Do We Have To Grow Up After All? ~ The Return Of Toys R Us By: Jennifer Kate

Well, guys, this isn't a blog I was planning on ever writing, but here we are, and if you haven't heard the news of Toys R Us yet, then you are living under a rock. If you don't know who I am, I'm Jennifer Kate, a former Empty The Bench Podcast Network associate producer.

As the title of this blog says, do we really need to grow up after all? This is the age-old question because when you're around your mid-twenties, you most likely grew up as a Toys R Us kid like me. If you remember the old commercial "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid," now we may not have to as six years after filing for bankruptcy, Toys R Us is set to open up 24 stores and to say I'm super excited would be a huge understatement. The first location is set to open around early November at Terminal A at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport.

For some of you who don't know the story of Toys R Us, I'm going to tell you all about it, so buckle up; about six years ago, Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017, but they quickly announced a new $3 million bankruptcy financing package to keep it operating. They also filed for bankruptcy in 2018, closing all of their US, UK, and Australia stores. The last store in the US closed in 2021. Operations in other international markets, such as Asia and Africa, were less affected, but chains in Canada, parts of Europe, and Asia were eventually sold to third parties.

Now that we talked about the story and situation of Toys R Us, let's talk about my opinion. As stated earlier, I'm super excited because I was 100% a Toys R Us kid. My dad has photos of me at the Toys R Us that used to be in Times Square, New York. If you grew up in New York or have ever visited New York and went to the Toys R Us in Times Square, then you remember the Ferris Wheel. My favorite car was Barbie. One day, kids nowadays can enjoy that old Toys R Us store in Times Square if they can ever bring back that particular location (Times Square and Toys R Us, you know what to do).

But anyway, that about wraps it up for this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, and if you miss Toys R Us like I do, let me know on social media. But for now, that's all from me, and I will catch you guys in the next one.