Toys ‘R’ Us Asia brings Japan into the fold

The firm said this week its enlarged Asian joint-venture format would enable it to more effectively tap the fast-growing “children’s consumption” sector in the region.
Toys “R” Us Asia currently operates 223 stores in mainland China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and licenses an additional 34 stores in the Philippines and Macau. Its 160 outlets in Japan will be added to form a pan-Asia network.
The Fung Retailing Group is a privately held entity and a member of the Fung Group chaired by Victor K Fung. 
“We have been partners in the Toys ‘R’ Us business in Asia for more than 30 years and are pleased to expand this relationship to include Japan,” Fung said. “Toys ‘R’ Us is one of the most recognised brands in the world, and our goals for the combined business are to leverage the synergies between the businesses and delight a new generation of consumers with significant purchasing power across the region.
“The inclusion of Japan’s Toys ‘R’ Us in Toys ‘R’ Us Asia will allow the management team to leverage and create opportunities to more effectively manage inventory management, logistics and sales channels across Asia, as well as expand omni-channel retailing, thereby achieving greater efficiencies and benefitting from each other’s experience and expertise.”
Andre Javes, president of Toys “R” Us Asia-Pacific, said people are spending more on children’s products in recent years as a result of economic growth in the region, a rising middle class and rapid urbanisation. 
“Japan continues to be a huge market for toys and baby products,” he said. “Coupled with the fact that the number of children in China is expected to increase, there exists significant opportunities for us to grow these businesses. 
“The combination of these businesses is not only great news for our customers, it will also allow our team members to work more closely with their counterparts across geographies, sharing best practices and identifying efficiencies in operations.”