Toys ‘r’ Us acquires 70% stake in Southeast Asia, China stores

Toys “R” Us Inc., the world’s largest toy chain, bought a 70 percent stake in its licensed operations in Greater China and Southeast Asia as it looks to expand in the region.

Toys “R” Us acquired the stake from Li & Fung Group, the parent of the world’s biggest supplier of toys and clothes to retailers, as part of a joint venture it agreed with Li & Fung Retailing, the chain said in a statement distributed by BusinessWire. Toys “R” Us may buy the remaining 30 percent of the venture in the future, according to the statement, which didn’t disclose financial details.

The venture will include 90 existing Toys “R” Us stores in Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. These stores will be considered part of the operations of Toys “R” Us, increasing the number of the company’s wholly owned international locations by 17 percent, according to the statement. Fourteen stores in the Philippines and Macau will keep operating under a license agreement, it said.

“We believe there is significant growth opportunity for our company in this region, and we look forward to an aggressive expansion of our business in both existing and new Asian markets, including Northern China,” Toys “R” Us Chief Executive Officer Jerry Storch said in the statement.

Toys “R” Us, based in Wayne, New Jersey, operates more than 600 wholly owned locations, including in the U.K., Japan, France, Germany, Spain, China and Canada, according to the statement. The company also has more than 140 licensed stores with retail partners globally, it said.

Li & Fung Ltd. is the Li & Fung Group’s Hong Kong-listed supplier of clothes and toys to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.