The liquidation of Toys “R” Us Inc. has stoked fears about how the U.S. toy industry will absorb the blow. But the shutdown of the company’s sister chain, Babies “R” Us, is setting off its own wave of disruption in the market for infant products, Bloomberg News reported. As the company begins holding closeout sales and planning store closures, other retailers are scrambling to scoop up customers and capture their registries — a potentially lucrative prize. Buy Buy Baby Inc., Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. stand to benefit from the shake-up. Until recently, Babies “R” Us had hoped to use its registry business as the linchpin of a comeback. The idea was to spur sales of big-ticket items, such as furniture, rather than lower-margin fare like diapers. As of last year, the company had enrolled 23 million customers in the service. But after the bankruptcy and liquidation filing of its parent company, Babies “R” Us told customers last week that it would no longer accept new registries. And people who are already registered with the chain are now racing to move their lists elsewhere. Read more.
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