Toys R Us at Macy's experience improves over early launch at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)

No one will mistake the Toys R Us at Macy's pop-up for the full-blown Toys R Us experience of childhoods past. But the special section at the Macy's at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda has greatly improved over its initial launch earlier this fall. There's a much wider selection of toys, and the shelves are filled and more-neatly organized than the "Clearance section at ROSS!!!" vibe the space initially had.

Toys R Us at Macy's opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda (Photos)

The Toys R Us at Macy's era is upon us at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Does it live up to the hype? Not entirely yet. Perhaps they are still getting organized here, but will otherwise have difficulty competing with the new FYE Alex Baby & Toys, which is delivering something closer to the Toys R Us experience in the Old Navy wing of the mall.

As I mentioned when the plan for the holiday pop-up shops was announced, one of the fundamental problems is that the Toys R Us experience can't be duplicated in a small format. Toys R Us was essentially a big-box store, a cavernous warehouse with aisle after aisle of toys. Even Target and Walmart can't match that with their toy sections. At the same time, the TV and movie-licensed products most popular at Toys R Us don't exactly fit the image of a Macy's department store, where you'd expect high end German teddy bears as a toy display.

The vibe right now is somewhere between Big Lots and Ross. Shelves are less than full in spots, and the displays could be more neatly presented in some cases, as you can see in the photos here. There isn't much that screams, "Toys R Us," besides the Geoffrey stand-ups. The overall aesthetic is going to require a bit more attention and juice before Black Friday to create a holiday atmosphere.

I'm beginning to wonder if the pop-up idea is simply an effort to prop up the value of the Toys R Us trademark by the new owners, to be able to resell or repurpose it down the road. The plan has gotten a lot of media attention for the brand name. But what does that brand name stand for? This is a nice and convenient way to pick up holiday gifts while doing your usual shopping at Macy's, but it is definitely not reproducing the Toys R Us experience for people who have actually been inside a real Toys R Us.

Toys R Us to return at Macy's in Bethesda, Gaithersburg & Wheaton for holiday shopping season

Toys R Us will attempt to make a nationwide comeback this holiday season, the brand announced yesterday. The toy store will be largely found at malls across the country, but not in its own space. Instead, there will be Toys R Us stores inside of every Macy's department store, including those here in Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, and at Westfield Wheaton Plaza mall. The first pop-up stores are expected to open by the end of this month, with the rest making their debuts by mid-October. 

Toys R Us photo of new concept
store inside Macy's nationwide

Toys R Us closed in Rockville in 2014. It briefly operated a downsized Toys R Us Express store at Montgomery Mall ten years ago. The last Toys R Us in Montgomery County closed in 2018, in Gaithersburg. This new Toys R Us won't offer the experience kids enjoyed in the past: a cavernous warehouse space with nearly-endless aisles of toys, bikes, ride-on vehicles and video games, with a car trip around back to the loading dock area for special pickup of a big item.

Macy's reopens at Montgomery Mall

Macy's has reopened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The store has implemented some policies to reduce the spread of coronavirus, and to provide options for those who are not yet comfortable with shopping indoors. Contactless curbside pickup is now available, and can be set up entirely online. Then you can call the store when you arrive, and your purchases will be brought out to your car, and you can pop the trunk to receive them.

The store has increased air ventilation, hand sanitizer is available throughout the shopping and checkout areas, employees must pass wellness evaluations before each shift and must wear masks, gloves must be worn by merchandise fulfillment and receiving employees, social distancing will be observed, and plexiglass shields have been installed at checkouts.

Macy's is also partnering with local food banks to help those impacted by the virus and related economic shutdown. Customers who round up their purchase total up to 99 cents can donate that extra change to that food bank effort.

Initial store hours will be as follows:

Saturday	11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday	11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday	11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday	11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday	11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday	11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday	11:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Macy's Chairman & CEO Jeff Gennette

"All of us at Macy's look forward to welcoming you back to our store," Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement announcing the reopening of the Bethesda location.

Westfield buys Macy's building at Montgomery Mall

Westfield has purchased the Macy's store building at their Montgomery Mall property in Bethesda. The sale price was $20,000,000, according to real estate records. This follows the mall owner's purchase of the Sears store building last year.

Both Sears and Macy's have sought to sell some of their real estate portfolios nationwide in recent years. Now that Westfield owns the Macy's space, can they make them tidy up the men's dressing rooms? Yikes.

BETHESDA TECH FIRM COBRAIN WANTS TO HELP YOU FIND WHAT YOU CRAVE

NEW APP

PROMISES TO

MAKE YOU A

SMARTER

SHOPPER

You may be used to large companies like Facebook and Google wanting to know everything about you to help boost advertising revenue. Their argument is that such data will improve your online experience, and create products and services tailored to your needs and interests.

Now a Bethesda-based startup, Cobrain, is betting consumers would like to turn the tables on Big Data, and use it to their own benefit. Cobrain is a new app for internet, iPad, iPhone and - in January - Android, that promises to use shopping data from you, and others who share your tastes, to steer you to the products you actually want.

Cobrain founder Rob McGovern was the man behind the successful employment site Careerbuilder, and now wants to create a "co-brain" of artificial intelligence based on consumer preferences. Drawing on multiple, like-minded shoppers at once will not be unlike the efficiency of the Quad Core Processor in today's iPhone, McGovern argues.

How does it work?

Once you download the app, Cobrain will use your email shipping notifications and e-receipts to analyze what you buy, where, and at what price. Then it will direct you to what it believes the best matches are for that next sweater or pair of jeans you are shopping for. But beyond that, it will also compare your preferences to other Cobrain users. By identifying others with similar preferences, Cobrain will draw on that data in the belief that if they like something, you probably will like it, too.

Now wait just a minute, you say. Won't the app just steer me to products merchants want to sell? And will merchants have my personal shopping data?

No, and no, say Cobrain. The firm is promising that merchants have no influence over product recommendations, and that your data will be encrypted, and never shared or sold to others. Of course, other private tech companies are already scanning your email, just without having made the promises Cobrain is.

Cobrain currently has 300+ merchants participating, and you've likely heard of them: Free People, Macy's and Nordstrom are on the list (and all 3 just happen to have stores at Bethesda's Westfield Montgomery Mall). But while Cobrain is entirely free to use, it will be the cost-free middleman in the electronic transaction through the app.

Cobrain concludes you'll crave
this Free People dress - and
knows you have a "super fancy
flower pattern" dress from Macy's
in your closet

You'll search for jeans, and Cobrain will steer you to 5 pairs it concludes you will crave the most. Then you order directly from Free People or Macy's, via Cobrain.

Cobrain can let you know when the
apparel you want is on sale

Right now the emphasis is on apparel and fashion. Merchants can be large department stores, or small boutiques. But as the platform and data grow, the formula could work for any type of consumer goods.

What do you think about this app, how it will utilize your information, and the potential benefits or drawbacks?

Cobrain is a company to watch, not only to see if the app catches on, but because it is based right here, at a time when large firms are declining to move to Montgomery County. Until the county addresses that reality, our economic fortunes rest on startup ventures and entrepreneurs like Cobrain and McGovern.

Images: Cobrain

GET READY FOR OBAMA INAUGURAL BALLS AND PARTIES AT MACY'S SPECIAL EVENT TODAY IN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Planning to attend an inaugural ball or party? Dress up or "suit up" today at Macy's Inauguration special event at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.

Celebrate 4 more years of Barack Obama in style, starting at 2 PM today.

For the ladies, check out all of the Inaugural-ready dresses and gowns in a special presentation. Style consultants will be on hand to give personal shopping advice on the right dress for you. Refreshments and a live harpist (don't ask!) will round out the event.  A pop-up salon will also provide mini-makeovers.

For the guys, get that right tuxedo, bow tie, cuff links and flag pin! A formalwear advisor and skincare consultant will be on hand, and a DJ will provide the music in the Men's Department.

As you can see in the photo below, they've even got donkey cuff links for the style-conscious Democrat.

If you've put your inaugural preparations off, no one will ever know, if you make a one-stop shop at Macy's inauguration event today!

EASTER BUNNY

COMING TO

BETHESDA

SATURDAY

The Easter Bunny will be making exclusive appearances at Westfield Montgomery Mall, starting this Saturday, March 24.

Mr. Bunny will be holding court near Macy's on the lower level to pose for photos from 11-2 and 3-5 and 7-9, Monday-Saturday, and 11-2 and 3-6 on Sundays through Saturday, April 7.

What does he do during the off hours? According to Westfield, his contract calls for "carrot breaks."

MICHELLE OBAMA

STYLE HITS

BETHESDA RACKS

FOR $39 AND UP TODAY

Ladies, still wanting that Doo.ri dress First Lady Michelle Obama put all over the front pages at last fall's state dinner, but don't have a White House budget?

Doo-ri Chung's Impulse line arrives today at Macy's in Westfield Montgomery Mall, right here in Bethesda.

You may not find that dress, but what you will find are the same trademark Doo.ri styling touches for only $39-$159.

Not in New York. Not even downtown in DC. In Bethesda, but for a limited time only.