After shuttering all its stores last year, Toys R Us is reportedly set to make a comeback for the 2019 holiday season.
The toy retailer plans to open six U.S. stores and an e-commerce site later this year, Bloomberg reported.
Former Toys R Us executive Richard Barry has been trying to bring back the chain by pitching the idea to toymakers, Bloomberg reported, citing sources who asked to remain anonymous. Barry is currently president and CEO of Tru Kids Brands, which bought the Toys R Us brand earlier this year.
The six stores would be 10,000-square-feet -- about one-third the size of the traditional Toys R Us outlets -- but would have play areas and other "experiences," according to Bloomberg. To reduce startup costs, the stores would have a consignment inventory model in which toymakers ship goods but don't get paid until consumers buy them.
MGA Entertainment Inc., a toymaker that Bloomberg reported is one of the best-performing in the world, is reportedly on board to sell at the new Toys R Us shops. The company’s properties include Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise! and Bratz dolls.
“This market needs a self-standing toy store, that’s for sure,” said MGA Entertainment Inc. CEO Isaac Larian. “We will sell them inventory.”
Toys R Us began liquidating in March 2018, and closed all 735 of its U.S. stores by the end of June 2018, according to previous Cox Media Group reports.
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