Giveaway as Toys R Us announces opening date for Canterbury shop

Children will be given free toys this weekend as a big-name retailer opens in a Kent high street.

Toys R Us is bringing back its iconic shops to the UK after it closed all of its branches in 2018.

It will be opening concessions within WHSmith stores at nine locations, including in St George’s Street in Canterbury.

To mark the launch of the new shop-in-shop this Saturday, the store will be hosting a grand opening event for customers from 8.30am to 1pm.

The chain’s mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe will be joining the WHSmith team for an official ribbon cutting when the store opens, before greeting customers throughout the morning.

The first 30 children visiting the store will also receive a free Toys R Us goody bag worth more than £20. Doors open at 8.30am.

A spokesman for the firm said: “The new Toys R Us shop-in-shop will feature a key range of products and activities from top toy brands including Barbie, Bluey, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, Lego, Marvel, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Playmobil, Star Wars and more.

“Children will be able to try out the latest products and play hands-on with their favourite toys at the demonstration tables in store.

“A lifesize Geoffrey the Giraffe sculpture, great for photo opportunities, will also feature in the new Toy R Us shop-in-shop.”

Kent’s only Toys R Us branch, located in Chatham, closed in 2018.

Home Bargains, Aldi and a KFC drive-thru have all taken up space at the site since – with plans for a fitness business to open falling through earlier this year.

The US chain went into administration in February 2018 after bids to save the company were unsuccessful.

Toys R Us was struggling internationally, and sought bankruptcy protection in the US and Canada in 2017.