JR Toy Company Opens Its First Oakville Store on South Service Road

Parents shopping for a birthday present, or getting a head start on the holidays, have a new place to browse in east Oakville. JR Toy Company Canada opened at 1020 South Service Road East on October 15, and the 2,100 square foot shop is the company's first location outside Burlington, where the business started in 2019.

Company president Dion Rodrigues said the store carries about 1,500 different products, built around STEM and STEAM learning. The focus is on building, science, robotics, engineering, math and reading, so the shelves look different from a big box toy aisle. Lego sits alongside Bruder vehicles and Brio build-and-play train sets, with Needoh and Squishi fidget toys and a selection of stuffies, including a few from Bluey.

Rodrigues said east Oakville made sense for more than one reason. The location sits close to the company's distribution centre, and it opens up the Mississauga market next door.

Shoppers are coming back into the store

The expansion runs against what most people assume about retail right now. Rodrigues said in-person sales at the Burlington store grew by more than 50 per cent last year while online sales stayed flat. He puts the shift down to customers wanting to handle a toy before spending the money. "I think people are looking for a place where they can go and see and touch and get the tactile experience of these products," he said.

That is why the Oakville store keeps demo toys out on the floor for kids to try and reading areas to sit in. Anyone who buys something in store before the end of October goes into a draw for a $100 gift card, and orders can still be placed through the company's Oakville page.