Toys ‘R’ Us planning to reopen some stores: report

Geoffrey the Giraffe is coming back.

Richard Barry, CEO of Tru Kids Brands and former global chief merchandising officer at Toys "R" Us, is reportedly preparing to re-open some Toys "R" Us stores in the U.S. later this year.

“We’re definitely coming back in 2019. At minimum two stores. There’s more planned for 2020,” a source told CNN. The new stores will be smaller than Toys "R" Us’ old stores and “experiential.”

“We have significant interest about how to bring the brand back to the U.S.,” Barry told CNN Business earlier this year. “We’re working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to bring it to life.”

Related: Toys ‘R’ Us Times Square flagship store

More than 700 Toys "R" Us locations closed in the U.S. last year, but the company has kept stores open abroad in Europe, Asia and India, with more overseas locations set to open this year.

“They’re considering opening two stores to begin with and then go from there. I hope they’re successful,” Isaac Larian, the billionaire toy executive behind Bratz dolls, said. “There is a need for an independent toy chain in the US, whether it’s Toys "R" Us or something else.”

Tru Kids Brands collaborated with Kroger during the 2018 holidays to set up “Geoffrey’s Toy Box” at over 600 locations of the grocery store chain. That promotion used the famous giraffe mascot.

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