Santa Claus isn’t the only one coming to town this Christmas - Geoffrey the Giraffe is back too! Beloved children’s toy retailer Toys “R” Us is back with an official new store in New Jersey just in time for the holiday season.
The first store of the relaunched company opened just last week on November 27 at the Garden State Mall in Paramus, New Jersey. This comes just a little over a year after the company filed for bankruptcy and announced the closure of all of its locations. However, at the beginning of 2019, the company remerged from bankruptcy under the new and rebranded company name of “Tru Kids.”
The Paramus location has billed itself as a “concept store” as a predecessor for more stores to come. The company has already confirmed at least ten more locations across the country which will all open their doors throughout the coming year. These new stores will be smaller than what previous Toys “R” Us shoppers may remember, with each new store estimating about 6,000 square feet in size. These new locations will will feature more play-based areas to allow shoppers a chance to interact with the merchandise.
True to their word, photos from the new location’s grand opening show plenty of interactive spaces, including attractions such as “Geoffrey’s Tree House” and the “Play Around the Theater” movie theater. A Geoffrey mascot walked around the store on opening day to interact with young shoppers and join in with kids on the toy-filled fun.
Tru Kids President and CEO Richard Barry spoke at the store’s grand opening. He was joined by b8ta President Phillip Raub, General Manager of Westfield Garden State Mall Jay Daly, President of Toy Retail Showrooms Jamie Uitdenhowen, and Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera.
The Paramus location also comes just after the recent launch of the Toys “R” Us Adventure, an immersive “vast indoor wonderland” created in collaboration with the makers behind the popular Instagram-friendly pop-up museum Candytopia. Currently, the Toys “R” Us Adventure sports two locations - one in Atlanta and another in Chicago - illustrating how the company is spreading out the relaunched Toys “R” Us’s across the nation.
The Toys “R” Us in Paramus, New Jersey is currently open for business.
Source: Nintendo Wire and USA Today
