By Saabira Chaudhuri
Toys "R" Us Inc. plans to open more than 100 stores globally
this year, with its most significant expansion plans focused on
China.
The retailer, which operates more than 870 Toys "R" Us and
Babies "R" Us locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico as well as
hundreds of stores abroad, has struggled as it battles online
rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and other big-box retailers
for a slice of consumer pocketbooks.
The openings include new locations, the relocation and
conversion of 14 stores to the Side-by-Side format, and 22 new
licensed stores.
The company said the new stores are located throughout 21 of the
36 countries and jurisdictions in which Toys "R" Us currently has a
presence, and represent the net addition of more than 900,000
square feet of retail space to the company's store portfolio.
In China, the toy company has already begun operating several of
22 brand-new stores scheduled to open this year.
Toys "R" Us--which opened its first stores in Beijing and
launched an e-commerce site last year--plans to operate 51 stores
in 27 cities throughout China by the end of the year.
In the U.S.--which the retailer identified as its second-largest
area of growth--Toys "R" Us plans to open 19 new, converted or
relocated stores, including nine new outlet stores bringing the
total number of U.S. outlet locations to 25.
Toys "R" Us was purchased in 2005 by Vornado Realty Trust (VNO)
and private-equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
& Co. (KKR) for $6.6 billion. The retailer dropped plans for an
initial public offering earlier this year after almost three years
of withering sales and heightened competition from online
players.
In June, the toy retailer reported that its fiscal first-quarter
loss widened as it reported lower sales in the U.S. and abroad,
hurt by weaker demand for electronics and seasonal toys.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires