The slow and steady resurrection of Toys R Us continued last month when its new owner announced plans to open nearly 30 new stores, expanding upon the scattering of brick-and-mortar shops that have kept the brand alive in recent years.

Now, with the holidays looming and toymakers facing strong economic headwinds, the industry is rejoicing that one of its most iconic retailers is back in expansion mode.

“A brand like Toys R Us that still lives in grandparents’, parents’, caregivers’ minds,” Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association and former chief marketing officer at Toys R Us, told Retail Brew. “That the brand is on the way up, I think is great for our industry.”

• Since declaring bankruptcy in 2017, Toys R Us has proven surprisingly durable as a brand, even amid a chaotic comeback saga. After a failed attempt to relaunch the company just prior to the pandemic, brand management company WHP Global bought a controlling stake in 2021 and announced plans to open 400 shop-in-shops in Macy’s department stores across the country.
• Later that year, WHP built on this momentum with plans to open a larger flagship store at the American Dream retail and entertainment complex in New Jersey, setting the stage for a larger build-out of standalone flagship stores in the years to come.

The latest announcement builds on that progress, with WHP partnering with Go! Retail Group to open eight new flagship stores and 20 “seasonal holiday shops.” One of these flagship stores—located at the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora, Illinois—is already open, as well as seven seasonal shops.

Keep reading here.—AV

The holiday shopping season is in full swing.

For frontline retail employees, that means it’s one of the busiest, most stressful times of the year, made even more challenging due to economic uncertainty and AI-powered tools altering consumers’ shopping habits.

And it seems many are already burned out: 69% of retail workers surveyed by Accenture reported being exhausted ahead of the holiday season, a time when half feel overworked, stressed, or burned out.

“Being in retail is a tough job. Just gotta say, you’re dealing with the public,” said Jill Standish, Accenture’s global leader of retail, who noted that the top stressors cited by retail employees included dealing with lines and crowd control. “Especially this time of year when you start to get a lot of traffic in stores, it can be tough.”

Keep reading here on HR Brew.—PM

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Elizabeth Johnson is CEO of marketing measurement and insights platform Pathformance Technologies.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? As CEO of Pathformance, our team helps retailers and brands optimize their marketing investments. We use point-of-sale data to measure the true impact of campaigns, uncover what drives purchases, and provide the insights needed to make smarter, more profitable marketing decisions.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Most people don’t realize that my job isn’t just about running a company, it is also about turning the insights from real-world sales and media performance data into clear strategies that help brands grow. Our platform does the heavy lifting, so I can focus on connecting dots, spotting trends, and guiding big decisions.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my favorite projects has been strengthening our company culture while implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Watching our team align around a shared vision, celebrate wins together, and feel truly connected to the work we are doing has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? I am most excited about the industry’s move toward unified retail media measurement. We are just scratching the surface of what is possible when sales, media, and shopper behavior are connected in real time.

Keep reading here.—EC

Consumers are choosing carefully—and retailers need to keep up. Join Retail Brew and Placer.ai on Nov. 19 to uncover the latest trends shaping where shoppers are spending, how they’re behaving, and what’s next for the 2025 holiday season and beyond. Register today.

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