Special Feature
Look who’s
back!
Toys R Us has arrived back in the UK, courtesy of the launch of its new eCommerce website last month – the first step on its much-anticipated comeback to the marketplace it left a little over four years ago. Just shy of a year after Toys R Us announced its UK resurrection, John Baulch and Rachael Simpson-Jones spoke with the man behind the retailer’s return, Dr Louis Mittoni, CEO and managing director of Toys R Us ANZ, to find out how the initial soft launch went, what the plans are for a physical retail presence and what comes next.
T
oys R Us closed the doors of its remaining UK stores in April 2018, at the end of a drawn-out, much-discussed battle to save itself from bankruptcy. The retailer had been a household name for decades, its jaunty jingle and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot known to countless kids (and parents), and its stores essentially playgrounds for shoppers both little and large that drew huge crowds to out of town retail parks. And then,
rather suddenly, it was gone. That is until October last year, when Toys R Us ANZ Limited and WHP Global - the parent company of Toys R Us and Babies R Us - announced that they’d signed a long-term exclusive licence agreement for Toys R Us ANZ to run digital and physical retail commerce for Toys R Us and Babies R Us in the UK, tailoring the model it had used to successfully relaunch Toys R Us Australia to the UK market. A new buying team was formed, boasting over 120 years of combined experience: Sarah Harding, James Ford, Diane Lee, Katie Ellis, Lukasz Jasinski and Mike Coogan are all on board, appointments those in the industry felt reflected the seriousness behind the intention to bring Toys R Us UK back, while Toys R Us marketing veteran Hayley McDowell has also returned to the fray. Slightly later than planned, out of respect for the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the retailer’s new website was soft launched at the end of September, initially to a modest but nonetheless positive reception. However, within days of word getting out – helped in no small part by Toy World’s coverage of the story – visitor numbers to the site were so high that the servers were straining under the load. As anyone who’s launched an eCommerce site will appreciate, getting to launch stage is no mean feat, especially when starting from scratch, and even more so when you’re doing it for such a big brand.
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“It’s been a challenge matching up all of the data,” said Dr Louis Mittoni, CEO and managing director of Toys R Us ANZ. “In Australia, where we’ve also relaunched Toys R Us, there’s a much simpler consumption-based tax system of a flat 10%, which is quite different to the UK’s. We’ve also been working with an unanticipated level of shipping disruption. We thought we could air freight equipment from Australia; however, it took a great deal longer than anticipated.” Louis says he’s been delighted at the level of support offered by suppliers. The retailer’s disappearance from the UK shopping landscape proved problematic for a number of toy companies; indeed, MGA Entertainment’s Isaac Larian tried to buy Toys R Us himself, so strongly did he feel about the impact of its loss. But it would appear the trade has been reassured by Louis’ pragmatic approach to the relaunch, the experience of his buying team and Toys R Us’ vision and beliefs this time around. Over 100 suppliers are on board, resulting in some 4,500 toys - and counting - available across the Toys R Us site, and an additional 1,300 products on Babies R Us. The company has invested heavily into its website to make it as user-friendly as possible. Shoppers can choose to browse via category, brand, property and age range, or be guided by handy additional sections designed to shine a spotlight on toys, games and kids’ products they may not otherwise have thought of.
