What's going on with Toys-R-Us making a comeback and opening more physical stores?
The discussion reveals skepticism about Toys-R-Us's apparent "comeback," with the community consensus being that these are merely seasonal pop-up stores, not a genuine revival of the iconic retailer. Commenters emphasize that private equity ownership gutted the original company and that current operations are opportunistic nostalgia marketing rather than a legitimate business resurrection.
Summary
The original post asked about Toys-R-Us opening 120 new physical stores, citing an NBC News article. However, the discussion quickly pivoted to debunking this framing. The highest-voted answer by u/xv_boney clarified that Toys-R-Us is operating seasonal pop-up stores under a Spirit Halloween model, not opening permanent locations. This commenter criticized media outlets for misleading reporting and described the initiative as private equity 'scraping cash off the faint whiffs of nostalgia' from a company it deliberately destroyed. A secondary explanation emerged from u/Stingerc about the original failure, attributing it to an Amazon partnership that backfired; however, u/xv_boney and u/MarcieDeeHope provided the more substantive counter-argument: the real culprit was Bain Capital's 2005 leveraged buyout that loaded the company with debt, making it unable to invest in infrastructure to compete. This has reportedly become a business school textbook example of destructive private equity practices. A commenter who visited a test location (u/Oddish_Femboy) described it as much smaller than original stores, featuring claw machines and gashapon machines at the front, with expanded board game and LEGO sections but far fewer collectibles than reported. Another visitor (u/Queasy-Face-1785) dismissed it as the same overpriced offerings rebranded through a Go! Toys partnership. Regarding the pivot to collectibles and higher-end items like expensive LEGO sets, u/Dt2_0 provided context that LEGO pricing remains proportional at roughly 10-15 cents per brick, so high-priced sets simply contain many more pieces. The discussion also touched on broader concerns: u/TheHaplessBard worried about the timing during economic hardship, while u/imatumahimatumah expressed nostalgic yearning despite acknowledging the impossibility of recreating the massive toy superstores of the past.
About this episode
[https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/toys-r-us-opening-120-new-stores-rcna598543](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/toys-r-us-opening-120-new-stores-rcna598543)
Key Insights
- According to u/xv_boney, Toys-R-Us is operating a Spirit Halloween-style seasonal pop-up model, not opening permanent stores as headlines suggest, and multiple news outlets are engaging in 'journalistic malpractice' by framing this as a genuine comeback.
- u/MarcieDeeHope noted that Toys-R-Us's original failure is taught in business schools as a textbook example of how leveraged buyouts by Bain Capital in 2005 destroyed a fundamentally viable business by loading it with debt that prevented necessary infrastructure investment.
- A commenter who visited a test location observed that the new stores are significantly smaller, feature different merchandising (claw machines, gashapon), and are managed by Go! Retail Group with minimal actual change from their existing Go! Toys stores, just rebranded.
- u/Dt2_0 clarified that expensive LEGO sets (like $500-700 Star Wars models) are simply large sets with thousands of pieces, not price gouging, as LEGO maintains consistent pricing of 10-15 cents per brick.
- u/imatumahimatumah captured the nostalgia trap by describing the original Toys-R-Us as a massive 'super store' with bicycles, Power Wheels, and comprehensive inventory, which cannot be replicated by small pop-ups, making the 'comeback' fundamentally incomparable to what consumers remember.
Topics
Transcript
[Original Post] (score: 247, upvote ratio: 88%, by u/princetonwu) Title: What's going on with Toys-R-Us making a comeback and opening more physical stores? [https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/toys-r-us-opening-120-new-stores-rcna598543](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/toys-r-us-opening-120-new-stores-rcna598543) [Comment] (score: 280, u/Gadevin) ★ Answer: My *very* basic understanding is that it's under entirely new ownership so people are concerned that it isn't going to be like the stores from before. But regardless, they're coming back. Some nostalgic part of me is just happy they're returning but I sure do hope they understand what made it magical to kids in the first place. [Reply] (score: 149, u/SmoothActuator8132) ★ somehow I doubt that last part because it appears they are going to pivot to collectibles as the 30-50 crowd is buying the most "toys," but the…
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