Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and CEO of retail brand owner WHP Global, has taken on a daunting task as he works to resurrect Toys R Us, a defunct U.S. store chain with a well-established name. His company, now parent of Toys R Us, is making some innovative moves to put the chain back on the brick-and-mortar map.
WHP has said it plans to open about two dozen Toys R Us flagship stores domestically as part of a partnership with Go! Retail Group. Toys R Us also expects to debut shops in airports and on cruise ships to capture sales from the travel-retail sector. Those efforts represent a dramatic expansion of the physical footprint of Toys R Us, holdings that contain a single U.S. flagship store at the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and in-store shops at 452 Macy's locations.
It's an ambitious initiative for WHP, which owns such other well-known brands as Anne Klein, Joseph Abboud, Isaac Mizrahi and Babies R Us. Acquiring the rights to Toys R Us, a retailer that liquidated in 2018, marks a high-profile gamble for Shmidman and his New York-based company. For these reasons, Shmidman is Person of the Week.
WHO: Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and CEO, WHP Global
STREET CRED: An attempt by the previous ownership of Toys R Us to resurrect the chain flopped. But Shmidman has won kudos for taking a slow-and-steady approach and sharing the risk in relaunching the retailer. Toys R Us was able to swiftly establish a national brick-and-mortar presence through its shops within Macy's stores — without having to identify and lease space at hundreds of locations. Opening a large two-story store at American Dream, considered to be an innovative Class A mall, has given Toys R Us additional exposure.
WHAT'S HAPPENING? Shmidman, after successfully partnering with Macy's to open branded toy shops in the chain's department stores is amplifying the toy seller's growth by teaming with Go! Retail. Starting next year, up to 24 Toys R Us stores are set to open across the country. Shmidman's partner in that endeavor, Go! Retail bills itself as the largest independently owned toy-and-game-store retailer. And the first Toys R Us airport store is slated to open next month at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Last week, a few days after WHP's announcement, Macy's said it would be rolling out up to 30 of its smaller-format stores, another endorsement of brick-and-mortar retail.
WHY IT MATTERS: Shmidman's announcement marks the latest headline-grabbing vote of confidence for physical retail, a property type that suffered when more shoppers moved online during the pandemic. WHP bills itself as a company that acquires and repositions legacy brands that some say have lost their luster. The company tries to revive those brands by investing in what it calls "high-growth distribution channels and global digital commerce platforms" for them. In the case of Toys R Us, Shmidman has decided that standalone stores are important to the Toys R Us comeback. And the move into airports and cruise ships offers a twist to the chain's domestic growth plan.
Editor's Note: CoStar News has launched a feature called Person of the Week, highlighting someone whose actions, statements or issues affected the commercial real estate industry. If you'd like to nominate someone for consideration, please email news@costar.com.