Dive Brief:
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Sales of toys may disappoint this year, according to Toys R Us Inc. CEO Dave Brandon.
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The retailer met its targets over the Black Friday weekend, according to Brandon, but it won’t be seeing the 6% or 7% growth it predicted was possible.
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Former Toys R Us CEO Antonio Urcelay last year said the retailer was suffering from increased competition from the likes of Amazon, as well as a slowing birth rate.
Dive Insight:
Toys R Us has come pretty far since reporting a major decline in sales last year, cutting costs and drumming up some toys not available at other retailers.
NPD Group estimated earlier this year that U.S. toy sales would rise some 6.2% this year, one of the best showings in more than 10 years.
But there’s a limit, apparently, according to Brandon, who took over as CEO last year, with sales so far this holiday season a bit slower than anticipated.
“My preliminary view is we’re not seeing 6% to 7% category growth,” Brandon said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “Now maybe it’s still out there. We’ll see.”
