Toys R Us has published details of its sales performance during the all important pre-Christmas shopping season. Sales decreased both in its home domestic market and abroad.
Toys R Us like-for-like same store sales decreased 2.5% in its domestic market of the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam during the nine weeks up to 31 December 2016. While sales in international markets were down by 4.9%.
Overall the company saw a 3.4% decrease in sales during the toy industry’s peak shopping period before Christmas.
These results compare 30th October until 31st December 2016 with 1st November until 2nd January 2015.
In a statement, Dave Brandon, chairman and CEO of Toys R Us Inc. stated : “The 2016 holiday season proved to be an unusual and challenging one for most retailers. Despite a promising start over the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend, we experienced lower than expected sales in the toy category overall and continued softness in our baby business. The loss of momentum in the toy category triggered intense promotional activity from our competitors, creating a significant competitive challenge.
“Despite the fact that our operational execution was significantly improved versus last year, the marketplace environment precluded us from achieving the top-line growth we had planned for both our domestic and international markets. We are disappointed, but remain firmly committed to take aggressive action as we enter 2017, with a relentless focus on delivering the best experience possible along every step of the customer journey. We have a number of important initiatives planned, including the relaunch of our webstore, which we expect will have a significant impact on our ability to drive future growth in both our baby and toy businesses.”