Norwich Toys R Us to return to city six years after closing

Toys R Us is set to return to a city six years after the brand closed its UK branches.

The retailer has lodged plans to open a concession store again in Norwich as part of its relaunch across the UK.

Toys R Us went into administration in February 2018, closing all of its 100 shops with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs – including its store in Norwich’s Cathedral Retail Park.

It now hopes to open inside WH Smith on Gentleman’s Walk in the city.

The retailer announced plans for a relaunch in October 2022, before striking an exclusive deal with WH Smith for concessions across the UK, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The plans lodged with Norwich City Council will see the Toys R Us branding displayed across half of the existing WH Smith in Gentleman’s Walk.

Norwich was not named in the most recent list of Toys R Us shop-in-shops due to open over the summer – which included locations in Herefordshire and Essex – and it is not clear when the concession will be opened.

In April 2018, Toys R Us launched closing down sales across all of its UK stores after it failed to find a buyer following more than 30 years in the country.

The Norwich branch was opened by the shop’s Geoffrey the Giraffe mascot in 1999, with children able to test drive ride-on vehicles in the store’s central aisle.

Shortly after the shop’s closure, a report from the council declared that the loss of its “significant” floor space had negatively impacted the city’s retail landscape.

The store has remained empty ever since but a new Home Bargains store is now due to take its place.

Work is under way to transform the units at Cathedral Retail Park in Westwick Street, six years after Toys R Us closed its doors.

Norwich City Council will determine whether the retailer can display its branding in Gentleman’s Walk in due course.