TRU to Open 260 Holiday In-Store Shops, 80 Pop-Ups

By early next month, close to 350 Toys“R”Us holiday-themed shops will have opened nationwide, including 80 pop-up stores in malls and shopping centers. The remaining locations will be in-store “Holiday Express” shops in Babies“R”Us stores. The 4,000-square-foot mall pop-ups will feature dolls, action figures and educational toys. The shops will close in mid-January and returns will be accepted at both Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores.

The Babies“R”Us store-within-a-store toy shops mark the first time a TRU-devoted area has been present in the baby store. The 2,500-square-foot area will feature an expanded toy space, almost triple the space normally allotted in BRU stores and will include a variety of infant and preschool toys, as well as offerings for older kids.

“We’re aggressively expanding our toy-selling footprint to make Toys”R”Us more accessible than ever for busy shoppers this holiday season,” says Jerry Storch, chairman and chief executive officer of Toys”R”Us. “At the same time, the foot traffic in these popular shopping destinations provides a considerable opportunity to assert our toy authority position, increase our brand penetration and drive incremental sales during this important time of year.”

Earlier this month, Toys“R”Us acquired the KB Toys brand, including KBToys.com and all other trademark and intellectual property rights. KB Toys, which ceased operations in February after filing Chapter 11 in December 2008, once held the position as the largest mall-based toy retailer in the United States and was the second-largest toy retailer behind TRU.

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