Toys R Us is rising from the dead
- Toys R Us is back in action.
- The newly-founded company Tru Kids Inc. has announced its intention of resurrecting the brand this year.
- The toy retailer closed all of its US locations in the summer of 2018.
Toys R Us isn't ready to get banished to the island of misfit toys.
Months after the toy chain's demise, Tru Kids Inc. - also known as Tru Kids BrandsTM - has gobbled up brands like Toys R Us, Babies R Us, and company mascot Geoffrey. A statement from Tru Kids Inc. cited the former toy retailer's "brand power" and "loyalty," noting that its Toys R Us and Babies R Us lines "generated over $3 billion in global retail sales in 2018 through more than 900 stores and e-commerce businesses."
Tru Kids Inc. was founded in 2019 to salvage the retailer's still-valuable brands. Richard Barry serves as the company's CEO and president. Barry previously worked at Toys R Us for 33 years, rising to the rank of global chief merchandising officer.
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"Despite unprecedented efforts to capture the US market share this past holiday season, there is still a significant gap and huge consumer demand for the trusted experience that Toys R Us and Babies R Us delivers," Barry said in a statement from Tru Kids Inc.
The toy retailer's bankruptcy and subsequent mass store closures and layoffs sparked woes at toy makers like Hasbro and Mattel during the holiday season of 2018. But this isn't the Toys R Us's first resurrection act. Speculation about the company's potential return began to swirl in October 2018, when its brand auction was canceled. And in November 2018, Toy R Us reorganized and launched a series of pop-up events at Kroger.
According to a statement from Tru Kids Inc., veteran Toys R Us executives Matthew Finigan, James Young, and Jean-Daniel Gatignol will also take leadership roles in the new company.
"We have an incredible team focused on bringing Toys R Us and Babies R Us back in a completely new and reimagined way, so the US doesn't have to go through another holiday without these beloved brands," Barry said.