Toys ‘R’ Us forced to close new store due to legal issues
15 March 2023, Mumbai
Toys ‘R’ Us, the American toy and clothing retailer, faced legal complexities with the mall owner and was forced to close a store it had opened in Hyderabad within 24 hours, according to sources.
The store, located in the Sarath City Capital Mall, opened on March 11 but was closed the next day. The mall is said to have pulled the plug on Toys ‘R’ Us due to a no-compete clause with another global toy retailer, which already had a shop in the mall. The clause prevented the two competing toy retailers from operating in the same mall.
Toys ‘R’ Us has launched in India in two formats, as Toys ‘R’ Us, the world’s leading toy store, and Babies ‘R’ Us, a one-stop destination for baby essentials. It is run by Ace Turtle, a Bangalore-based firm that entered into a joint venture with the Flipkart Group’s wholesale entity in India to acquire the licence for Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us in June 2021.
This is not the first time that Toys ‘R’ Us has attempted to enter the Indian market. In 2017, it teamed up with Tablez India, a division of Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group International, for an exclusive master franchise agreement.
