with an updated format that includes a cafe, an ice cream parlor, a two-story slide, a performing magician and a selfie station with a giant statue of Geoffrey, the giraffe mascot. That's what customers will find this weekend when Shmidman's company, WHP Global of Manhattan, is slated to open the U.S. flagship for Toys R Us at the American Dream entertainment-and-shopping complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Its debut will be the latest of several attempts to revive the chain, which was liquidated in 2018 after being buried by a mound of debt. American Dream's Toys R Us is the retailer's only U.S. stand-alone brick-and-mortar site. Several attempts to bring back Toys R Us have already cratered, including the opening of two stores at malls in Paramus, New Jersey, and Houston by the brand's prior owner that remained operating for about a year. Shmidman said he has a winning formula now: not only creating a stand-alone U.S. store that promotes engagement with its young patrons but finding a shortcut to expand the retailer's domestic brick-and-mortar presence. That jump-start is a deal to open Toys R Us shops-in-shops within about 400 Macy's department stores next year. Whether WHP Global will succeed where others failed remains to be seen. The company faces a big challenge: U.S. shoppers, particularly cash-strapped parents of young children, often like to bargain hunt, and that often translates to more online purchases. The chain also faces competition from retailers Amazon, Target, Walmart and Costco. But Shmidman, 40, WHP Global and Toys R Us chairman and CEO, said he's optimistic. The revamped Toys R Us has retained the retailer's best attributes, which he claims have an emotional resonance, while giving the store an update for the times. It's aimed straight at the online competition by making the toy store a destination for families that, once inside, may end up buying more merchandise after children have played with it. "I remember walking into a Toys R Us like it was yesterday — the primary colors, the orange, the red, the blue — really looking up at the ceiling and thinking I didn't know there were this many toys in the world," Shmidman told CoStar News during a press preview of the flagship on Thursday. "That emotion is what we're capturing and trying to bring back for everybody. Everyone has their own Toys R Us story." WHP Global acquired a controlling stake in Toys R Us earlier this year from the company that bought the chain out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. WHP Global's portfolio of consumer brands includes Anne Klein and Joseph Abboud. Different Retail Model The Toys R Us flagship is very different from the old Toys R Us model, which was basically big-box stores. The flagship has two stories, is only 20,000 square feet and is tucked in a mega mall, developed by Canadian Triple Five, that's chock-full of entertainment options. Those include an indoor Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park, an indoor DreamWorks Water Park, an indoor ski dome and an aquarium. Paul Ghermezian, an executive at his family's company, Triple Five, recalled that American Dream, which has 3 million square feet, had the original Toys R Us lined up as a tenant early on. Then the bankruptcy, liquidation and different ownership happened.   Geoffrey the giraffe, the Toys R Us mascot, greets guests at a media preview of the store's new flagship at American Dream. (James Leynse/CoStar) Mall owner Triple Five pioneered so-called experiential retail at its developments, offering "unique experiences that you can't get anywhere," and that vision aligns with what WHP Group is trying to do with Toys R Us, according to Ghermezian. "It's reinvention of the brand," he said. A two-story slide is one of the features at the flagship Toys R Us at American Dream. But the slide isn't quite ready for riders yet. (James Leynse/CoStar)   WHP Group's strategy for Toys R Us in the United States is comprehensive and multipronged, "a full mega plan," according to Shmidman, one that's bolstered by the fact that there are over 900 of the retailer's stores internationally. "This is an important context, because the Toys R Us brand is vibrant for us in Asia, parts of Europe, the Middle East and other areas. What's different today is we're coming back in one fell swoop," he said. Other Stores Now, there will be a global flagship at American Dream as well as the partnership with Macy's. Toys R Us also opened a new flagship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday that is also two stories and 20,000 square feet, according to Shmidman. Asked if any more U.S. stand-alone Toys R Us stores are planned, he said, "Nothing that we're announcing just yet." The store has statues for customers to pose with for selfies. (James Leynse/CoStar)   The Toys R Us at American Dream has more than 10,000 toys, according to Shmidman. There are sections for magic kits — where the magician is stationed — candy, board games, books, science kits, arts and crafts, Lego, Matchbox cars and a wall full of Barbie dolls. There are product demonstrations. The bright orange slide that snakes down from the second floor to the first floor won't be open in time for Christmas, but it's scheduled to be ready next year. "We have a number of interactive moments," Shmidman said. "You're going to see these throughout the store. You're going to see them upstairs. You're going to see them here. So this is just incredible engagement. No. 2 is, what we're doing in the cafe. ... It's really a kids' cafe in terms of the color, in terms of the branding, in terms of the way it's set up with Geoffrey, in terms of the window, in terms of the selfie Geoffrey right there. As a kid at heart or a kid, this is a dream." Those elements "all engulf the 10,000-plus toys," according to Shmidman. "If you want to walk into the world of toys and browse, you've got to come here," he said. WHP Global has given a local company a license to operate the new Toys R Us store, but it is keeping a close watch on the development of the flagship and maintaining the brand's integrity, according to Shmidman. "Every time you see Geoffrey, every time you see an element, all that is very, very particular," he said. "Nothing in here is by chance. Everything in here is specific and it's from learning from 70 years of history from Charles Lazarus [the Toys R Us founder] and it's also best practices from the 900 stores today. Remember, we've got a lot of data on how stores should operate." The American Dream Toys R Us will be open on Sundays, as "an entertainment store," according to Shmidman. That's in contrast to most other retail in Bergen County, and at American Dream, because of the jurisdiction's blue laws. Source: www.CoStar.com This press release was produced by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author's own.