- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
_____________________
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
_____________________
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 25, 1998
TOYS "R" US, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
Delaware 1-11609 22-3260693
(State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of Incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
461 From Road, Paramus, New Jersey 07652
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code:(201) 262-7800
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events.
This report relates to certain announcements made by the
Registrant in the Press Release, dated February 25, 1998, filed as an
exhibit hereto and incorporated by reference herein.
Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information
and Exhibits.
c. Exhibits
1. Press Release, dated February 25, 1998
<PAGE>
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
TOYS "R" US, INC.
Dated: February 26, 1998 By: /s/ Louis Lipschitz
Louis Lipschitz
Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer
FROM: Lawrence A. Rand Louis Lipschitz
Kekst and Company Toys "R" Us, Inc.
437 Madison Avenue 461 From Road
New York, NY 10022 Paramus, NJ 07652
(212) 593-2655 (201) 368-5548
FOR: Toys "R" Us, Inc. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(NYSE : TOY)
TOYS "R" US ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT CHANGES AND PRELIMINARY
RESULTS FOR 1997
GOLDSTEIN NAMED CHAIRMAN; NAKASONE BECOMES CEO; KRYSIAK
JOINS COMPANY AS PRESIDENT AND COO
PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY, February 25, 1998 -- Toys "R" Us announced today
major changes in its senior management structure and also provided
preliminary results for its fiscal year ended January 31, 1998.
Michael Goldstein (56), Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will
become Chairman of the Board. The company's founder, Charles Lazarus,
will become Chairman Emeritus and remain on the Board. Robert C.
Nakasone (50), President and Chief Operating Officer, will be promoted
to Chief Executive Officer. Bruce Krysiak (47), President and Chief
Operating Officer of Dollar General Corporation of Nashville, TN, will
join the company as President and Chief Operating Officer and President
of Toys "R" Us, USA. In addition, Mr. Krysiak was elected today to
serve as a member of the company's Board of Directors.
Further, Keith Van Beek (51), President of Toys "R" Us, Canada, will
become President of Merchandising and Marketing for Toys "R" Us, USA;
and David Rurka (51), Managing Director of Toys "R" Us, United Kingdom,
will become Chairman of the company's newly-created European Management
Board, in addition to retaining his current responsibilities.
All of these changes are effective immediately, with the exception of
Bruce Krysiak. While Bruce will serve as a consultant to Toys "R" Us
immediately, his official role as President begins on April 13, 1998.
<PAGE>
"We've been planning this transition with great care for some time,"
said Mr. Goldstein. "We've accomplished a lot of the things we set out
to do in the 15 years I've been at Toys "R" Us. Now that we have a full
senior management team assembled to ensure a smooth transition, the time
is right for me to take a less active role in the operations of the
company. That's certainly easier to do knowing that the company is in
capable hands. Bob Nakasone has done an outstanding job over his 13
years with Toys "R" Us, including the last four years as President and
Chief Operating Officer. He has the vision and the ability to lead the
company toward winning strategies in the coming years, and I'm confident
that he'll serve the company, our employees and shareholders well."
"This is an exciting opportunity, and I'm looking forward to the
challenges ahead," said Mr. Nakasone. "Mike has been instrumental in
initiating the repositioning of our company; however, there's still a
lot of work to be done. We've got a strong management team in place.
Bruce Krysiak's years of experience in retail operations, merchandising
and marketing will be invaluable as we move forward, and Keith and David
have both been outstanding contributors to Toys "R" Us. The combined
talents of these individuals and the other members of our senior
management team comprise some of the best talent in the retail industry.
I think the coming years will be exciting ones for Toys "R" Us."
The Company also said that, based on preliminary results, it will report
earnings per share for the 1997 fiscal year of approximately $1.70 per
share. "While our preliminary results indicate that we will report
another year of record sales, it's clear that we fell short of the
earnings target we set for ourselves, which was to achieve record
earnings. It appears we will have the second highest earnings in the
company's history. The primary shortfall came on the gross margin line
and resulted from higher costs relating to our promotional Holiday
selling program; additional distribution and handling costs related to
higher than planned inventory levels; and higher than historical
inventory shortages," said Mr. Nakasone. "Despite the higher level of
shortages, the company's inventory shrinkage is very well controlled and
is still significantly lower than the industry norm."
He went on to add, "Our focus in 1998 will concentrate on refining our
Concept 2000 store prototype, the profitable expansion of Babies "R" Us,
and accelerating our positive earnings momentum in International. We
will also focus on increasing our free cashflow by operating with lower
inventory levels (targeting a reduction of $500 million in same store
inventories by the year 2000) and a heightened control over operating
costs and capital expenditures; increasing the efficiency of our
marketing and merchandising programs to improve same store sales with
lower costs; and aggressively repurchasing our stock under our $1
billion stock buyback program."
Toys "R" Us will release its audited results on March 11.
<PAGE>
Toys "R" Us is the world's premiere retailer of children's products
currently operating 1,454 stores; 698 toy stores in the United States;
441 international toy stores, including franchise stores; 215 Kids "R"
Us children's clothing stores, 98 Babies "R" Us stores; and 2 KidsWorld
stores.
# # #
