Eight years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Toys “R” Us is expanding its physical presence across the United States. The national toy retailer plans to open 10 new flagship stores and 20 new seasonal holiday shops by the end of 2025.

Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2017 after 20 years of decline, but the company rebounded after the American brand management firm WHP Global took a controlling stake in 2021. Since then, the company has signed a deal to appear in every Macy’s department store in the US, opened a store at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (which consistently ranks among the world’s top five busiest airports by passenger volume), partnered with NEXCOM (the retail chain that provides goods and services to military personnel) to open six new stores on US military bases.

There are currently several flagship stores in Chicago and Texas, as well as in New Jersey’s American Dream shopping and entertainment complex and Minnesota’s Mall of America. Customers at these stores can certainly purchase toys and games, but they can also take pictures with Geoffrey the Giraffe (the company’s mascot), visit Geoffrey’s Café and ice cream parlor, explore several interactive play experiences, and watch product demonstrations from toy companies.

Toys “R” is complementing this domestic resurgence with an overseas expansion. The brand is entering new international markets in Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Morocco, and Lebanon. It is also reinitiating operations in Turkey and strengthening its footprint in major markets, such as the United Kingdom and South Korea. In the former country, WHP Global announced a long-term licensing deal with WHSmith to be the exclusive shop-in-shop toy partner for the British travel retailer, which currently operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital, and motorway service station stores. In South Korea, Toys “R” Us is introducing new concept formats with strategic partner LOTTE.

The toy retailer is implementing this physical expansion alongside an innovative marketing strategy. The company has increased its social media content and brand activations, both in physical stores and digitally, to assist customers with gift giving. In addition, the retailer has also capitalized on AI technology to support its marketing efforts. In 2024, Toys “R” Us created its first brand film using OpenAI’s new text-to-video tool, Sora. The software shortened the production time to a few weeks, ensuring that the one-minute movie recounting the history of the company’s founding premiered at Cannes Lions.

Today, Toys “R” Us generates more than $2 billion in annual global retail sales and operates more than 1,500 stores and e-commerce businesses across 35 countries. The brand is also preparing for another record-breaking holiday season. Taiwanese suppliers should be aware of the American toy retailer’s robust recovery after its serious financial troubles just eight years ago. Amid the bankruptcy proceedings, vendors that had shipped to Toys “R” Us on credit collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars. If past, present, and future Taiwanese suppliers can reestablish trust in the vendor-retailer relationship, they may be able to secure lucrative opportunities with an apparently promising partner.