Former executive: Toys R Us plans relaunch under new name

Toys R Us will re-emerge in some form by this holiday season.

News 12 Staff

Feb 11, 2019, 11:27 PM

Updated 1,894 days ago

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It’s been eight months since toy retail giant Toys R Us, formerly headquartered in Wayne, announced it was closing its doors for good.
But a former Toys R Us executive says that the brand will re-emerge in some form by this holiday season. Richard Barry, a former Toys R Us executive and now CEO of the new company called Tru Kids Inc., is exploring freestanding stores, shops within existing stores as well as e-commerce.
Tru Kids, owned by former investors of Toys R Us, will manage the Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Geoffrey brands.
"We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write the next chapter of Toys R Us by launching a newly imagined Omni-channel retail experience for our beloved brands here in the U.S.,” Barry said. "In addition, our strong global footprint is led by experienced and passionate operating teams that are 100% focused on growth."
Tru Kids, based in Parsippany, will work with licensing partners to open 70 stores this year in Asia, India and Europe.
Toys R Us liquidated its businesses last year in the U.S. as well as several other regions including the United Kingdom. Toys R Us continues to operate about 800 stores outside the U.S.

MORE: Independent toy shop looks to capitalize on Toys R Us closing 
MORE: Former Toys ‘R Us workers to get $20M in hardship fund 
Thousands of jobs were lost when the company shut down and many former employees were not given a severance package. The layoffs prompted New Jersey lawmakers to introduce legislation to help individuals laid off by large companies en masse.
Under the proposed bill introduced last week, companies with at least 100 workers would have to give employees 90 days notice of a mass layoff. Workers would also receive one week of severance for every year they worked with the company.
Tru Kids has not said if or when locations would open in the United States, or if any of the laid off Toys R Us workers would have roles within the new company.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.


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