Good news toy-lovers, you can now shop at Toys "R" Us again ... kind of. The famous retail toy chain has relaunched its website. But as visitors will quickly find out, you are technically just shopping at Target. (Good thing that Target has great selection of some of our favorite toys.)
In a joint statement, the parent companies of Target and Toys "R" Us announced that they are teaming up together to run the Toys "R" Us website. When you visit the new Toys "R" Us website, you'll be able to find reviews of recently released toys, lists of latest toy and game trends, and breakdowns of DIY activities for kids. But if you click on a certain toy in order to buy it, the site redirects you to that items page on Target's website to complete the purchase.
“Target’s leadership in toys, digital and fulfillment are an unbeatable platform for Toys "R" Us to reconnect with their fans while we introduce them to the ease and convenience of shopping at Target,” said Nikhil Nayar, the senior vice president of merchandising at Target in a release. “By applying our capabilities in a new way with Toys "R" Us, we can serve even more toy shoppers, drive new growth, and build on our toy leadership.”
This news comes as a surprise after many considered Target to be a rival of Toys "R" Us before the latter filed for bankruptcy in 2017. The company laid off tens of thousands of employees and closed all of its stores in the US and UK the following year.
"Our U.S. strategy is to bring back the Toys "R" Us brand in a modern way through a strong experiential and content-rich omnichannel concept," said Richard Barry, CEO of Toys "R" Us's parent company Tru Kids Brands, in the same release. "Target will help us deliver on that experience with its toy assortment, digital strength and ability to deliver orders to shoppers in a matter of hours."
Tru Kids Brands, which acquired Toys "R" Us after they filed for bankruptcy, is reopening two brick and mortar toy stores in November. These stores relaunching in Paramus, New Jersey and in Houston, Texas will definitely have an emphasis on the "experimental" concepts Barry mentioned.
Last summer, Tru Kids inked a deal with the start-up tech company b8ta for an "experimental retail experience." In this new setup, toy brands will pay for space to sell within the store, but will pocket all of the revenue made there.