Just as BuyBuy Baby bid bye-bye to its stores, its longstanding and ardent competitor has itself been reborn.
Babies R Us — which was acquired by brand management firm WHP Global in 2021 — is back in brick-and-mortar, opening a location at American Dream, the massive three million square feet plus, entertainment and retail centre in the New Jersey Meadowlands. At 10,000sq ft, the new Babies R Us store has a much smaller footprint than the brand inhabited in its previous life.
“It’s a store for today and its 10,000sq ft is the perfect destination for parents to try out cribs, strollers and car seats with experiential elements we’ve put in the store,” WHP Chairman and CEO Yehuda Shmidman told Chain Store Age in a live cell-phone video tour of the first physical location for the brand since its 700-plus locations closed in 2018.
Shmidman said WHP decided to bring Babies R Us back to physical retail because it has what bargain-prices discount sellers and online brands lacked: brand value.
“There are many great retailers, but they lack great brands,” Shmidman said. “Charles Lazarus was a brand-builder. He created Geoffrey the Giraffe. He created the ‘I’m a Toys R Us Kid’ song. Great brands are emotional. They take you back to your childhood.”
