Toys "R" Us 2026 Holiday Expansion: 120 New Stores and the Company Behind Them
Toys "R" Us will operate about 160 standalone U.S. stores this holiday season, its largest footprint since the chain liquidated in 2018. On September 17, brand owner WHP Global announced that its operating partner, Go! Retail Group, will add 120 stores to the roughly 40 it already runs. That is still only about a fifth of the more than 700 U.S. stores the chain operated before its 2017 bankruptcy, and WHP has not released a full list of new locations.
The new Toys "R" Us looks very different from the old one. WHP licenses the name, while Go!, a family-owned seasonal retail operator that does not publish financials, finances and runs the stores. Most new stores are a fraction of the size of the old superstores, many on reported one-year leases in premium outlet centers and Class A malls, and they open into a U.S. toy market coming off its strongest first half in six years.
RetailStat's analysis breaks down who runs what across the Toys "R" Us U.S. business, maps every standalone store open and announced, and looks at how last year's holiday stores performed. It also covers what the expansion means for mall landlords, the questions suppliers should ask before extending credit, and the measure that will show whether this comeback lasts past the holidays.
RetailStat is tracking Toys "R" Us openings and closings as they are announced. See them in the ROC.
Report by: Emily Manley, Retail Analyst | [email protected] | 631.240.8618