Toys R Us set to return to Norwich in WH Smith collaboration

The retailer has lodged plans to open inside WH Smith in Gentleman's Walk as part of a relaunch drive across the UK.

Toys R Us went bust 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 announced plans for a relaunch in October 2022, before striking an exclusive deal with WH Smith for concessions across the UK.

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. 

How the WH Smith store in Gentleman's Walk might look (Image: WH Smith)

Norwich was not named in the latest list of 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 unveiled. 

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

The Norwich branch was opened by the shop's Geoffrey the Giraffe mascot in 1999, with delighted city children test driving ride-on vehicles in the store's central aisle.

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Geoffrey the Giraffe at the opening of the Norwich branch in 1999 (Image: Newsquest)

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.

Ever since, the store has remained empty - with a new Home Bargains store 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.