With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s a time for toys, and retailers aren’t playing around as they seek to expand their sales in this hot market. By partnering with beloved brands such as Disney, FAO Schwarz, and Toys R Us, both Target and Macy’s are ahead of the competition as they look to expand their offerings and provide unique in-store experiences to their shoppers.
Target began opening Disney shops in select store locations as early as 2019, and they are looking to triple this to more than 160 stores by the end of this year. These mini Disney shops will offer toys, costumes, and other items from popular Disney-owned franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel. Target has also partnered with well-known toy retailer FAO Schwarz for the second year in a row and will offer an exclusive 70-piece toy collection that features items from Barbie and Paw Patrol.
Macy’s also announced they are partnering with Toys R Us to roll out more than 400 shop-in-shops in Macy’s stores in 2022. A large assortment of Toys R Us toys, games, and gadgets for kids are available now on Macy’s website. Under the partnership, Macy’s will also be running the Toys R Us website. According to CEO Jeff Gennette, they are looking to target “the millennial mom” who will often purchase other higher-margin items while in-store while shopping for toys for their children.
Steve Dennis, a retail strategy analyst, said the closure of Toys R Us “put market share up for grabs and a lot of retailers were looking to grab that back.” That’s led to heightened competition between retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Target — and turned toys into an appealing merchandise category for Macy’s.
