Hearing that famous jingle as a kid, none of us wanted to grow up. We welled up with excitement when the Toys “R” Us catalog came. And Christmas wasn’t Christmas without a trip to the massive box store and running through the aisle as if it was the greatest place in the world.
The death of Toys ‘R’ Us stings somewhat, as it was a major part of our childhood. As the last of the stores officially close, it becomes yet another relic from our carefree past, like Blockbuster, Radio Shack, and many others.
But, there’s another store that hopes to cash in on the demise of Toys ‘R’ Us and expand their reach: Party City.
Party City is typically known as a smaller store, but they’re known to go all-out during the Halloween season, renting out the box stores left behind and filling it with costumes and other decorations.
Now with Toys ‘R’ Us gone, as well as the void they leave behind in the toy market, Party City plans to extend their pop-up store season beyond Halloween and into the Christmas season with ‘Toy City’.
From September through the end of the year, Party City will take advantage of the opportunity to scoop up as much holiday profits as it possibly can.
“The creation of a Toy City concept to complement our temporary seasonal retail strategy is a logical extension of our brand; one that will allow us to leverage our existing pop-up store capabilities and capitalize on the category whitespace that has recently been created,” said Party City CEO James Harrison.
Party City doesn’t just want to be known as the place to go for party decorations and trinkets, but also as a seasonal retailer within the pop-up niche, giving customers what they want exactly when they want it.
The company immediately jumped into action the moment Toys ‘R’ Us announced they were going to close their doors earlier this year. They started adding more toys to their website and begun creating places to take over as THE place to buy toys during the busy holiday season.
It didn’t take long for the big toy companies to jump in as well, as Mattel, Hasbro, and others have already said they’ll be featured in ‘Toy City’.
Toys ‘R’ Us is expected to have all locations officially closed today.
