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Tru Kids, Inc.
Tru Kids Brands
FormerlyGeoffrey LLC (2018–2019)
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
PredecessorToys "R" Us, Inc.
FoundedJanuary 20, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-01-20)
Headquarters
Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
,
US
Area served
Worldwide (licensing)
Key people
  • Yehuda Shmidman (CEO, WHP Global) Richard Barry (CEO emeritus), Matt Finigan (CFO, Treasurer)
  • Jean-Daniel Gatignol (senior vice president, "R" consumer brands)
Brands
OwnerWHP Global (controlling owner)

Solus Asset Management

Ares Management
ParentWHP Global
Subsidiaries
Websitetrukidsbrands.com

Tru Kids, Inc. (/tru/; doing business as Tru Kids Brands) is an American retail and licensing company that operates the Toys "R" Us locations in the United States. Although they only operate locations in the United States, they own the Toys R Us brand internationally (except in Canada). It was established on January 20, 2019 after its lenders cancelled the bankruptcy auction and took over the Toys "R" Us intellectual property in October 2018.[1]

History

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On October 1, 2018, Toys "R" Us issued a court filing for the bankruptcy, after the company's shut down since June 28, 2018.[2] Tru Kids planned a merge for the company, to rerun as new Toys "R" Us. Tru Kids managed agreements with the company, to be its successor, and to be renamed "Tru Kids" from Geoffrey LLC.[3]

The company unveiled plans for a preliminary venture to be known as Geoffrey's Toy Box (Tru Kids' division), a wholesale store-within-a-store concept that the company planned to deploy in time for the holiday shopping season. The company planned to revive the Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us brands in the future.[4] In November 2018, it was announced that agreements had been made with the grocery market chain Kroger. Kroger will add toy displays under the Geoffrey's Toy Box brand to some of its locations, to sell selections of Toys "R" Us private-label products for the holiday season.[5][6] The brand, Geoffrey's Toy Box, operates as Geoffrey LLC, an intellectual property holding company within Toys "R" Us.[7]

On January 20, 2019, the bankruptcy plan went into effect, and the Toys "R" Us, Inc. trademarks were transferred to Tru Kids.[8]

In July 2019, Tru Kids announced they would open two stores at the Galleria Mall in Houston, Texas and the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey as they touted a United States comeback. As part of opening the stores, Tru Kids partnered with software powered company b8ta to power the physical shopping experience in the new stores.[9]

On October 8, 2019, Tru Kids announced they had partnered with retailer Target to relaunch the Toys "R" Us e-commerce site. As part of the agreement, Target now powers toy assortment and fulfillment capabilities for Toys "R" Us.com and Toys "R" Us retail stores in the United States.[10]

On November 27, 2019, Tru Kids opened their first reimagined United States retail store after being absent from the US retail landscape for over 16 months.[11]

On January 15, 2021, Tru Kids closed their Galleria Mall Toys "R" Us location citing financial losses following the COVID-19 pandemic. Following that, on January 26, 2021, the Garden State Plaza location also closed. Toys "R" Us will continue remain present in the United States as e-commerce only with partnership of Amazon.[12][13]

In March 2021, brand management firm WHP Global acquired a controlling stake in Tru Kids. WHP announced plans to reopen Toys “R” Us stores in late 2021. WHP announced that they could come in various formats, including: Airport stores, pop-up stores, flagship stores, and mini stores in larger retailers.[14]

Units

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Official divisions

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  • Geoffrey's Toy Box - intellectual rights

Acquired from Toys "R" Us, Inc.

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References

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  1. ^ Morgan, Blake. "Toys 'R' Us Is Making A Comeback As Tru Kids -- With A Modern Customer Approach". Forbes. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Corkery, Michael (2018-06-30). "At Toys 'R' Us, 'There Is Nothing Left': The Day It Closed for Good". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  3. ^ Rizzo, Lillian (2018-10-02). "Toys 'R' Us Lenders Plan Brand's Revival". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  4. ^ Citation error. See inline comment how to fix. [verification needed]
  5. ^ "The Ghost of Toys R Us Will Haunt Kroger Stores This Holiday Season". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  6. ^ Telford, Taylor (23 November 2018). "Toys R Us and Geoffrey the Giraffe are attempting a comeback with pop-ups inside Kroger stores". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  7. ^ "Kroger to revive Toys R Us for the holidays". Supermarket News. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  8. ^ "Toys "R" Us Officially Emerges as a New Company, Tru Kids Brands • The Toy Book". The Toy Book. 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  9. ^ "Tru Kids Brands™ Bringing Toys"R"Us® Stores Back to the United States | Tru Kids Brands". trukidsbrands.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-19.
  10. ^ "Target to Power Toys"R"Us Shopping Experience | Tru Kids Brands". trukidsbrands.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-09.
  11. ^ "TOYS"R"US® OPENS THE DOORS TO ITS FIRST NEW U.S. STORE | Tru Kids Brands". trukidsbrands.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-29.
  12. ^ "Toys R Us retrenches again, shutters its last 2 US stores". 31 January 2021.
  13. ^ "COVID-19 store closures: Toys R Us retrenches again, shutters its last 2 US stores - ABC13 Houston". abc13.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31.
  14. ^ Thomas, Lauren (2021-03-15). "Toys R Us has a new owner that's planning to open stores again in the U.S." CNBC. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
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