Toys “R” Us Canada has a new leader.
Effective immediately, Vic Bertrand, formerly of MEGA Brands, joins the company as its president and CEO. Bertrand has spent the past 18 months working with Toys “R” Us Canada as a board member and advisor following the company’s purchase by Fairfax Holdings Limited. Fairfax owned MEGA Brands prior to its sale to Mattel in 2014.
“In 1986, when my father made his first journey into international sales from Canada, it was Toys ‘R’ Us founder Charles Lazarus who noticed his tiny display in a crowded showroom and gave my father his first international order,” says Bertrand. “It’s an absolute honor to join the Toys ‘R’ Us Canada team and to partner once again with Fairfax for this exciting new chapter.”
Over the course of his nearly three-decade run at MEGA Brands, Bertrand managed all aspects of the company’s global consumer products lines including MEGA Bloks, and worked closely with retailers around the globe.
“I am very pleased to have such a seasoned toy veteran lead Toys ‘R’ Us Canada as president and CEO, bringing his entrepreneurial passion, global experience and vision to these incredible brands,” says Fairfax President Paul Rivett. “Vic’s immediate focus will be the revitalization of the Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us Canada businesses and the re-imagining of our customer experience.”
Bertrand’s appointment follows the August resignation of Melanie Teed-Murch, who left to pursue a new role as CEO of ONroute following a three-year run as Toys “R” Us Canada president, capping more than 20 years with the company. In the interim, Frank Juhasz, vice president of marketing and omnichannel innovation at Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us Canada served as the public face of the company, which recently launched its 2019 holiday campaign, including a partnership with Snapchat for an exclusive augmented reality (AR) lens that gamifies the shopping experience for some of this year’s top holiday toys.
