Toys R Us is reopening in the UK four years after it went bust

Four years after permanently closing down, the beloved toy store Toys R Us is set to make a UK comeback.

Toys R Us went bust back in 2018 after struggling to keep up with the new age of online shopping and, as a result, was forced to close all of its UK and US stores, much to the dismay of those who grew up with the retailer throughout the 2000s. 

But in very unexpected news yesterday, the parent firm of both Toys R Us and Babies R Us announced that it had signed a long-term exclusive licence agreement to relaunch the stores across the UK from 2022 onwards. 

@AleWi / Wikimedia Commons

Because as it turns out, the Toys R Us stores in Canada and Australia have been going from strength-to-strength these last few years, with bosses seeing them as proof that there is still hope for stores – both physical and online – here in the UK. 

Chairman and CEO of parent company WHP Global and Toys R Us, Yehuda Shmidman, said in a statement: “We selected Toys R Us ANZ as our partner to expand into the United Kingdom because of their proven success in launching with us in Australia under the leadership of their CEO, Dr Louis Mittoni.

“Toys R Us today is a vibrant business with over 900 stores and e-commerce sites across 25 plus countries generating over $2billion a year in sales and growing, especially with the new launches underway for both the US and UK markets.”

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Head of Toys R Us ANZ, Louis Mittoni, added: “Since Toys R Us’ return to Australia in June 2019, we have scaled quickly as customers returned to the much-loved brand and our e-commerce model has proven its success.

“My team and I are looking forward to developing technical and commercial relationships with UK-based vendors and partners and to engage with the many loyal Toys R Us former customers and fans in the UK.”

Over 100 Toys R Us stores closed across the UK 2018, with close to a quarter shut due to a company voluntary arrangement that was agreed. The rest were impacted after the business entered administration after an unsuccessful attempt to sell the toy retailer giant as a going concern.