The Mall at Short Hills is adding a golf-and-lifestyle menswear brand this fall, and bringing back a toy store chain that a lot of longtime shoppers assumed was gone for good. Neither is a new European flagship. Neither comes with a ribbon-cutting photo op next to Cartier or Van Cleef and Arpels. And that combination is the actual story this season, not another logo added to the luxury corridor.
Short Hills residents already know what the mall is. Four full-line department stores, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, anchor a retail mix that runs to more than 150 specialty stores and restaurants, more than 50 of them found nowhere else in New Jersey. That part of the story hasn't changed and isn't changing this fall. What's changing is what's filling the gaps between those anchors, and this season the gaps are being filled by categories the mall hasn't leaned into before.
A Menswear Brand Claims Its 25th Address
Peter Millar is opening a store on Level 2 of the mall next month, according to a Patch report published September 24. The boutique will carry the brand's tailored sport coats and full sportswear line, including its golf-inspired performance pieces, and the space is planned to include a bar and a residential-style seating area rather than a standard retail floor plan.
The timing matters beyond the calendar. This will be Peter Millar's 25th U.S. location, arriving during the brand's 25th anniversary year. Matt Moyer, the brand's president of DTC, called it "an exciting milestone for the brand" in the announcement. A brand celebrating a round-number anniversary with a round-number store count doesn't pick an address at random, and Short Hills getting that slot says something about where Peter Millar sees its customer concentrated in New Jersey.
It also says something about the mall's retail mix. Short Hills has plenty of tailored menswear already, but a golf-and-lifestyle specialist built around a bar and lounge seating is a different kind of store than the mall has typically added. It's not competing with the luxury houses on Level 1. It's building out a category the mall didn't fully have.
The Toy Store Nobody Expected Back
The second piece of news is less glamorous and arguably more surprising. Toys'R'Us has confirmed the Short Hills Mall as one of roughly 120 new locations opening this year as part of a nationwide retail expansion timed to the 2026 holiday season. No specific opening date for the Short Hills store had been announced as of publication, so families planning around it should watch for updates rather than assume a set week.
The chain's return is notable mostly because of what it isn't. Toys'R'Us was never a category the mall's four anchors covered directly, and its earlier disappearance from American retail is well documented enough that a comeback location reads differently here than it would at a standard suburban shopping center. At a mall built around Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Tiffany & Co., a toy store landing this season is a reminder that the property still serves families doing ordinary holiday shopping, not just the luxury circuit that gets most of the press.
What the Anchors Aren't Telling You
Put the two openings side by side and a pattern shows up that a straight list of "new stores" wouldn't surface. Neither Peter Millar nor Toys'R'Us is trying to out-luxury the mall's existing tenants. The mall's identity is already set by:
- Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom as the four full-line anchors
- A luxury boutique roster that includes names like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès, Prada and Tiffany & Co.
- Eataly's food hall, added in recent years as a dining draw distinct from the mall's sit-down restaurants
None of that changes this fall. What changes is that the mall is filling specialty categories, performance-oriented menswear on one end, family toy retail on the other, rather than adding another name to the luxury tier that's already deep. That's a different kind of growth than the mall's reputation usually gets credit for, and it's the detail that a quick scroll through a store directory won't tell you on its own.
Timing It If You're Local
For anyone weighing when to actually go, the two openings point in different directions. Peter Millar has a real target month: October, per the brand's own announcement. Shoppers curious about the new performance and tailored lines can plan a Level 2 visit for next month with reasonable confidence, though the Patch report itself noted that shoppers should check for updated announcements before making a special trip.
Toys'R'Us is a different case. "Ahead of the 2026 holiday season" is the only timing confirmed so far, which could mean anywhere from mid-October to just before Thanksgiving depending on construction and staffing at the specific location. Families hoping to get ahead of the holiday rush, or just curious whether the new store will stock anything beyond the basics, will want to watch the mall's own updates rather than plan around a guess.
Short Hills has never needed convincing that its retail is a draw. What's worth knowing this fall is that the draw is diversifying in a direction that has nothing to do with adding another couture name to a corridor that already has plenty. A golf apparel brand picking its anniversary store here, and a toy chain choosing this address for its comeback, tells you more about who actually shops this mall day to day than another designer storefront would.
If you're weighing what local shopping, dining and everyday convenience mean for a move into or around Short Hills, Hillary Ospina is happy to talk through what daily life here actually looks like. Let's Connect.
