Toys "R" Us Under New Ownership, Reopening Soon

Schmid Chairman "Will Reopen Offline Stores Before This Vacation Season"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Can the global toy store Toys "R" Us, which faced the risk of disappearing into the annals of history due to bankruptcy and store closures, come back to life? Attention is focused on the possibility of Toys "R" Us's revival, which announced plans to reopen stores within this year after acquiring a new owner.

According to CNBC on the 15th (local time), brand management company WHP Global secured a controlling stake in True Kids, the parent company of Toys "R" Us. Yehuda Schmeidman, chairman of the WHP Global board, said, "Toys 'R' Us sales were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic last year," adding, "Now that signs show the pandemic is calming down, we expect toy demand to recover explosively."

With a new owner, Toys "R" Us plans to focus on reopening offline stores before this holiday season. According to Chairman Schmeidman, the newly opened stores will come in various forms, including standalone flagship stores, temporarily operated pop-up stores, and locations within airports.

Chairman Schmeidman stated, "Even in the post-COVID era, shopping malls with high foot traffic will certainly exist," and added, "We will focus on business revival aiming to enter these stores."

However, CNBC reported that there was no specific mention of how many stores will be newly opened.

Previously, Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017 amid continuous losses and subsequently closed all stores in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2018. Most stores in Asia were sold to third parties, and direct-operated stores were withdrawn from most countries. After the official end of the court management process in 2019, the company adopted a new parent company called True Kids and attempted a business revival by opening pop-up stores in the U.S. However, sales plummeted again due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to store closures once more.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.