Toys "R" Us Australia was founded in 1993 and went into administration in 2018 following its parent's bankruptcy, before closing down after failing to find a buyer.[1] Hobby Warehouse reopened it as an online store at present after acquiring the franchise from it in 2019. Toys"R"Us ANZ (then called Funtastic Limited) acquired it in 2021. It too fell into voluntary administration in 2025, and was taken over by Directed Electronics Australia.
History
Toys "R" Us came to Australia in March 1993. The company, hoping to destroy the toy sector, reportedly almost never made a profit, compounded by native, more ever-present competitors with more general merchandise, such as Kmart Australia, as well as a lack of overall spending on toys in the country compared to other countries it previously entered. It did win competition with the short-lived clone World 4 Kids of Kmart's owner Coles Myer who was experimenting with a few chains at the time.[2][3]