Retail Innovators–Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us Celebrating 10 New Store Openings
In 1994, Toys”R”Us first opened its doors in Canada and soon became the go-to retailer for toys and baby supplies. In August of 2021, Putman Investments announced that they were going to acquire Toys”R”Us Canada and Babies”R”Us Canada. This is the same company that also acquired Bed Bath & Beyond, Buy Buy Baby, and Rooms + Spaces.
Quite recently, Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby recently filed for bankruptcy which gave Doug the opportunity to leverage those locations and open new stores in Canada. In fact, as per CTVnews.ca, Toys”R”Us Canada and Babies”R”Us actually expanded into locations that were previously Bed Bath & Beyond. Not only that, but Doug Putman is looking to open more stores in nearly every province in Canada.
Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us in Canada
Recently, in September 2023, Toys”R”Us Canada expanded their location in Canada with 10 new store openings, including two first-of-its-kind new stand-alone Babies”R”Us locations. This takes their total to 105 stores in Canada. Customers can find Toys”R”Us shops in all the new Rooms + Spaces stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. This brings an exciting opportunity for people to shop at Rooms + Spaces products as well as Toys”R”Us simultaneously.
Buying Habits of Canadian Shoppers
The article talks about how Toys”R”Us is no longer a well-known US brand after declaring bankruptcy in 2018. It’s actually well known that Babies”R”Us and Toys”R”Us are now uniquely Canadian brands thanks to the opening of new stores across the country.
With an average retail space of 25,000+ square feet and open air, Canadian customers find it exciting to shop for their kids. Also, recently, the Retail Council of Canada reported that 1 in 4 Canadians shop at brick-and-mortar stores rather than online. This demonstrates how Canadian buying habits are very inclined towards the tangible experience of touching and feeling the products before making a purchase.
Insights From the Grand Opening on October 13th-15th
The following article published on October 17th highlights that the store celebrations in Ontario were met with expectations. In fact, the store’s idea was to launch ahead of the holiday season to meet customer demand during the holidays.
Doug Putman’s Vision for the Future
Babies”R”Us and Toys”R”Us are the newest additions to Doug’s retail portfolio. He specifically believes that Canadian customers prefer purchasing in brick-and-mortar locations, which is evident in his press releases. In fact, Doug is constantly prioritizing opening brick-and-mortar locations. An example of this is the opening of Rooms + Spaces earlier this year.
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