An opening date has been set for a new Toys R Us store in Derby city centre, more than six years after the city bid farewell to the retailer. The new shop-in-shop will open in Derbion’s WHSmith store next Saturday, June 22 – with a free goody bag worth more than £20 waiting for the first 50 children to visit the store.
Derby’s former Toys R Us store at Wyvern Retail Park closed its doors for the final time back in April 2018. In June 2022, opened in the same building where Toys R Us had traded
The new Derbion store will be hosting a grand opening event for customers from 8.30am to 1pm with special guest, Geoffrey the Giraffe, who will be joining the WHSmith team for an official ribbon cutting when the store opens, before greeting visitors to the store throughout the morning. The new Toys R Us shop-in-shop will feature a range of products and activities from top toy brands including Barbie, Bluey, Hot Wheels, LEGO, Marvel, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Squishmallows, Star Wars and more.
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Children will be able to access the latest products and play hands-on with their favourite toys at the demonstration tables in the store. A lifesize Geoffrey the Giraffe sculpture, great for photo opportunities, will also feature in the new toy shop.
Derby is one of 30 WHSmith High Street stores set to open a new shop-in-shop from Toys R Us this year, following an initial launch of nine stores in 2023. Further openings this summer include locations including nearby Nottingham, Halifax and Lancaster.
Ian Sanders, group commercial development director at WHSmith, said: “We’re really excited to be opening Toys R Us in Derby. WHSmith is known for being the Hub of the High Street by providing customers with a range of great products and services. Partnering with Toys R Us gives us a leading toys and games range in our stores and means customers have even more reasons to shop with us.
“We look forward to welcoming many more customers into our store.” WHSmith is a leading global retailer with more than 1,700 stores across 30 countries worldwide.
It offers customers a selection of travel essentials for their journey including books, newspapers & magazines, digital accessories and food and drink. You will be able to find Derby’s WHSmith store on Level 1 of Derbion shopping centre.
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