Toys R Us Returns to Roosevelt Mall
Toys R Us is coming back to Roosevelt Mall. The toy chain is opening a new standalone store at the Northeast Philadelphia mall in time for the holidays, along with another new store in Center City.
The return was announced in September in partnership with Go! Retail Group, which now owns the brand. It is part of a nationwide comeback that will add 120 stores and bring the chain to 160 locations open before Christmas. Forty standalone stores are already open, and 21 Pennsylvania locations are confirmed so far.
The Roosevelt Mall store is one of several new locations around the region. Others are planned for King of Prussia Mall, the Plaza at King of Prussia, Montgomery Mall, Willow Grove, Springfield, Exton Square, and Oxford Valley, along with spots in Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg’s Capital City Mall, and several Pittsburgh-area malls. The full statewide list has not been released, so more locations could still be added closer to the holidays.
The new stores are not trying to be the giant toy warehouses shoppers remember. According to Patch, the chain is focusing on collectibles, fandom-specific merchandise, and product launch events, betting that in-person shopping still has pull even with Amazon a click away. Some locations will also include candy shops and cafes, though not every store will get those extras.
“This holiday season represents an extraordinary expansion for Toys’R’Us in the U.S.,” Gideon Schlessinger, CEO of Go! Retail Group, said in a statement shared with Patch.
The comeback comes nearly a decade after the chain filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and closed or sold all 735 of its U.S. stores, weighed down by roughly $5 billion in debt and competition from Amazon, Walmart, and Target. The brand survived overseas and later returned through a partnership with Macy’s.
There is no opening date yet for the Roosevelt Mall store. The company has not announced opening dates for the individual stores, though the New York Post reports the chain is aiming to have the 120 new stores open by Thanksgiving. The same report says some toymakers are nervous about the rollout, with Go! Retail Group asking vendors for up to 180 days to pay for goods after delivery.
For Northeast shoppers, the return means a dedicated toy store is coming back to Cottman Avenue just as holiday shopping picks up. How big the store will be, and exactly when its doors open, is still to be announced.
