Amazon.com, which already has online store deals with Toys ‘R’ Us for general
toys and baby-oriented merchandise, is launching a new co-branded shop called
Imaginarium.com, a specialty and learning toy store accessible from the
Amazon site.
Imaginarium.com LLC is an affiliate of Toys “R” Us and will
be the Internet companion to the learning toy retailer’s 42 Imaginarium
bricks and mortar stores.
Amazon
specialty toy category online and follows on the heels of its deal for
on-site Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com stores that are jointly operated under
the alliance formed last year between Amazon.com and Toysrus.com. Financial
arrangements were not disclosed.
Imaginarium.com features a Learning Values System that originated in
Imaginarium stores. The system allows parents and gift givers to search for
toys according to seven specific skills that will be engaged as a child
plays, in categories such as Mathematical, Musical, Linguistic, Visual and
Motor Skills, Cooperative Play or Independent Play.
Merchandise brands include Learning Curve, BRIO, Neurosmith, LeapFrog, Baby
Einstein and Madame Alexander, among others.
The co-branded Imaginarium.com store will operate under the terms of the
10-year agreement with Amazon announced in August 2000 by Toysrus.com.
Imaginarium.com assumes the merchandising, planning, buying and inventory
management for the store; Amazon.com manages all aspects of the online
shopping experience, including Web site development, order fulfillment and
customer service, and will house Imaginarium.com inventory in its U.S.
distribution centers.
“With Amazon.com, we built Imaginarium.com to help shoppers find the perfect
toy or a special birthday gift,” said John Barbour, CEO of Toysrus.com. “The
store will also be a convenient step for parents who already shop our
Babiesrus.com store just as their children reach toddler age.”