Toys R Us optimistic heading into holiday rush

NEW YORK - Toys R Us Inc., the world's largest dedicated toy retailer, is bullish on demand heading into the busiest selling season of the year, its chief executive said.

"This will be our biggest Christmas ever," Chief Executive Jerry Storch said Monday.

Strong holiday sales will likely help the specialty toy retailer's efforts to go public. He said Toys R Us was "pleased" with early November sales trends and was preparing for its "biggest Black Friday ever."

Earlier yesterday, a top executive at U.S. consumer electronics chain Best Buy Co. Inc. also said it anticipated higher sales on this week's "Black Friday," the kick-off to the important holiday selling season.

From offering early discounts to carrying more exclusive products, U.S. retailers are pulling out all the stops for the all-important holiday shopping season.

This year, Toys R Us has opened 600 Toys R Us Express "pop-up" or temporary stores in the United States, more than six times what it opened in 2009.

It already runs 587 full-size namesake stores. It has also opened 10 FAO Schwarz "pop-up" stores.

Toys R Us also is offering more exclusive items this year as it tries to steer bargain-hungry shoppers away from rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Amazon.com Inc., and Target Corp.

The exclusive items range from a karaoke machine that's named after the popular television show Glee to a board game from toymaker Lego.

Toys R Us also has announced plans to hire about 45,000 seasonal workers, 10,000 more than in the past three years.

The postrecession U.S. shoppers are "willing to spend if they are getting something great," Mr. Storch told Reuters Monday.