ToysRUs

What ToysRUs does

Toys R Us (Canada) Ltd. is a Canadian specialty retailer operating under the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands, selling toys, games, dolls, action figures, building sets, outdoor play equipment, and baby products through a contracted footprint of approximately 15-17 physical stores across Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The business serves Canadian families with children and generates revenue through in-store merchandise sales, complementary experiential offerings including PLAYLAB indoor playgrounds (admission $10/child at standard locations, $5 at Kingston), birthday party bookings at select sites, the R Club loyalty program, and Baby Registry services. The technology stack consists of standard retail infrastructure — an e-commerce platform (currently suspended during a system upgrade), point-of-sale, inventory management, and customer loyalty systems — with third-party integrations including Signifyd for anti-fraud verification, Google Analytics, and advertising platforms such as Google AdSense, Criteo, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube.

The company is headquartered at 3120 Rutherford Road, Suite 418 in Vaughan, Ontario, and has been owned by Putman Investments (controlled by Doug Putman) since 2021. The business is currently operating under creditor protection proceedings filed under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in February 2026, reporting a CAD $170 million net loss over ten months, at least CAD $120 million owed to major vendors including Lego, Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master, and Jazwares, and CAD $36 million in outstanding gift card obligations. In June 2026, an Ontario court approved a three-way asset sale: Ad Populum acquired the Toys R Us and Babies R Us trademarks and logos, Doug Putman's numbered company took 10 store leases plus inventory and equipment, and Fox Group Jumbo Canada purchased the Vaughan Mills store lease. The Toys R Us brand license is set to expire on January 25, 2027, with Putman indicating plans to either extend the license or rebrand. Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc. serves as CCAA Monitor and Neil Taylor was appointed as Chief Restructuring Officer.

Name

ToysRUs

Legal name

Toys "R" Us (Canada) Ltd.

Website

https://www.toysrus.ca/en/home

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Toys R Us (Canada) Ltd. is a Canadian specialty retailer selling toys, games, and baby products under the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands through approximately 15-17 remaining physical stores, serving families with children across Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The company also operates PLAYLAB indoor playgrounds, birthday party services, and loyalty programs, and is currently operating under CCAA creditor protection following a court-approved three-way asset sale in June 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Toy and Baby Products Retail

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Traditional Toy Stores (CRALAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Building Sets & Construction Toys Retail (CRALAFAE), Dolls, Plush & Action Figures Retail (CRALAFAD)

Keywords

• Toy retail stores
• Baby product retail
• Indoor playground
• Birthday party venues
• Specialty retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Store Sales: Revenue generated from physical retail stores selling toys, games, dolls, action figures, building sets, outdoor play equipment, and baby gear. Current store count reduced to approximately 15-17 locations following extensive closures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Toys R Us Canada operates physical retail stores selling toys, games, dolls, action figures, building sets, outdoor play equipment, and baby gear under the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands across approximately 16-17 remaining store locations in Canada. The company also offers PLAYLAB indoor playgrounds, birthday party bookings, baby registry services, and the R Club loyalty program, with an e-commerce platform currently being upgraded.

Product overview

Toys R Us Canada operates a retail platform combining physical stores with an e-commerce channel. The core offerings center on two main brands: Toys R Us for toys and games, and Babies R Us for infant and baby products. Supporting the retail experience are PLAYLAB indoor playgrounds at select locations, birthday party booking services, a Baby Registry for expectant parents, and an R Club loyalty program. The company maintains an online platform though online ordering is temporarily suspended during a platform transition. All operations serve Canadian consumers with both English and French language support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PLAYLAB: Indoor playground and activity area for children up to 10 years old, featuring three-level play structures, creative spaces, and party booking facilities at select Toys "R" Us Canada locations.
• R Club
• Baby Registry

Products and services

• Toys R Us

Quantifiable outcome

• PLAYLAB admission generates incremental revenue per child visitor

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, minor and supporting.

• Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc.coreOthers · 13 February 2026Appointed as CCAA Monitor to oversee Toys R Us Canada's business and financial affairs during creditor protection proceedings. Authorized to approve store closures and liquidation sales.
• Neil TaylorcoreOthersAppointed as Chief Restructuring Officer to oversee Toys R Us Canada's restructuring process under creditor protection.
• Ad PopulummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCourt-approved buyer acquiring Toys R Us Canada and Babies R Us Canada trademarks and logos as part of the June 2026 asset sale transactions. One of three buyers in the approved restructuring plan.
• Fox Group Jumbo CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCourt-approved buyer purchasing the Vaughan Mills store lease as part of the June 2026 asset sale transactions.
• Putman Investments / Doug PutmanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent owner acquiring 10 store leases, inventory, equipment and bank accounts through a numbered company. Plans to either extend Toys R Us brand license or rebrand after January 25, 2027 license expiration.
• LegomajorOthersMajor vendor owed at least $120 million in creditor protection. One of the key toy suppliers including Hasbro, Mattel, Spin Master Corp., and Jazwares.
• Cadillac FairviewmajorOthersMajor landlord owed substantial amounts as part of creditor protection. One of the key landlords including Oxford Properties, Ivanhoé Cambridge, and RioCan Holdings.
• HasbromajorOthersMajor vendor owed at least $120 million in creditor protection proceedings.
• MattelmajorOthersMajor vendor owed at least $120 million in creditor protection proceedings.
• Spin Master Corp.majorOthersMajor vendor owed at least $120 million in creditor protection proceedings.
• JazwaresmajorOthersMajor vendor owed at least $120 million in creditor protection proceedings.
• SignifydsupportingTechnology or IntegrationThird-party anti-fraud verification service used to verify customer transactions and protect against fraudulent orders on the e-commerce platform.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Dollarama: Canada's leading low-price variety retailer with broad assortment including toys, party supplies, and baby goods. Competes on price-sensitive toy and party purchases — categories overlapping with Toys R Us's lower-priced items.
• Canadian Tire: Iconic Canadian retailer with seasonal toy departments and outdoor play equipment overlapping with Toys R Us categories such as bikes, ride-ons, and outdoor toys. Comparable Canadian mass-retail footprint.
• Target Canada: Mass general-merchandise retailer (via Canadian stores) with a meaningful seasonal toy department and family-oriented value proposition. Competes for the same gift-and-occasion toy purchases.
• Walmart Canada: Mass-market retailer carrying a deep toy assortment at competitive prices across hundreds of Canadian locations plus a major e-commerce platform. Compresses Toys R Us pricing power on commodity toys and absorbs significant share during seasonal peaks.
• Amazon.ca: Dominant Canadian e-commerce platform with the deepest toy catalog, aggressive pricing, and Prime delivery. The structural headwind cited explicitly in Toys R Us Canada's restructuring narrative and the principal reason online ordering matters.

Direct peers

• Party City: Specialty retailer of party supplies, costumes, and seasonal merchandise with strong birthday-party orientation. Directly comparable to the PLAYLAB birthday-party booking service and adjacent toy/gift assortment.
• Indigo Books & Music: Canadian specialty retailer with a strong toy and kids' category presence alongside books, baby products, and lifestyle goods. Comparable in customer segment (gift-giving families), physical-store footprint, and category-adjacent assortment strategy.
• Claire's: Specialty retailer targeting tween/teen girls with toys, accessories, and impulse gift items, primarily in mall locations. Overlaps with Toys R Us's action figures, dolls, and plush categories and competes for similar gift occasions.
• Mastermind Toys: Canada's largest specialty toy retailer, offering a curated assortment of toys, games, and children's products across physical stores and e-commerce. Most directly comparable as a Canadian pure-play toy specialist competing for the same family-with-children segment.

Emerging players

• Build-A-Bear Workshop: Experiential specialty retailer offering customizable stuffed animals and party bookings in a destination-store format. Conceptually adjacent to the PLAYLAB experiential model and competes for family outing occasions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ToysRUsCanada
• Facebookfacebook.com/ToysRUsCanada
• Instagraminstagram.com/toysruscanada
• TikToktiktok.com/@toysruscanada
• Xx.com/toysruscanada

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ToysRUs