Toys R Us Inc

Toys R Us Inc.'s profit declined 48% in its fiscal fourth quarter, which included a disappointing holiday sales season for the nation's No. 2 toy retailer. The Wayne, N.J.-based company, which trails only Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in toy sales, also announced Wednesday that it was selling 124 of its empty Kids R Us stores to Office Depot Inc. for $197 million. The office supply seller also will assume the leases on stores the toy retailer had rented.

The annual holiday wars between the nation's two largest toy sellers is well underway. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us Inc. are cutting prices and deploying brigades of Barbie and Elmo dolls as they joust for market share. In a move that took Toys R Us -- and the rest of the industry -- by surprise, Wal-Mart cut prices on more than a dozen hot toys in mid-October, a month earlier than normal.

Toys R Us Inc., the second-largest U.S. toy retailer, said Monday that it would close its money-losing Kids R Us and Imaginarium chains, eliminating about 3,800 jobs. The company's shares plunged after its third-quarter loss unexpectedly widened and it cut its annual profit forecast. The chains will be shut by the end of January. They include 146 Kids R Us clothing stores and 36 Imaginariums, which sell educational toys. Three distribution centers also will be closed.

Toys R Us Inc., the No. 1 U.S. specialty toy retailer, Monday reported a smaller quarterly loss, helped by the weaker dollar and sales in its Babies R Us unit. Shares of the company, which also backed its full-year earnings forecast, rose more than 7%. Toys R Us said its net loss narrowed to $11 million, or 5 cents a share, in the second quarter ended Aug. 2, from $17 million, or 8 cents, a year earlier.

Toys R Us Inc. and Albertson's Inc. on Tuesday set a play date they hope will win back shoppers who buy their toys and snacks at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer. The No. 2 toy seller, Toys R Us, will set up its Toy Box toy shops in many of the 2,300 food and drugstores owned by No. 2 grocer Albertson's, the companies said Tuesday. Toys R Us also will install unbranded toy departments in some Albertson's stores.

Toys R Us Inc. is experimenting with stores that combine toys with groceries, haircuts, photo studios and party rooms, hoping to lure more shoppers year-round, not just during the holiday shopping season. Toys R Us opened four Geoffrey stores in 2002, named after the company's giraffe mascot, the No. 2 U.S. toy retailer said in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 40,000 to 45,000-square-foot stores combine elements of Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Kids R Us.

Toys R Us Inc. said fourth-quarter earnings jumped 76% after lower operating expenses helped mitigate slow holiday sales. Net income rose to $278 million, or $1.30 a share, from $158 million, or 78 cents, a year ago, Toys R Us said. Sales in the period ended Feb. 1 rose 2.3% to $4.87 billion. Shares of Paramus, N.J.-based Toys R Us fell 1 cent to $7.90 on the NYSE.

Toys R Us Inc. said U.S. division President Gregory Staley resigned from the second-largest U.S. toy retailer for personal reasons. Staley, 55, joined the company in 1989, Toys R Us said. He helped redesign the Paramus, N.J.-based toy chain's stores and was president of the international division from 1995 to 2000. The U.S. toy store division will report directly to Chief Executive John Eyler until Staley's successor is named, the retailer said. A search is underway.

Toys R Us Inc. shares surged as the No. 2 U.S. toy seller's third-quarter loss narrowed to $28 million, better than forecast. The net loss shrank to 13 cents a share, from $44 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 4.3% to $2.27 billion. Toys R Us sold more traditional toys such as Chicken Dance Elmo and the Rapunzel Barbie doll. Toys R Us cut costs and has revamped its more than 600 U.S. stores.

Second-quarter earnings for Lowe's Cos. surged 42% as the nation's second-largest home-improvement retailer expanded into big cities and controlled expenses. At the same time, Toys R Us Inc. reported a narrower loss that beat forecasts, as the No. 2 toy retailer controlled inventory, cut costs, remodeled stores and boosted sales of traditional toys. Lowe's said net income increased to $467 million, or 59 cents a share, from $329.