Back in mid-July we told you how
Toys R' Us and
Macy's had put the word out that they planned to have TRU pop-up stores in every Macy's Department store by October of this year.
Since then however, I have seen a number of corporate media sites running what I would consider to be click-bait articles like this one on
Fox News with a headline proclaiming TRU will reopen in 9 states while showing off an image of an old TRU stand-alone store. Basically making folks think that the TRU of old was set to make a return here in the United States this year.
While no one would like to see the Toys R' Us stand-alone stores of old return than me, sadly that is not what is happening right now. The new Toys R' Us is simply expanding upon what they had started to do last year by opening up much smaller pop-up stores within Macy's department stores, basically trying to capitalize on parents doing their holiday toy shopping while also shopping for other things that one might normally come to Macy's for.
You can see images below in our
GALLERY of what these Pop-up locations look like if you have yet to see one for yourselves. These are official images released by Macy's.
For exactly what is happening, here is the exact quote from the press release put out in July by Macy's in regards to all of this:
Macy’s expands partnership with WHP Global to bring the beloved Toys“R”Us brand to every Macy’s store in America this holiday season. Beginning late July and rolling out through October 15th, the in-store shops will range from 1,000 sq. feet and span up to 10,000 sq. feet in flagship locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. The footprint of stores may flex up an additional 500 to3,000 sq. feet during the holiday season to offer an even wider assortment of products.
So there will be some
"Flagship" locations opening up which is where some of those corporate media sites got their "9" new stores opening up for their click bait headlines. These will simply be pop-up stores within Macy's that will be a bit larger than most of the other Pop Up stores, but again these are not new stand-alone stores in any way. There actually will be a total of 11 of these
"Flagship" locations at the following
Macy's come October:
•Lenox Square, Atlanta
•State Street, Chicago
•Ala Moana, Honolulu
•Memorial City, Houston
•South Coast Plaza, LA
•Aventura, Miami
•Dadeland, Miami
•Herald Square, NYC
•Roosevelt Field, NYC
•Union Square, San Francisco
•Valley Fair, San Jose
As of mid July of this year, these are all the
Macy's stores that currently have
Toys R' Us Pop Up stores in them:
California
Shoppes At Carlsbad - Carlsbad
Los Cerritos Center - Cerritos
Chula Vista Center - Chula Vista
Serramonte - Daly City
Downey Stonewood Center - Downey
North County Fair (Ca) - Escondido
Fresno Fashion Fair - Fresno
Shops At River Park - Fresno
Montclair Plaza - Montclair
Plaza Bonita - National City
Antelope Valley - Palmdale
Stanford (Ca) - Palo Alto
San Bernardino Inland Center - San Bernardino
Fashion Valley (Ca) - San Diego
Oakridge (Ca) - San Jose
Hillsdale (Ca) - San Mateo
Santa Ana Mainplace - Santa Ana
Stockton Sherwood - Stockton
Visalia - Visalia
Walnut Creek Broadway Plaza - Walnut Creek
Westminster (Ca) - Westminster
Connecticut
Stamford Town Center - Stamford
District of Columbia
Metro Center (Downtown Dc) - Washington
Georgia
Cumberland - Atlanta
Peachtree - Columbus
Northlake (Ga) - Atlanta
Illinois
Louis Joliet - Joliet
Louisiana
Acadiana - Lafayette
Mall Of Louisiana - Baton Rouge
Maryland
Annapolis - Annapolis
Lakeforest (Md) - Gaithersburg
Missouri
Mid Rivers - Saint Peters
South County (Mo) - Saint Louis
Battlefield (Mo) - Springfield
Chesterfield (Mo) - Chesterfield
New Jersey
Newport Centre (Nj) - Jersey City
Brunswick Square - East Brunswick
Nevada
Henderson Galleria At Sunset - Henderson
Summerlin - Las Vegas
Texas
La Plaza - Mcallen
New York
Parkchester - Bronx
Hampton Bays - Hampton Bays
Sunrise (Ny) - Massapequa
And then by the end of
October of this year you should be able to find
TRU Pop-Up stores at
Macy's in the following loacations:
Alabama
Riverchase Galleria - Hoover
Arizona
Biltmore Fashion Park - Phoenix
Chandler Fashion Center - Chandler
California
Newport Fashion Island - Newport Beach
Century City (Ca) - Los Angeles
West Covina - West Covina
Roseville Galleria - Roseville
Sherman Oaks Fashion Square - Sherman Oaks
Fairfield Solano - Fairfield
Arden Fair - Sacramento
The Shops At Montebello - Montebello
Brea (Ca) - Brea
Burbank Town Center - Burbank
Glendale Galleria - Glendale
Del Amo Fashion Center - Torrance
Topanga - Canoga Park
Santa Anita - Arcadia
Sacramento Downtown Commons - Sacramento
Connecticut
Connecticut Post - Milford
Shoppes At Buckland Hills - Manchester
Trumbull - Trumbull
Florida
Miami International - Doral
Georgia
Arbor Place - Douglasville
Illinois
Oakbrook Center - Oak Brook
Woodfield - Schaumburg
St. Clair Square - Fairview Hghts
Old Orchard - Skokie
Gurnee Mills - Gurnee
Kansas
Town Center Plaza (Ks) - Leawood
Massachusetts
Square One - Saugus
South Shore Plaza (Ma) - Braintree
Maryland
Bowie Town Center - Bowie
Mall At Prince Georges - Hyattsville
Security Square - Baltimore
Michigan
Meridian (Mi) - Okemos
The Crossroads (Mi) - Portage
New Hampshire
Mall At Rockingham Park - Salem
New Jersey
Willowbrook (Nj) - Wayne
Cherry Hill - Cherry Hill
Bridgewater Commons - Bridgewater
Garden State Plaza - Paramus
New Mexico
Coronado Center (Nm) - Albuquerque
Nevada
Las Vegas Fashion Show - Las Vegas
New York
Galleria At Crystal Run - Middletown
Staten Island - Staten Island
Manhasset - Manhasset
Colonie Center - Albany
Walden Galleria - Buffalo
Kings Plaza - Brooklyn
Cross County Sc (Ny) - Yonkers
Queens Center - Elmhurst
Oregon
Clackamas Town Center - Clackamas
Washington Square (Or) - Tigard
Pennsylvania
Willow Grove Park - Willow Grove
South Carolina
Haywood - Greenville
Texas
Almeda - Houston
Cielo Vista - El Paso
While I can't speak to all these locations, I will note the one listed at
Lakeforest Mall in MD won't be there for long being that entire mall is slated to soon be bulldozed in favor of a retail/residential model that has become much more popular than your traditional Malls in that area.
As for stand-alone stores,
Toys R' Us did open one last year as their true "Flagship" store with a two-level, 20,000 square foot location in their home state of New Jersey, specifically inside American Dream, an entertainment/retail center in Bergen County, New Jersey. That is probably as close as your going to get to experiencing a TRU of old here in the US.