ZEENAT MOORAD: Playing a rough game in the toy retail sector
Bankrupt Toys R Us Inc is like the Edcon of the toy world — adding an ill-timed leveraged buyout to the litany of difficulties afflicting the sector
Reader, if you could choose three toys that defined (and I use this term loosely) your childhood, what would they be? Here are mine: RollerBall skates, paraphernalia from The Little Mermaid (the seed of mesmeric rebellion, I dare say) and a Nintendo gaming console. Incidentally, they were all bought at homegrown SA business Reggie’s, part of the then Redgwoods Group, owner of the local operation (through a licence deal) of Toys R Us. Redgwoods was sold to new owners in late 2012 with 65 stores. Today there are just over 50 across SA. It’s tough going for toy purveyors, and more so for those that have a store-focused business model. A melange of factors has hit the industry globally, leaving even the big cheeses vulnerable. Earlier this month, Danish company Lego reported its first quarterly sales decline in 13 years and announced plans to cut 1,400 jobs, or nearly 8% of its workforce of 18,200. Lego toys are sold in 123 countries. US multinational Mattel, maker of Barbie, booted its...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.