Toys R Us To Open First Airport Store In Dallas-Fort Worth

WHP Global, the company that owns the Toys R Us brand, is targeting parents flying with children, and time-pressed business travelers, with its latest expansion plan – mini Toys R Us stores in airports.

WHP Global announced today that it will open its first Toys R Us airport store at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

It is partnering with Duty Free Americas, which operates approximately 200 stores at airports, seaports, and border crossings, to place stores in those locations.

Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and CEO of WHP Global, in a statement, called the DFW store the first of “an exciting new concept that we believe could roll out in airports around the world.”

It is the latest effort by WHP Global, which acquired a controlling stake in the Toys R Us brand in 2021, to put Toys R Us-branded shops in places where they’ve never been before.

A new retail partnership for Toys R Us

Rather than attempting to open multiple locations of its own stores, WHP Global is expanding the brand through partnerships with established retailers. Last year it rolled out Toys R Us shops in all Macy’s stores, operated in partnership with Macy’s.

Jerome Falic, CEO of Duty Free Americas, said in a statement that “we are confident that the store at DFW will become a must-visit destination for travelers.”

The DFW store will be about 500 square feet, and will be located in Terminal A at the airport. It is scheduled later this year, in time for the holiday season.

The DFW store will have a live-size custom sculpture of Toy R Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe, as well as toy demonstration tables, and a curated selection of toys for sale.

All of the U.S. Toys R Us stores closed in 2018, after the iconic toy retailers filed for bankruptcy in 2017. After the U.S. stores were liquidated, the lenders who owned Toys R Us’ assets post-bankruptcy retained the company name and intellectual property rights, and continued as the licensor of the international stores, which remained open.

Those lenders made several attempts to revive the Toys R Us stores in the United States, but when those faltered. WHP Global, a New York-based brand acquisition, investment, and management firm, took control of the company.

Babies R Us revival planned

Since then, WHP has acted to revive the brand by opening a flagship Toys R Us store at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J. It also has put Toys R Us shops in some 400 Macy’s department stores. And it is planning to revive the Babies R Us brand as well, starting with a Babies R Us store at American Dream that is scheduled to open this summer.

Macy’s executives have praised the success of the Toys R Us partnership, and credited it with attracting half a million new customers to the Macy’s stores and website.

Shmidman said when he acquired control of the brand that he considered it a magical brand with worldwide appeal. Now he is targeting world travelers to grow the brand.