Toys 'R' Us to Open More Than 100 Stores

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 over 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 over 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 [e-mail]

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