A FEW MONTHS ago we said goodbye to Toys R Us as the business shut down and sold all of its stores. We lamented the latest retail victim of an increasingly digital shopping world and recalled fond memories of shopping at the toy store as children.
It appears the death declaration may have been a bit premature. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the brand has revival plans in the works. It seems someone got to Geoffrey the Giraffe with a defibrillator.
So will life suddenly rush back into each and every one of the 800 U.S. stores the company shut down earlier this year? Our guess is probably not. The company shut those stores down for a reason. Besides, Fortune reports that big toy suppliers like Hasbro and Mattel have moved on to other distributors, and customers made their peace with Geoffrey’s demise.
It looks like the store wants to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, but we’d make the argument nothing has changed since it shut down. Walmart still sells the exact same toys at lower prices. Harsh as it sounds, the toy market hasn’t changed much over the last few months.
Toys R Us will have to do something new and different to get foot traffic in whatever stores it does open, experimental or otherwise. Or maybe it’ll invest more in a digital operation.
Or maybe the company has an ace up its sleeve. Its creditors must have some strategy if they’re convinced this will work. If Hostess can come back from the dead, maybe Toys R Us can, too. And if it means more jobs somewhere, we’re never against that.