Toys R Us aims for China store opening in Nov
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-27 15:47
Toys R Us will launch its first store on the Chinese mainland in November,
drawing on an increasing demand for educational toys from middle-income
consumers, its top Asia executive said on Monday.
The U.S. toy retailer,
owned by a private equity group including U.S. property developer Vornado Realty
Trust , would set up shop in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district, Pieter
Schats, chief executive officer of Toys R Us in Asia, told Reuters in an
interview.
"We're currently focused on getting the one store up and running and the
opening of that store will be in mid-November," Schats said. Toys R Us plans to
launch an expansion plan it after examining Chinese consumers' buying patterns.
"Early next year we'll sit back and review, and decide how to expand the
footprint both in Shanghai itself and in some other cities in China," the Hong
Kong-based executive added.
Toys R Us and its competitors chase a Chinese market where consumers are
expected to spend about 100 billion yuan (US$12.6 billion) on toys by 2010,
driven by the country's 300 million children below the age of 14, according to
official forecasts.
Schats said the firm would target middle-income consumers, staying out of the
brand-focused top-end of the market, where Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner
Inc.'s studio division Warner Bros. are among the most recent big players.
"There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of retailers that are occupying
middle-income mass-market toy retail," Schats said, adding that he saw a strong
demand for safer toys and toys with educational features, he added.
Toys R Us now has over 50 stores in Asia and more than 1,200 stores in 34
countries or regions worldwide. Its operations in Asia are a franchise business,
wholly owned by Hong Kong's Lee & Fung Group and its Convenience Retail Asia
unit. (For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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