Toys"R"Us opens temporary stores for the holidays

Toys“R”Us Inc. plans to open a number of temporary stores for the holiday season, including several in Greater Boston.

The New Jersey-based chain said it will operate Toys“R”Us Holiday Express stores at the Natick Collection mall, Square One Mall in Saugus, and Marshall’s Plaza in Newton from roughly now until mid January.

Plans also call for the chain to open Toys"R" Us Holiday Express stores within many of the company's Babies"R" Us stores. In Massachusetts, Toys"R" Us Holiday Express stores are planned for Babies"R"Us stores in Braintree, Peabody, Everett, and Framingham, among other Bay State locations.

In the United States, the company operates 586 year-round Toys"R"Us stores and 262 Babies"R"Us stores. By opening nearly 350 Holiday Express stores during the holidays, the company said it can temporarily expand its existing toy-selling space by nearly an additional 1 million square feet during the holiday selling season.

“We’re aggressively expanding our toy-selling footprint to make Toys"R"Us more accessible than ever for busy shoppers this holiday season,” Toys"R"Us chairman and chief executive Jerry Storch said in a statement. “At the same time, the foot traffic in these popular shopping destinations provides a considerable opportunity to assert our toy authority position, increase our brand penetration, and drive incremental sales during this important time of year.”

The photo of a Holiday Express store that appears with this post was provided by the company. (Globe Staff)