Gifts / Sports & Toys

Recently, Toys R Us Ibérica, which was previously reported to be bankrupt, had a new turn. PRG Group (Prenatal Retail Group), a subsidiary of Italy's Artsana Group, will take over and gain exclusive control of all Toys "R" Us brick-and-mortar retail stores and online retail channels in Spain and Portugal. What is the origin of PRG Group, and can it lead the comeback of Toys "R" Us in Spain?

PRG Group expanded against the trend under the epidemic, with annual sales exceeding 1 billion euros

PRG Group mainly sells toys and various baby products. Its business is distributed in nine European countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, etc.; Camp Prénatal and Bimbostore for mother and baby products.

In 2017, PRG Group was acquired by Italian Artsana Group. Artsana Group is a multinational company specializing in baby and health care products. Its main product brands include Chicco, a brand with a rich production line of baby products and toys, Recaro, a child safety seat brand, and boppy, a baby care pillow brand.

In 2021, despite the pressure of the epidemic and supply chain tensions, PRG Group continued to expand against the trend and achieved good results. The number of its global stores increased by 17.3% year-on-year to 912, with a business area of nearly 570,000 square meters; net sales The amount reached 1.055 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 19.2%.

PRG Group has rich experience in the Spanish and Portuguese market, and e-commerce business accounts for 10%

PRG Group has accumulated rich operational experience in the retail business of toys and maternal and infant products after years of development. The four retail chain brands under the group have their own advantages, and they have a relatively high market share in Europe, including Spain and Portugal, where Toys "R" Us is located.

Prénatal is the mother and baby chain brand with the longest history and richest operating experience in the group. Founded in 1947, Prénatal currently has 294 stores, 162 of which are located in Italy. Prénatal is also very active in Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula, with 33 stores in Spain and 9 in Portugal.

Prénatal is mainly engaged in the operation of various types of maternity and infant clothing, as well as infant toys, baby products and other categories. Its products are divided into various categories. For example, clothing products are tailored by professional designers according to the needs of pregnant women and infants at various stages. There are about 10 sub-categories under each age category, which can meet the needs of parents and children. required for each usage scenario.

In addition to product retailing, Prénatal's services are also more refined, and will provide online prenatal guidance, new mother parties, list recommendations for products to be born, and VIP members who can enjoy more discounts and personalized services according to the prenatal needs of new parents. service etc.

Bimbostore, another mother and baby chain brand under PRG Group, was born in 2011. It has 97 stores and specializes in the sale of baby products for 0-4 years old. Currently, it mainly operates in Italy, where it features family-friendly supermarkets, including large shelves, popular product structure and shopping guide services.

The two toy retail chain brands of PRG Group, Toys Centre and King Jouet, have relatively high market shares in Italy and France respectively.

Toys Centre has 128 stores in Italy. According to data from NPD Group, Toys Centre has a market share of 29.1% in Italy, making it the only professional toy chain store in Europe with a national market share of more than 20%. In addition to the toy products of world-renowned brands, Toys Centre also includes 1,500 toy products under 18 private brands. Toys Centre also attaches great importance to e-commerce business, and has opened a free delivery service of more than 39 euros. Consumers can also order goods online and pick them up at designated stores.

King Jouet has 252 stores in France, Switzerland and Belgium, including 160 directly-operated stores. King Jouet is mainly engaged in the distribution of toys and game products. It is characterized by a variety of retail formats. In addition to King Jouet, a large toy store with an area of more than 500 square meters, it also has a chain store brand King Jouet City that specializes in small and medium-sized cities and is located in the city center. The boutique brand of King Jouet Boutique.

Although the business scope has covered all aspects of the toy and baby products market, PRG Group is not satisfied and is still actively diversifying and expanding. In 2021, PRG Retail Group reached an agreement with the American company ThreeSixty to bring the century-old toy store brand Fao Schwarz to Italy. The first store is located in Piazza Cordusio, Milan, with an area of more than 600 square meters, becoming the brand's first flagship store in continental Europe.

In addition, in response to the adverse impact of the new crown epidemic, PRG Group decisively accelerated the digitalization process of all its brands. All of its retail brands have opened online shopping websites, and provided online pre-order and offline pickup services and home delivery services. good results. In 2020, PRG Group's online sales reached 75 million euros, a year-on-year increase of 138%, plus omnichannel/web-to-store sales (omnichannel/web-to-store sales), a total of 96 million euros, Equivalent to 10% of the total turnover.

By the end of 2021, PRG Retail Group will cooperate with Aptos, a digital solutions provider for retail technology, to introduce digital purchasing and ordering functions to speed up the centralized management of data and the digitization of series product development and purchasing activities, thereby further improving the overall efficiency of enterprise operations.

Toys 'R' Us in Spain has changed hands several times, and this acquisition is expected to help it rejuvenate

In 2018, after Toys 'R' Us in the US and the UK closed due to financial difficulties, in 2018, Toys 'R' Us in Spain was acquired by Portuguese investment firm Green Swan, which said at the beginning of the acquisition that it would be built within four years. Invested 80 million euros in Toys R Us in Spain.

Subsequently, the Green Swan Fund invested 10 million euros to digitally transform the back-end system and offline operations of Toys R Us in Spain. However, due to the outbreak of the epidemic, offline stores were closed, and its online business could not make up for the related losses. In addition, affected by the sluggish global supply chain last year, Spain's Toys "R" Us did not perform well in the traditional Christmas sales season, and there was a problem of insufficient inventory. Despite claims by the Green Swan Fund that Spain's Toys "R" Us has grown in sales to 116 million euros in 2021, it has finally announced its sale.

For the ill-fated Spanish Toys "R" Us, the biggest difference between the PRG Retail Group and the previous two owners is that it has been focusing on the sales of toys and baby products for many years, with rich operational experience and a mature supply chain system. As well as the latest digital operation system, Spanish Toys R Us can form a synergy and rejuvenate after joining.