Toys "R" Us Australia and New Zealand

Toys "R" Us Australia and New Zealand
Source: Toys “R” Us Australia/The Toy Book

Nearly a year and a half after Tru Kids Brands partnered with Hobby Warehouse Group to relaunch Toys “R” Us Australia, Funtastic is taking the reins.

Funtastic — which distributes toys from Educational Insights, Learning Resources, Razor, and others in Australia — acquired Hobby Warehouse Group last week in a deal that includes control of the Toys “R” Us Australia, Babies “R” Us Australia, Hobby Warehouse e-commerce brands, and Mittoni Technology.  The sale finds Hobby Warehouse founder Louis Mittoni stepping into a new role as managing director and CEO for the combined operation and taking a 34.4% stake in Funtastic.

Earlier this month, Mittoni told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that he and Hobby Warehouse Chairman Kevin Moore approached Funtastic about a potential deal during the pandemic. It is expected that Funtastic will be able to realize Mittoni’s plans for the return of physical Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores to the Australian market within the next 12-18 months. While the plans for said “experience centers” were mentioned last year, AFR notes that the family-owned Hobby Warehouse lacked the capital to pull it off on its own.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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