Imaginarium

Imaginarium ceased operations as a standalone brand in 2024. The Spanish toy retailer, founded in Zaragoza in 1992 by Félix Tena, announced its definitive closure on social media after a multi-year contraction that saw the network shrink from a peak of 348 stores in 28 countries to a final two locations in Spain (Malaga and Zaragoza). The closure announcement explicitly framed it as the end of the company: “we have held on until the last moment, until our last breath, to ‘press the button’ and say goodbye.”

The brand entered insolvency proceedings in 2022 with €23.5 million in accumulated debt at the end of fiscal 2020-2021, following a failed 2022 attempted revival under the original Aragonese ownership that aimed to reopen eight Spanish stores. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a decline that had been visible since the late 2010s as the educational toy category came under pressure from broader toy retailers, e-commerce, and changing parental purchasing patterns. The signature blue arch-shaped storefronts with paired large and small entrance doors became increasingly rare across European malls through 2018 to 2023.

The brand name continues to appear in two distinct contexts unrelated to the original Spanish retail operation: a separate “Imaginarium” educational toy department within Toys R Us locations in the United States (originating from a 1999 acquisition by the US Toys R Us, with the section format outliving the standalone US Imaginarium stores closed in 2003), and various trademark assignments held by TRU Kids Brands in North America. For mall operators, Imaginarium is no longer a viable tenant counterparty in any market, and existing Imaginarium-branded leases were wound down through liquidation administrators.