Returned children’s goods retailer Toys ‘R’ Us Australia has signed a long-term exclusive licence agreement to facilitate the return of the Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us brands to the United Kingdom.
The deal, which covers both physical and digital retail, will see the business return to the UK after three years, having exited all 100 of its UK stores in 2018: resulting in the loss of more than 3,000 jobs, according to The Guardian.
The agreement comes by way of Toys ‘R’ Us’ worldwide brand owner WHP Global, and serves as an “acknowledgement” of the group’s hard work in reviving the business in Australia.
“Tailoring our successful Australian relaunch plan to the UK echoes the success of other e-commerce ‘platform play’ businesses that have delivered growth and value due to their ability to quickly and cost effectively expand their software, processes, partner relationships and brands into new countries,” said Toys ‘R’ Us ANZ managing director and chief executive Dr Louis Mittoni.
“Since Toys ‘R’ Us’ return to Australia in June 2019, we have scaled quickly as customers returned to the much-loved brand and our e-commerce model has proven its success.”
According to the business, the UK could be a massive market for it: it’s ranked third worldwide by the number of online shoppers per capita, and has one of the most advanced e-commerce markets in Europe.
Toys ‘R’ Us will work to establish local teams, offices and logistics operations in the UK throughout 2022 and 2023, and all UK purchases will be fulfilled in Australia for the time being.
This article was first published by Inside Retail.
