The only two Toys R Us stores that started in November 2019 as a part of a little U.S. comeback effort by the iconic toy series have closed.
The Toys R Us store in the Galleria mall in Houston shuttered on Jan. 15, while you in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, closed Tuesday, based Tru Kids, a new entity made as it obtained Toys R Us’ intellectual property throughout its liquidation in 2018.
The moves come as bodily shops, especially mall-based places, have been hurt by poor customer traffic amid the pandemic.
The Toys R Us site remains in operation.
“As a consequence of COVID, we made the tactical choice to pivot our shop strategy to new places and platforms which have improved visitors,” Tru Kids said in an emailed statement Friday. “Consumer demand from the toy group and also for Toys R Us stays strong and we are going to continue to put money into the stations where the consumer would like to experience our new.”
Both shuttered places were approximately 6,500 square feet — roughly one-seventh of the magnitude of the older Toys R U shops and highlighted hands on adventures. Employees unwrapped toys, for example, so that children could try them out.
During a trip to the New Jersey shop in late 2019, children shot Nerf blasters and hauled in a circle to get narrative time while Geoffrey, the chain’s mascot, revolved round. These encounters have become shunned at a time when shoppers need to comply by social-distancing rules.
Tru Kids Claims that out of the U.S., it functions Toys R Us, and Babies R Us branded shops and e-commerce websites through licensing associates in over 25 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Bloomberg News first reported the information of this shop closures.