Toys ‘R’ Us SA is okay, thank you
TOYS ‘R’ US South Africa yesterday distanced itself from its US affiliate, which this week filed for bankruptcy, and said the South African business was performing well and on an expansion drive.
Toys ‘R’ Us SA marketing manager, Nicole Annells, clarified that the South African franchise was not adversely affected by the US bankruptcy.
Debt-ridden Toys ‘R’ Us Inc in the US filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday in the Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia.
The retailer plans to soon increase its national footprint with seven additional stores expected to open between October to November, in addition to its current 53 stores. By December, Toys ‘R’ Us SA will have a solid 60 store presence.
Annells said Amic Trading Toys ‘R’ Us Southern African, which is registered in South Africa, was a privately-owned independent company, operating under a licence agreement with Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.
“Amic Trading functions entirely independently from the Toys ‘R’ Us global affiliates. Whilst Toys ‘R’ Us Inc, which incorporates Toys ‘R’ Us US and Toys ‘R’ Us Canada, evaluates the restructuring of their operations and debt and continue to deliver an outstanding customer experience, this course has no bearing on the licence territories which continue to trade as independent entities. The global strength and brand equity of the Toys ‘R’ Us retail brand remain across all global retail locations”, said Annells. “The business is, in fact, doing better than before,” she said, attributing this to a dynamic team and strong business model.
In the wake of the bankruptcy filing of Toys ‘R’ Us Inc, the news had in fact increased peoples brand awareness of the company.
Toys ‘R’ Us South Africa as a brand positioned itself as a mass retailers with the “best offering” when compared to other toy rivals, Annells said.
“Hamleys does not compete with Toys ‘R’ Us directly as they offer a different business model”, she explained.
Asked whether Toys ‘R’ Us SA was also feeling the pinch of online shopping, which was a big factor in its US affiliates bankruptcy filing, Annells said: “On the contrary, the company had embraced the technology. The toy retailer had an online site and two apps, Toys ‘R’ Us Shopping App and Babies ‘R’ Us Registry App.”
Zeenat Vallie is a BR online reporter. Go to www.busrep.co.za for other interesting news.