Target to offer more exclusives and activities in first holiday season without ToysRUs
Charisse Jones
Toy shoppers visiting Target will soon find more space filled with dolls and gadgets, along with exclusives they can get nowhere else as the retailer ups its game for the first holiday season in decades without Toys R Us.
By the start of November, more than 500 stores will carve out extra space to display bigger items like backyard play sets. Kids will be able to check out a slide made out of Legos, and other large displays, at more than 100 other stores that have been revamped. And those seeking exclusive items like the interactive furReal Rock-A-Too Show Bird and the Melissa & Doug Deluxe One Stop Shop Play Store will have to stop by Target to tick those items off their lists.
The retailer is planting its stake more firmly in the ground left vacant by Toys R Us, which shut its doors this summer after filing for bankruptcy protection and failing to come up with a successful restructuring plan.
Target, Amazon, Walmart and others had already made significant headway in the toy space, hastening Toys R Us' demise. But now that the nostalgia-steeped store chain is shuttered, others are vying for an even bigger piece of the $27-billion toy business.
"We recognized this as a huge opportunity, and we really wanted to prepare for it,'' said Mark Tritton, Target's executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, who added that the company has seen 17 consecutive quarters of growth in toy sales.
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They're not alone in making an aggressive play for toy shoppers. Walmart has already launched its holiday layaway program, months before the official start of the season. And storied toy emporium FAO Schwarz is opening a new flagship store in Manhattan next month, its first freestanding location since it shut its doors in 2015.
Target's holiday plan will include rolling out more in-store experiences, such as appearances by characters from popular games like Minecraft. And there will be digital changes as well. The retailer's website will feature a new dedicated toy space, and shoppers can use the Target app to scan pages of the store's catalog and get more information about the displayed merchandise.
