Iconic brand returns to UK high streets with 104 new stores | UK | News
An iconic brand is returning to the high street with new discount stores across the country. Toys “R” Us was a major retailer of toys, clothing and baby products until 2017, when it filed for bankruptcy and subsequently closed its stores.
Now it’s returning to the UK, with 104 new stores opening last year. Toys “R” Us opened stores in Epsom, Godalming, Stirling (all 8 November), Stockport, Alnwick, Christchurch, Bridgnorth, Hitchin, Worcester (all 3 November) and Basildon (14 November) last year. The brand also opened 23 Welcome Holiday sales in May, July and August. Lauren Beitelspacher, professor of marketing at Babson College, said: Market place He said he was “very optimistic” about the brand’s success, saying they could benefit from older generations’ nostalgia for the brand and young people’s interest in in-person shopping.
“Without a store to go into, you can’t interact with the products,” Beitelspacher said. “You lose the ability to touch and feel these products.”
Toys “R” Us currently has eight flagship stores in America, more than 450 concessions at Macy’s stores, and 13 seasonal stores. More Toys “R” Us stores will open soon, according to the company’s website
The Express’ Alex Evans visits the Toys R Us concession that opened at TG Jones last winter. He said: “There were loads of toys, books and board games for children, finally giving Smyths Toys some high street competition.
“I took my son with me and he was thrilled to sit with ‘Geoffrey’ the Toys R Us giraffe; the layout is clean, bright and modern. It’s a very different world from just a few months ago.”
TG Jones also opened Hobbycraft and Claire’s franchises. It comes after Hobybcraft owner Modella Capita bought WH Smith’s UK high street stores in 2025 for £76 million.
Modella Capital acquired Claire’s 156 stores in the UK and Ireland for an undisclosed sum in September 2025, saving 1,000 jobs following the retailer’s initial collapse.
