The toy category seems to be immune from the struggles others are facing amid inflation, making it a perfect time for Toys R Us to stage a comeback.

Let’s look at how Toys R Us has positioned for a rebound:

$7.9 billion: The amount of debt Toys R Us had in 2017, leading to filing for bankruptcy and closing all US stores, according to The Washington Post. In 2019, the company revived its website and opened two physical stores in New Jersey, which closed by January 2021. Currently, one flagship store is open at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey.

August 2021: When Toys R Us and Macy’s partnered to bring the Toys R Us brand back with an online store and plans to roll out shop-in-shops in over 400 US Macy’s locations.

15 times: How much higher Macy’s toy sales were in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the period prior, attributed to the retailer’s Toys R Us partnership, leading to the rollout of shop-in-shops in every Macy’s US location.

$199.05 billion: Our predicted total retail sales of the toys and hobby category in 2022, a 6.4% increase from last year.

Why we care: The partnership between Toys R Us and Macy’s enables Toys R Us to build its portfolio again without any of the overhead of opening its own stores. As we look forward, don’t be surprised if the toy giant rides that success to further expansion.

This was originally featured in in the Retail By the Numbers newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.