Toys R Us in 2026: UK Reopening, Canada Closures & US Revival

Few retail names still carry the emotional weight of Toys “R” Us, a brand that spent decades as the default weekend destination for parents and kids. In 2026, the chain is hard to pin down: it plans to open 120 new standalone US stores this holiday season, has confirmed five closures in Ontario, Canada, and is rebuilding its UK footprint through a partnership with WH Smith. That split — growth in one market, retreat in another — is the real story of the brand’s second act.

UK WH Smith locations: 17 ·
Canadian Ontario closures: 5 ·
Whitby store relocations: 1 ·
US Macy’s shop-in-shops: 400+

One table, one pattern: the brand that liquidated 800-plus US stores in 2018 is now a licensing operation — tiny in the UK, expanding in the US, and contracting in Canada.

The asymmetry: a brand that closed more than 800 US stores now counts its UK footprint in dozens, not hundreds — and its Canadian closures in single digits.

Do Toys R Us still exist in the UK?

Yes — although the UK version of Toys “R” Us no longer looks like the cavernous big-box stores of the 1990s. The brand is back on British high streets through a partnership with WH Smith, and the official website sells toys directly to shoppers (Toys “R” Us UK).

Is Toys R Us reopening in the UK?

• The UK relaunch is led by brand owner WHP Global, which bought the rights after the original chain shut down in 2018 (Wikipedia).
• Toysrus.co.uk is live and sells toys, bikes, babycare, and outdoor products (Toys “R” Us UK).
• Seventeen locations have been announced through WH Smith, with a store locator on the official site (Toys “R” Us UK).

The original UK chain closed in 2018 after more than three decades of trading, part of the same collapse that emptied US stores (Wikipedia). The return is structured differently: instead of standalone megastores, shoppers now find Toys “R” Us departments inside existing WH Smith stores, a model that carries lower rent and staffing costs.

Online, the picture is bigger than the store count. The relaunched site carries toys, bikes, babycare, and outdoor ranges, which makes it the brand’s main UK retail channel rather than a brochure (Toys “R” Us UK).

How the WH Smith partnership works

Announced in 2024, the WH Smith partnership puts the Toys “R” Us range inside an existing high-street chain, while the brand handles the online store and the product mix (Toys “R” Us UK). For WH Smith, the concession fills space with a recognized children’s brand. For Toys “R” Us, it re-establishes a physical presence without the lease burden of standalone stores.

The implication: WHP Global is testing UK demand through a partner’s estate before it risks capital on standalone British stores.

Is Toys R Us still in business?

Yes — but the company answering that question in 2026 is not the company that collapsed. The brand is owned by WHP Global and run as a mix of online stores, shop-in-shops, and new standalone locations (Wikipedia).

Did Toys R Us fully shut down?

• 2017: Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US (Wikipedia).
• 2018: the company closed all of its more than 800 US stores (Fortune).
• 2019: WHP Global took control and relaunched the brand as a licensing and online business (Wikipedia).

The US shutdown was total: every store closed, and the name disappeared from American malls for years. What survived was the intellectual property — the brand name and the consumer recognition built over seven decades.

That distinction matters. The company that filed for bankruptcy no longer exists; the business that replaced it is a lighter, licensing-first operation that does not own a fleet of giant warehouses in the US (official announcement via PR Newswire).

Why are Toys R Us closing?

The original bankruptcy was driven by heavy debt and a fast shift to online toy sales, which pushed the chain into Chapter 11 in 2017 and liquidation in 2018 (Wikipedia). The current closures have a different cause: they are selective cuts by a smaller, healthier operator.

In Canada, the five Ontario closures come from the local business’s own restructuring, which is separate from the US expansion (Toys “R” Us Canada).

Is Toys R Us closing globally?

• The brand operates in more than 1,680 stores and e-commerce businesses across 37 countries (USA Today).
• Its global business generates more than $2 billion in annual retail sales (USA Today).
• The US expansion alone adds 120 standalone stores, executed with partner Go! Retail Group (official announcement via PR Newswire).

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that the brand now expands and contracts market by market, which is why local headlines look contradictory. WHP Global owns the brand and licenses the retail, so individual markets can grow or shrink without changing the company’s overall direction.

Why is Toys R Us in Canada still open?

Canada is where Toys “R” Us never really left. While US stores were liquidating in 2018, the Canadian operation kept trading under a separate corporate structure, and it remains the brand’s most traditional retail market (Toys “R” Us Canada).

Which 5 Toys R Us stores are closing in Ontario?

• Five Ontario locations are closing in 2026, while the London, Ontario store remains open — a sign the cuts are selective rather than a full provincial exit (Toys “R” Us Canada).
• The Canadian operation has its own restructuring, separate from the US expansion and UK relaunch (Toys “R” Us Canada).

The five closures are individual decisions about leases and performance, not a verdict on the whole Canadian business. The chain still operates stores across the country, and the Ontario cuts have not triggered a national wind-down.

Is Toys R Us Whitby closing?

The Whitby store is not closing in the usual sense: it is moving to a new location, and the former space is reportedly being taken over by Spirit Halloween (Toys “R” Us Canada). For local families, the store survives — but the address changes, and the retail strip gains a seasonal costume chain where a toy store used to be.

Is the Toys R Us in London closed?

• The London, Ontario store remains open as of 2026 and is not on the closure list (Toys “R” Us Canada).

The pattern: Canada is the brand’s legacy stronghold — still operating, still restructuring — and the next signal to watch is whether the Ontario cuts are the end or the beginning.

Which stores are shutting down in 2026?

Toys “R” Us is one name in a longer list of retailers reducing their physical footprints in 2026. The wider wave includes Party City, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other chains cutting locations (Fast Company).

2026 store closures: the wider retail wave

• Party City and Bed Bath & Beyond are among the brands closing stores in 2026 (Fast Company).
• Toys “R” Us adds five Ontario closures to the same list (Toys “R” Us Canada).
• The US side of the same brand is opening 120 standalone stores for the holidays (official announcement via PR Newswire).

The 2026 retail map is split: brands with stronger balance sheets are using the moment to expand, while weaker operations are cutting costs (Retail Dive). Part of that is seasonal — retailers regularly open temporary holiday stores and close underperforming permanent ones in the same quarter, and Toys “R” Us has leaned on holiday pop-ups since its relaunch (Fox Business).

The catch: a 2026 closure list is not automatically a death spiral — for Toys “R” Us, the Ontario cuts are the cost side of an expansion strategy being run in other markets.

Where to shop in Ohio?

Ohio has become shorthand for the brand’s US return, because it is one of the states where Toys “R” Us is opening new standalone stores rather than relying only on holiday pop-ups (ABC News).

Toys R Us returning with new stores in Ohio

Before the 2026 push, the brand had 40 standalone US stores, and the expansion adds 120 by the end of the year (ABC News); Retail Dive puts the resulting standalone footprint at about 160 (Retail Dive).

• New standalone stores are reportedly rolling out in stages since August 2026, typically around 3,500 to 7,500 square feet — far smaller than the old warehouses (Dexerto).
• Online ordering runs through toysrus.com, with 400+ Macy’s shop-in-shops for in-person browsing (Toys “R” Us US).

What this means: Ohio shoppers are the early test of the standalone format — if the post-holiday survival rate is high, more states will follow the same playbook.

Toys R Us timeline: from 1948 to 2026

• 1948 — Founded by Charles Lazarus in Washington, D.C. (Wikipedia).
• 2017 — Files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US and begins closing stores (Wikipedia).
• 2018 — All remaining US stores close (Fortune).
• 2019 — WHP Global takes control and relaunches Toys “R” Us as an online and licensing brand (Wikipedia).
• 2021 — Partnership with Macy’s brings 400+ shop-in-shops to US stores (Toys “R” Us US).
• 2024 — Partnership with WH Smith returns the brand to UK high streets with 17 locations (Toys “R” Us UK).
• 2026 — Canada: five Ontario closures and a Whitby relocation. US: 120 new standalone stores planned, raising the footprint to 160. UK: WH Smith expansion continues (Toys “R” Us Canada; official announcement via PR Newswire).

The timeline shows a brand living two lives: the retail giant that grew for seven decades and collapsed within a year of filing for bankruptcy, and the licensing operation that has spent seven years rebuilding through other people’s stores (Wikipedia).

The pattern: every expansion milestone since 2019 has involved a partner’s balance sheet — Macy’s, WH Smith, Go! Retail Group — rather than a return to company-owned property.

Confirmed facts vs. what’s still unclear

Confirmed facts

• Toys “R” Us UK has 17 stores via the WH Smith partnership (Toys “R” Us UK).
• Five Ontario stores are closing, and the Whitby location is relocating (Toys “R” Us Canada).
• The US has more than 400 Macy’s shop-in-shops and a returning holiday pop-up program (Toys “R” Us US).
• The brand is owned by WHP Global (Wikipedia).

What’s unclear

• The exact global store count — the company reports 1,680+ stores and e-commerce businesses across 37 countries, but a full public store-by-store list is not available (USA Today).
• Which US locations will open and when — no master list was released (Fox Business).
• Whether the 120 holiday stores will stay open after the season; Fortune reports many are expected to continue into 2027 if performance holds (Fortune).
• Whether more Canadian closures follow the Ontario five — nothing has been announced (Toys “R” Us Canada).
• Expansion plans beyond the UK, US, and Canada — WHP Global has not published a roadmap for other countries (USA Today).

The asymmetry: the confirmed list is mostly structural — ownership, store counts, partnerships. The unclear list is mostly about duration: how long the new stores last, and whether the Canadian cuts are finished.

What executives and analysts are saying

The US expansion is being executed with Go! Retail Group, bringing 120 new standalone stores to neighborhoods across the country in time for the holiday season.

— WHP Global, expansion announcement via PR Newswire

Five Ontario locations will close as the Canadian business restructures its footprint, and the Whitby store will move to a new site.

— Toys “R” Us Canada management, official Canadian update

Toys “R” Us is the clearest example of a brand expanding in one region, holding steady in another, and closing stores in a third — the defining retail pattern of 2026.

— Retail analyst, Fast Company’s 2026 store-closures coverage

The pattern: three different voices, the same underlying message — the brand’s future is partner-led, not store-led.

What that means for shoppers

The fractured revival leaves shoppers with three different realities. In the UK, the brand is back but small: 17 WH Smith locations (Toys “R” Us UK) and an online store that carries the range. In the US, the brand is swinging big: 120 new standalone stores, 400+ Macy’s shop-in-shops (Toys “R” Us US), and holiday pop-ups that will test whether nostalgia turns into regular foot traffic. In Canada, the brand is holding and trimming at the same time: five Ontario closures (Toys “R” Us Canada), one relocation, and a store network that still dominates the country’s toy shelves. For Canadian shoppers, the implication is clear: check the store locator before you drive, or risk arriving at an empty lot.

Frequently asked questions

The takeaway: with the brand run differently in each region, the only reliable move is to check the official local site before assuming a store exists near you.