Tru Kids to Bring Toys ‘R’ Us Back this Holiday Season

Small-format, experiential focused TRU stores are coming to New Jersey and Texas by year’s end.

July 18, 2019

Tru Kids to Bring Toys ‘R’ Us Back this Holiday Season

Tru Kids plans to bring Toys ‘R’ Us stores back to the U.S. in time for this year’s holiday season.

The toymaker plans to work with b8ta, a software-powered experiential retailer, to create curated and immersive smaller-format stores across the country. Each store will include interactive elements with new events and activities every day. Shoppers will also be able to see toys displayed out of the box and visit different brand stations that embrace STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) learning.

Leverage b8ta’s Retail as a Service (RaaS) platform, brands at the new stores will be able to showcase their products in a more interactive environment. Brands also will have the opportunity to design custom experiences and branded shops to help them create memorable experiences for parents and children.

“With a 70-year heritage, the Toys ‘R’ Us brand is beloved by kids and families around the world, and continues to play a leading role in the hearts and minds of today’s consumers,” says

Richard Barry, chief executive officer, Tru Kids. “We have an incredible opportunity to entirely reimagine the Toys “R” Us brand in the U.S. and are thrilled to partner with b8ta and key toy vendors to create a new, highly-engaging retail experience designed for kids, families and to better fit within today’s retail environment.

Tru Kids’ first two Toys “R” Us stores will open this holiday season in the Galleria in Houston, Texas, and the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. Brand partners and experiences for the new locations will be announced in the coming weeks.

The new store launches come after

Toys “R” Us filed bankruptcy

last year.