Remember when holiday shopping started with a very important research trip through the rainbow-colored doors of Toys “R” Us? To an 8-year-old, it was serious business: Santa needed to know exactly which toys to bring, of course. And inevitably, when the holidays rolled around, there was always a sneaking suspicion that the pogo stick-shaped present under the tree was the same one from aisle 20.
Now, those 8-year-olds have grown up, and Toys “R” Us wants them back. The retailer is planning to open 120 stores across the U.S. this holiday season, nine years after the company filed for bankruptcy and eventually closed all of the more than 800 stores nationwide. But the new aisles won’t just be for kids making wish lists; they’re also courting adults who buy LEGO sets, trading cards, and collectibles themselves.
