For years, an American Girl's standalone store has been the only place in the U.S. where people could show up and buy the dolls.
The stores are positioned as places not just to shop, but also to experience. Many have eateries where girls can dine with their dolls and salons where stylists do the dolls' hair and pierce the dolls' ears.
There's also limited access to the stores: Fewer than 30 exist nationwide.
Now that American Girl has struck a deal with Toys R Us, that's about to change.
The multiyear exclusive partnership, announced Wednesday, allows Toys R Us to sell a selection of American Girl dolls, accessories and other products in a store-within-a-store format.
In late October, Toys R Us will open 97 American Girl mini-shops, which will take up as much as 700 square feet at the toy stores. More are set to open next year.
The mini-shops will not carry the BeForever line of historical dolls that made American Girl famous. Shoppers will still have to visit the brand's standalone stores to pick up dolls such as Samantha, Addy or Josefina, whose stories correspond to various time periods and cultures.
The mini-shops will feature an exclusive selection of American Girl's Truly Me dolls and accessories. Dolls from that line come in a variety of skin, eye and hair colors meant to match those of the children who will play with them.
WellieWishers _ the brand's newest line, whose dolls are smaller and less expensive _ is to be available in September at all Toys R Us stores, not just those that contain the mini-shops.
American Girl President Katy Dickson said the move would increase consumer access to the brand. "Partnering with a top retailer like Toys R Us allows us to meet our customers where and when they want to shop and to take our timeless life lessons to even more girls," she said in a statement.
American Girl, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc., has struggled to drive sales. Second-quarter gross sales, reported in July, totaled $68.1 million, down 19 percent from the year before.
Working with a retailer such as Toys R Us enables American Girl to expand its footprint, especially in a toy market that is still largely driven by in-store shopping, said Jim Silver, chief executive of TTPM, a toy and consumer goods review site.
Annual surveys of retailers and manufacturers conducted by TTPM show that about 25 percent of shoppers buy toys online, up from the 15 percent who relied on e-commerce two years ago.
"I would imagine this could only help sales," Silver said of putting American Girl dolls in Toys R Us. "You're going to have far more traffic and visibility in your line than you normally would have."
