Attention Toys R Us Kids: The Toy Superstore Is Back

Paul Ghermezian, a member of the family of mall czars that built the American Dream mega-mall in the New Jersey Meadowlands, admitted he was quite jealous when his son saw the new flagship Toys R Us store at American Dream and exclaimed “Dad this is amazing. I love this place.”

“We have an amusement park, we have a water park and here he’s in a toy store saying ‘I love this’,” Ghermezian said.

Ghermezian was witnessing the phenomenon that helped Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus build his retail empire. For kids, seeing more than 10,000 toys stacked high can be the ultimate experience.

The American Toys R Us has a two-story slide, scattered play areas, and a small cafe that will serve ice cream, but like the old days of Toys R Us, the main experience for kids will be seeing a huge amount of toys all in one place and begging their parents to buy at least one of them.

Ghermezian, his extended family, and a crowd of invited guests that included celebrities, star influencers, business partners, and the Toys R Us giraffe mascot Geoffrey, got an advance look today at what is, for the time being at least, the only Toys R Us superstore in the United States.

The store is expected to open to the public this weekend, following a media preview Thursday.

The 20,000 square-foot, two-story American Dream store is about half the size of the average Toys R Us store during the chain’s heyday, before its 2017 bankruptcy filing and 2018 liquidation. But it is twice as large as the two stores that opened in 2019 in a previous attempt by new owners to revive the brand. And with no competition remaining in the toy superstore category, 20,000 square-feet filled with toys feels almost as big as the old stores.

The current Toys R Us revival is being led by WHP Global, a New York-based investment firm that acquired a controlling stake in TRU Kids Inc., the parent company that retained the rights to the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands, and that had licensing partnerships with some 900 Toys R Us stores outside of the United States.

The American Dream store also is being operated on a licensing basis, similar to the international stores. Toys 4 U, a small chain with four stores – two in Brooklyn, one in Monsey, N.Y. and one in Lakewood, N.J. – is operating the American Dream store.

WHP Global took control of Toys R Us in early 2021, with its Chairman and CEO Yehuda Shmidman saying he wanted to restore the brand to the magic it once possessed.

Shmidman describes himself as a former Toys R Us kid who remembers walking into the Toys R Us on Route 4 in Paramus, N.J. – one of the highest sales volume stores in the chain’s history – and thinking “I didn’t know there were this many toys in the world.”

Shmidman at the preview event was as thrilled as a kid in a toy superstore, exchanging high fives with Geoffrey, posing for pictures, and accepting congratulations.

“Toys R Us is back, and it’s back in a mega way,” Shmidman said.

“I can’t think of a bigger American Dream for all of us to be a part of tonight, than bringing back our childhood memories,” Shmidman said.

Shmidman praised the Ghermezian family, whose Triple 5 development company took over the American Dream project after previous developers abandoned it, for their tenacity and vision.

“Everybody thinks visionaries are crazy until its done,” he said. The Ghermezians have shown they can turn their vision into a reality, he said.

Paul Ghermezian said he and Shmidman have been friends for more than 15 years and that Shmidman has always been a supporter of the American Dream project, which has been beset by delays, setbacks, and a lot of skepticism on the part of potential tenants.

WHP Global also has an exlusive partnership with Macy’s to open 400 Toys R Us stores inside Macy’s locations next year.

Toys R Us was founded by Charles Lazarus, who opened a baby furniture store called Children’s Bargaintown in 1948, and quickly pivoted to toys as he saw the first members of the baby boom generation being born. Lazarus realized that parents typically sell baby furniture once, but they will buy toys every time a birthday, Christmas, or other holiday rolls around.

His toy superstores dominated the toy industry until the 1990s, when Walmart, Target, and Amazon began chipping away at Toys R Us’ market share.

Toys R Us finally gives American Dream the ability to say it has a star retail tenant that no other U.S. mall has – the only Toys R Us flagship store.

And it gives parents a cheaper experience for their kids than the American Dream amusement park, water park, or other attractions, even if they give in and buy that $20 toy.