By now, you’ve probably heard plans to bring back Toys R Us from the land of the dead. First, earlier this month, there were murmurings that employees may be able to get some severance despite Toys R Us repeatedly saying there wouldn’t be any funds to do so. Then, an auction for its remaining assets (like its name) was scrapped shortly before it was set to begin. At a toy expo in Texas, Geoffrey, the Toys R Us mascot, was spotted walking around with a “back from vacation” cape.
Later, Geoffrey’s Toy Box was officially announced as a wholesale toy company.
https://twitter.com/ToysRUs/status/1048705645082566657
Geoffrey’s Toy Box has plans for both online and brick-and-mortar locations, but according to The Rock Father, it’s expected to launch in November as a “shop-within-a-shop” at “a prominent Midwest retailer”. As a Midwesterner myself, my first thought was Meijer, a big-box chain that has locations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Judging from comments across the web, I’m not the only one who thought the same. It would make sense especially since a former Toys R Us executive once worked at Meijer.
A Cause to Celebrate?
Reaction was mixed, as although many people mourned the loss of Toys R Us, this announcement came before toy companies even got their payout of 22 cents for every dollar they’re owed. As The Rock Father points out, the problem isn’t so much that Toys R Us is being resurrected but that the same people who pushed them into shutting down now are taking control. In other words, the lenders “flushed it all and gifted themselves the name and brands”.
But if you’re an anime or manga fan, you might not really care if some Imaginarium toy sets are sold at Meijer, Walmart, or even at a pop-up store in the mall. In fact, you might not even be one of the people who are unhappy about the potential revival.
Regardless of how you feel, here are three reasons you might want be at least marginally interested in this news:
First, almost every store is expanding their toy sections this year. Expect trend and video games to be given some major attention thanks to before-Christmas releases like Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee and post-holiday titles like Kingdom Hearts III. 
The other retailers dealt a deathblow to Toys R Us last year with their sales, and I imagine everyone will be trying to outdo each other as the new holiday toy headquarters. Will they do more now to prevent Toys R Us from muscling back into the field?
Second, you should want to see what companies will team up with Toys R Us. Maybe not so much now in, as Geoffrey’s Toy Box may be launching with only private label brands, but in the future. The head of MGA Entertainment, who tried to buy Toys R Us earlier this year, has already announced they’re not going to sell to any incarnation of the chain as long as the current owners are in charge. Depending on who agrees to work with Geoffrey’s Toy Box, that could be a make-or-break moment. Sure, some people will want the private label You & Me dolls, but if there’s no Funko line of products, that’s a whole lot of customers the chain is going to miss out on.
Finally, along those same lines, keep an eye out for any exclusives. While Geoffrey’s Toy Box may only launch with its own brand of items, in the future, they may try to lock down some figures or whatever that are only available there. After all, places like Walgreens have gotten exclusives for franchises like Kingdom Hearts, so there’s always a chance for Geoffrey’s Toy Box to get some Japanese media-related items. And if some of these exclusives come in while these shops are only available at Meijer or other regional chains, it may be hard for some collectors to get ahold of. It’s always better to discover exclusives while they’re still available in stores instead of learning about them after scalpers have cleaned them out.
Final Thoughts
I feel sorry for all the Toys R Us employees who have lost their jobs as well as the companies who lost money believing the chain would pay them in full. Although I’m sure I’ll miss Toys R Us, I do think it’s tacky for them to advertise right in front of some of the companies they let down. More importantly, why couldn’t the people in charge realize the value of Toys R Us before they shut down every store? Now, not only does Geoffrey’s Toy Box have to take on all of Toys R Us’ competitors, but they must deal with upset customers and clients who feel like the whole situation was mismanaged and rigged in favor of investors.