Toys R Us to open its first stand-alone store on Long Island, at Tanger Deer Park, since chain's 2018 shutdown

Toys R Us’ expansion will include returning a stand-alone store to Long Island this year, as the brand’s owner focuses on growing the iconic retailer after its demise several years ago.

Just in time for the holiday season, Toys R Us will be opening 30 stores, 10 of which will be permanent stores in at least eight states, including one at Tanger Outlets Deer Park, according to a statement from the retailer. The remaining 20 will be seasonal pop-ups opening in 16 states.

The Deer Park store will open in a 7,000-square-foot space at 152 The Arches Circle in late November, a Toys R Us spokeswoman said. It will be Toys R Us’ first stand-alone store on Long Island since the retailer called it quits nationwide in 2018.

WHP Global, a Manhattan-based brand acquisition and management firm, bought the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands in 2021.

WHP is making calculated growth decisions as the demand for toys has lost some momentum due to video games and beauty products grabbing more interest from youngsters, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser for Circana, a Chicago-headquartered market research firm.

"Key regional locations will be the key to success. Making the toy destination a great experience rather than just a purchase is critical for success as online makes toy purchases more convenient than ever," he said in an email. 

WHP already has opened Toys R Us stores that are what it calls “global flagships” at the American Dream retail and entertainment complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the Mall of America in the Minneapolis area, as well as stores at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Chicago Premium Outlets and Tanger Outlets San Marcos in Texas. All five stores opened between December 2021 and November 2024.

Also, eight Toys R Us stores have opened at U.S. military bases since October 2024. 

“This next phase of growth brings the magic of Toys R Us to even more communities across the country — just in time for the holidays — and delivers the joyful shopping experience that has made us a trusted destination for generations,” Jamie Uitdenhowen, executive vice president of Toys R Us at WHP Global, said in the statement.

The Toys R Us stores will feature an assortment of the season's popular toy brands, including LEGO, Barbie, Hot Wheels, NERF and Paw Patrol, the retailer said in the statement.

Since buying the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands, WHP has been trying to capitalize on the iconic retail names by partnering with retailers.

For the new store openings, WHP is partnering with Austin, Texas-based Go! Retail Group, which operates the stores. The Texas company also operates its own toy and game stores as Go! Toys & Games and other names in malls.

WHP also has a partnership that put a Toys R Us inside each of the 424 Macy’s department stores in the United States, including the seven on Long Island, under an initiative started in 2022.

In March 2024, long-struggling Kohl’s announced its exclusive licensing agreement in the United States with WHP to bring Babies R Us sections — with baby gear, clothes, furniture and other items — to 200 of the more than 1,100 Kohl's department stores.

Nine of the 11 Kohl’s stores on Long Island have Babies R Us sections.

Toys R Us was once the dominant toy retailer in the United States.

But after being hobbled by $5 billion in debt and hurt by competition from Amazon and other online retailers, Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys R Us Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017. 

After filing for bankruptcy, Toys R Us Inc. closed all of the 800-plus stores it had remaining, including Babies R Us locations, in 2018.

When the company filed for bankruptcy, there were 12 Toys R Us and four Babies R Us stores on Long Island — some were combination stores.

In 2021, WHP bought the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands from Tru Kids Inc., which had bought the brands in a liquidation sale in 2018.

The Toys R Us brand now generates more than $2 billion in global retail sales annually through more than 1,500 stores and e-commerce businesses in 35 countries, according to WHP. 

Some of those are stores that existed before the bankruptcy, but they were not affected by the legal process because they operated under separate international licenses and joint ventures, the Toys R Us spokeswoman said.

Also, some are stores for which WHP signed licenses outside the United States after acquiring the Toys R Us brand, she said.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.