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Toys 'R' Us partners with Target to relaunch toysrus.com

By Nicholas Sakelaris
Toys 'R' Us will relaunch its website through a partnership with Target. Photo by Ezio Peterson/UPI
Toys 'R' Us will relaunch its website through a partnership with Target. Photo by Ezio Peterson/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Toys 'R' Us will make an online comeback through a partnership with Target just in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Target announced that it will partner with Toys 'R' Us parent company TRU Kids to relaunch ToysRUs.com at the same time the famed toy store tries to open stores again in the United States. When shoppers select a toy on the website, they will be redirected to Target.com to complete the purchase.

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"Our U.S. strategy is to bring back the Toys 'R' Us brand in a modern way through a strong experiential and content-rich omnichannel concept," TRU Kids CEO Richard Barry said. "The foundation of that strategy requires the help of a retail industry leader and Target is the ideal retailer to support a new Toys 'R' Us shopping experience, which is designed to provide families with endless ways to discover, play and enjoy toys."

The website will feature videos, top toy lists and product reviews. It will also have educational tools for children.

Target will power online sales in the new Toys 'R' Us experiential retail stores expected to launch this fall in Houston and Paramus, N.J.

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"The stores are designed to showcase new products out of the box, and create memorable experiences for kids and families that allow for in-person product discovery," Target said in a statement.

Items that aren't in stock will be ordered online through Target.com.

Toys 'R' Us filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after a disastrous 2017 Christmas season. The toy chain closed 900 locations. Several executives and creditors formed Tru Kids Inc. to hold onto the intellectual property, including the names Toys 'R' Us and Babies R Us and the mascot Geoffrey, the giraffe that refused to grow up.

The deal with Target is similar to the one with Kroger.

Before the holiday season, Target expanded the toy section at 500 stores nationwide. Nearly 100 stores had the toy section completely remodeled. The toy category was one of the strongest areas for Target in last year's holiday sales results, which showed same-store sales up 5.7 percent.

"Target's leadership in toys, digital and fulfillment are an unbeatable platform for Toys 'R' Us to reconnect with their fans while we introduce them to the ease and convenience of shopping at Target," Target's senior vice president of merchandising Nikhil Nayar said in a statement. "By applying our capabilities in a new way with Toys 'R' Us, we can serve even more shoppers, drive new growth, and build on our toy leadership."

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