# Toys R Us opens 120 stores nine years after bankruptcy

> The toy retailer is betting nostalgia and adult collectors will fill its new smaller stores this holiday season.
- Title: Toys R Us opens 120 stores nine years after bankruptcy
- Summary: The toy retailer is betting nostalgia and adult collectors will fill its new smaller stores this holiday season. Toys R Us is opening one hundred twenty…
- Keywords: toys r us, retail, bankruptcy, store openings, toy sales, nostalgia, adult collectors, Toys, opens, 120, stores, nine
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/24/the-return-of-nostalgia-is-bringing-back-toys-r-us-as-it-opens-120-stores-nine-years-after-bankruptcy
- Author: Tatiana Sataua
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: toys r us, retail, bankruptcy, store openings, toy sales, nostalgia, adult collectors
## Toys R Us returns with one hundred twenty stores
Nine years after filing for bankruptcy and closing more than eight hundred stores nationwide, Toys R Us is opening one hundred twenty locations across the U.S. this holiday season.
## The retailer is chasing grown-up shoppers
The new stores will target adults buying LEGO sets, trading cards and collectibles for themselves, not just parents shopping for children. Jamie Uitdenhooven, executive VP at WHP Global, said adults are increasingly buying toys for themselves.

> Adults are increasingly buying toys, collectibles, and trading cards for themselves, and fandom has become an important part of the category.
## Toy sales are surging, especially for adults
U.S. toy sales rose seventeen percent in the first half of twenty twenty-six, while sales of toys bought for adults climbed twenty five percent, according to data by Circana.
## Stores will feature Creator Studios for events
Some locations will have Creator Studios where toy brands and creators can film videos, unveil products and host launch events. Toys R Us is betting these spaces will make toy launches shareable both in store and online.
## The new stores will be smaller than before
Gerald Storch, who led Toys R Us from two thousand six to two thousand thirteen, expects the new stores to be smaller and require less investment than traditional locations. He compared them to pop-up stores in malls and shopping centers.
## Debt, not lost interest, caused the collapse
Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in two thousand seventeen carrying more than five billion dollars in debt. In two thousand five, Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado Realty Trust bought the chain in a six point six billion dollar deal financed heavily with debt.
## Adults seek quiet, craft-based activities
Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said nostalgia is only part of what draws adults to toys. People are looking for craft-based, quiet activities where they can disconnect from the noisy world.

> People are looking more for those kinds of craft-based, quiet activities where they can just take a moment out and sort of disconnect from the noisy world.
## Performance will determine which stores stay open
Many new locations are expected to remain open well into twenty twenty-seven, though Toys R Us will evaluate their performance and shoppers' response. Gerald Storch said everyone will assess after the holidays how many stores will stay open.

> I'm sure everyone will make an assessment after the holidays of how many of these stores will stay open.
## Key takeaway

Toys R Us is opening one hundred twenty stores across the U.S. this holiday season, nine years after bankruptcy, targeting both nostalgic adults and parents as toy sales surge.