A potential Toys “R” Us (TRU) revival in the U.S. is taking shape. Following last fall’s cancellation of the company’s IP auction in a move that brought the assets of Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us in-house under Geoffrey LLC and the ownership of the secured creditors, Geoffrey’s Toy Box launched as a way to keep TRU house brands in front of shoppers during the holiday season. Those displays—pallet shippers dropped on more than 600 Kroger locations—were met with mixed reaction, but the true revival may be yet to come.
The New York Post reports that a group of former Toys “R” Us executives officially launched Tru Kids Inc. this past Sunday. The new company was first named in court docs filed on Dec. 11 as the successor to Geoffrey LLC. The Toy Book has also learned that a number of Tru Kids urls were purchased on Nov. 30, including variations on TruKidsBrand.com, TruKidsToys.com, and TruKidsBaby.com. A new trademark application was submitted on Nov. 29.
According to The Post, reps from the new company, led by CEO Richard Barry, former global chief merchandising officer of Toys “R” Us and executive vice president, Geoffrey’s Toy Box, just returned from Hong Kong Toy Fair and are seeking meetings for New York Toy Fair.
The new company will service TRU international locations, and will be seeking additional partnership opportunities such as the deal with Kroger, in addition to the potential for pop-up Toys “R” Us stores, according to the report.
