Toys ‘R’ Us is set to return to the UK within months, with the company already hiring a new UK team to oversee its high street comeback.
The failed chain's Australian arm last year signed a licence agreement to bring its “digital and physical retail commerce” back to the UK, where Toys 'R' US closed all of its stores after it fell into administration in 2018.
It has now ramped up its recruitment and plans to relaunch the brand in the next few months.
Toys ‘R’ Us has hired senior buyer James Ford, who helped build Debenhams’ toy arm, for the core Toys 'R' Us business, while Katie Ellis, who has worked for both Toys 'R' Us and Mothercare in the past, and Argos toys buyer Lukasz Jasinski have joined the Babies 'R' US UK team.
Toys 'R' Us Australia chief executive Louis Mittoni, who is spearheading the UK launch said: “I’m very excited to welcome over 100 years of retailing experience in our new team, who will lead the relaunch our iconic brand back into the UK market in the next few months. We have an amazing toy and baby buying team, which I believe is the best in the country.
“With this team now in place, we’re hitting the ground running and have been reaching out to the supply base to see with whom we can align on this amazing journey.”
Toys 'R' Us launched in the UK in 1985, when it emerged as the 'world's first toy supermarket'.
However, in 2017 the US parent company filed for bankruptcy after debts reached more than £3.5billion.
A year later, the iconic toy chain collapsed, closing all of its 100 UK branches and triggering thousands of redundancies.
Last year, owner WHP Global signed an agreement with Toys 'R' Us Australia to lead the brand's revival in the UK.
WHP Global had previously acquired a controlling interest in Tru Kids, the parent company of the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands.
Yehuda Shmidman, the chairman of WHP Global and Toys 'R' Us, previously said: “Toys 'R' Us today is a vibrant business with over 900 stores and e-commerce sites across 25-plus countries generating over US$2 billion a year in sales and growing, especially with the new launches underway for both the US and UK markets."
Louis Mittoni, boss of Toys 'R' Us ANZ, said: “My team and I are looking forward to developing technical and commercial relationships with UK-based vendors and partners and to engage with the many loyal Toys 'R' Us former customers and fans in the UK."
