Infamous children’s store Toys R Us has been acquired by a new owner, WHP Global. The brand management company bought the parent company of Toys R Us and plans to bring back the children’s store chain to brick-and-mortar retail in the US.
“We’re in the brand business, and Toys R Us is the single most credible, trusted and beloved toy brand in the world. We’re coming off a year where toys are just on fire. … And for Toys R Us, the U.S. is really a blank canvas,” said Yehuda Shmidman, Chief Executive Officer of WHP.
WHP has completely restructured the company and is now planning for future growth initiatives. Currently, Toys R Us and Babies R Us have over 900 stores across the world in 25 countries.
“The restructurings took a big toll on the company. And then Covid is, hopefully, once in a century. But now we’re getting past those two things. And the sky’s the limit,” Shmidman said.
The future goal is to open locations across North America ahead of the holiday season. Their approach could provide various physical store formats, including flagships, pop-ups, airport locations or mini stores. WHP has not disclosed the exact number of stores they plan to open.
“So, we really have an opportunity not just to capture that experience for toys that people are yearning for, but also capture where [people] want to shop. That will be very interesting post-Covid,” Shmidman added.
Source: Toys R Us New Owner – CNBC
Photo Credit: Toys R Us – Business Wire
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About WHP Global
WHP Global is a New York-based firm that acquires global consumer brands and invests in high-growth distribution channels including digital commerce platforms and global expansion. WHP owns ANNE KLEIN®, JOSEPH ABBOUD® and a controlling interest in TOYS”R”US®, BABIES”R”US®, Geoffrey® the Giraffe and more than 20 additional consumer brands in the toy and baby categories. In 2020, the company launched WHP+ (www.whp-plus.com), a turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform for brands, with full in-house operations including technology, data analytics, logistics, creative and digital marketing. For more information, please visit www.whp-global.com.
