TOY JOY
Iconic 90s shop to return to more high streets this year after disappearing – full list of locations
We also reveal which other high street names have made a comeback
AN iconic 90s shop is making an even bigger comeback to high streets this year.
Toys R Us is opening 30 more stores over the summer - following the success of opening nine new locations last year.
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The popular toy brand opened up nine new shops in 2023 after vanishing from the high street in 2018.
However, the new stores are slightly different as they are "shop-in-shops" and are located inside WHSmith stores.
Shoppers can browse and play with toys in-store and each branch will feature a demonstration area where customers can try products out-of-the-box and see how toys and games work before purchasing.
Customers can then pick their toys off the shelf as normal and go to the WHSmith tills to pay.
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The first Toys R Us store to open in a WHSmith branch was in York (Monks Cross retail park) on June 10.
Since then, eight more locations followed - we have the full list below.
Full list of Toys R Us locations already open
Nine Toys R Us locations are already open inside a number of WHSmith stores.
- York (Monks Cross retail park)
- Oxford (Cornmarket Street)
- Cheltenham (High Street)
- Canterbury (St Geroge Street)
- Chelmsford (High Street)
- Cwmbran (The Mall)
- Poole (Towngate Shopping Centre)
- Reading (Broad Street)
- Solihull (Mell Square)
A spokesperson for WHSmith told The Sun: "We will be extending our partnership with Toys“R”Us in the second half.
"We have recently signed a new exclusive agreement to deliver a further 30 store in-stores by the end of this financial year.
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"This follows a successful launch last year and will provide customers in these locations with an improved toys and games offer."
We have not been provided with a list of the new locations but will update here as soon as we have more information.
Toys R Us was founded in 1957 by American businessman Charles P Lazarus.
It quickly expanded from its first store in Wayne, New Jersey, to become a chain of more than 1,500 stores worldwide.
Toys R Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe - originally known as Dr G Raffe - was introduced in 1969.
However, the company filed for bankruptcy in the US in September 2017 and announced the closure of hundreds of American stores.
Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down
Bankruptcy announcements soon followed in Canada and the UK in 2018.
At the time the retailer had 100 stores in the UK and all of them shut down, making around 2,000 workers redundant.
However, in October 2021 the company announced plans for a relaunch.
Owner WHP Global signed an agreement with Toys R Us Australia to lead the brand's revival in the UK.
A new online store launched in September 2022 and started selling over 14,000 toys from over 100 different suppliers.
We visited one of the biggest Toys R Us shop-in-shops on Broad Street in Reading which was one of six to open in July 2023.
Our reporter was not expecting too much at first but was pleasantly surprised - read our exclusive report to find out more.
What other retailers have made a comeback?
It has been a tough time for retailers since Covid and the last few years have seen many vanish from our high streets.
The rising cost of living and expensive rents have all been playing a part in the demise of some of our much-loved high street names.
However, as with Toys R Us, some have managed to make a comeback.
Last year much-loved retailer Wilko fell into administration and closed all of its shops in September 2023, leaving Brits heartbroken.
However, a glimmer of hope was given when the brand name was scooped up by The Range, in a £5million deal - meaning that the name would live on.
Customers were overjoyed after learning the store was being relaunched online, and even more so when in a surprising turn of events, physical branches started to open up again.
Locations have since popped up Plymouth, Exeter, Luton, St Albans and Rotherham.
In October last year, Paperchase also made a return after closing all of its 134 shops and concessions earlier in the year.
Fans of the brand were devastated when the retailer disappeared from the high street in April after falling into administration.
However, supermarket giant Tesco stepped in and bought the rights to the brand and then went on to launch it in some of its stores.
A total of 261 Tesco stores now stock Paperchase products - we have the full list.
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More recently fashion retailer M&Co who also closed all of its stores after collapsing into administration announced it would be opening a brand new location.
The new store in Newton Mearns, Scotland, will be opening where a previous store was located before going into administration.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre's director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is "less bad" than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
"The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend," Prof Bamfield said.
"Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult."
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023's biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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