Sentinel staff report–
Toys “R” Us has plans to return to Citrus Heights with a new, smaller “shop-inside-a-shop” business model in the Macy’s store at Sunrise Mall.
Signage posted outside the Macy’s entrance inside the mall announces the news, with a Toys R Us logo and wording stating “Guess what’s coming to Macy’s stores in 2022!”
Greg Bazarnik, store manager of Macy’s at Sunrise Mall, confirmed in an email Wednesday that the new Toys R Us “will be coming to us in 2022,” but said “we are still awaiting the final details.”
CNBC reported in August of plans to launch 400 new “shop-in-shops” Toys R Us stores inside Macy’s locations across the country in 2022. Macy’s already offers Toys R Us merchandise on its website, as part of an existing partnership.
Specifics of what the stores will look like have not been released, but a Macy’s spokesperson said the company hopes customers will visit Macy’s in search of toys and then purchase clothing or makeup while at the store.
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Citrus Heights has not had a Toys R Us store since 2018, when the company’s Greenback Lane store closed after the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017. The company was later acquired by WHP Global earlier this year, which vowed to bring back brick-and-mortar stores.
Plans for the new Toys R Us store in Citrus Heights come amid plans for redevelopment of the declining Sunrise Mall property. A plan approved by the city to guide redevelopment of the nearly 100-acre site is expected to take 20 years to be completed, with development likely first occurring in the unused outer parking areas.
City leaders stress that the existing mall is expected to remain open for many years, and encourage shoppers to meanwhile patronize businesses there.
Related: City seeing ‘a ton of interest’ from developers in Sunrise Mall plans
