Toys”R”Us continued its expansion across China with the opening of its first stores in Beijing over the weekend.

The company will make its debut in northern China with two new stores in Beijing. A Toys”R”Us/Babies”R”Us side-by-side store, which combines both brands under one roof to create a one-stop shopping destination, will open at CapitaMall Taiyanggong. The 19,000 sqft store will be the second Toys”R”Us/Babies”R”Us side-by-side store in China.

The company has been implementing this integrated store strategy worldwide since 2005 to provide shopping convenience for time-strapped parents, offering a wide selection of toys and juvenile products.

Opening simultaneously was a 14,000 sqft Toys”R”Us location in Chaoyang Joy City. Two standalone Toys”R”Us locations in Tianjing Galaxy Mall and Nanning Mixc will follow in September.

These four new locations add to the company’s strong China presence, including stores in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen. By the end of September, the retailer will operate 30 stores across 21 cities throughout China.

“Our expansion into Beijing is an important next step as we aggressively extend the Toys”R”Us brand throughout Asia,” said Jerry Storch, chairman and CEO, Toys”R”Us.

Last October, Toys”R”Us acquired the majority stake in its business in greater China and southeast Asia from Li & Fung. With this agreement, the existing Toys”R”Us licensed operations in this region became 70 per cent majority owned and controlled by Toys”R”Us and 30 per cent owned by Li & Fung.

Since that time, the company has continued to expand across the region, opening 10 new stores across Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. In total, the company now operates more than 100 locations in southeast Asia and greater China. In addition, 14 stores in the Philippines and Macau continue to be operated under a license agreement.

Toys”R”Us opened its first international locations in 1984 with wholly owned stores in Canada and a licensed store in Singapore and has continued to grow its operations around the world. The Toys”R”Us business in Asia launched in 1986 when Li & Fung opened the first store in Hong Kong in Ocean Terminal in a joint venture with Toys”R”Us. This joint venture was converted to a licensing business in 1999.

Toys”R”Us operates approximately 300 Toys”R”Us, Babies”R”Us and integrated stores in nine countries and jurisdictions across the region, including Japan, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Brunei.

GB