The days of construction, confusing parking and endless drilling are coming to an end at Airport Junction. Some of the scaffolding has come down and shops are starting to emerge. Yesterday Toys R Us and Babies R Us, South Africa’s largest toy and baby product retailer, opened their doors.
The store offers a huge selection of quality toys and baby essentials. The ‘one-stop-shop’ will be appreciated by parents who have struggled to find the products they need or want for their children.
Biggest Toy And Baby Selection In Gaborone
This is a store like no other that we’ve had in Gabs. It’s huge! It’s a side-by-side Toys R Us and Babies R Us. The floor plan is cleverly split for the different brands and ages.
One end has all the essentials you need for a baby. They’ve got Avent, Tommee Tippee, Bounce, and NUK. There are cribs, car seat and cuddly toys. You name it, they have it. Hopefully, this will save overloaded cars coming back from Joburg with new baby essentials.
We’re most excited to see that Babies R Us has brought the Joie brand to town. The Joie Stages car seat is fantastic and often recommended by mums. We love it because it offers the ability to keep your child rearward facing up until age 4, which is excellent for advanced safety.
The other side of the store has every major toy brand that you can think of. There are trend products such as Slime products, Hatchimals, and Paw Patrol. Plus classic children’s toys like My Little Pony, LOL, Barbie, Transformers, Hot Wheels, and LEGO. There’s no doubt that they stock an incredible range and that there will be a ton of excited children in Gaborone!
A Proudly South African Company
We caught up with the Toys R Us team ahead of their opening. In all our conversations they’ve shown us that they’re committed to making a positive impact in Botswana. They have worked hard to understand the market and ensure their products and pricing is suitable for Batswana. With stores in Namibia and Zambia, they’ve proven to know the logistics of international trading in SADC. It was only a matter of time before they came to Botswana.
“As the largest toy and baby product retailer in the industry in South Africa, we are delighted to be opening in Gaborone. We look forward to bringing customers the best choice at the lowest possible prices, with exceptional service delivery thanks to our enthusiastic, experienced and committed staff,” says Nicole Jansen Van Vuuren, marketing manager for Toys R Us & Babies R Us South Africa.
At the head office in Durban, there is a fully-fledged concept store and training facilities plus dedicated training staff. Gaborone’s assistant store manager, Peo, said that 11 of the staff members went there for two months of training ahead of the store opening. She said she loved it and can’t wait to show off everything they’ve learnt. When we asked her what she thinks is the best part thing about Toys R Us is she replied smiling “we sell happiness”.
Having had a couple of last-minute Trade License issues (at no fault of their own) the opening was a bit delayed. This built up even more excitement as a crowd of expectant mothers, doting dads and bouncing kids waited outside for the doors to open. After all, everyone wants to get their hands on a bargain and the grand opening specials are excellent. One 6-year-old told me he was excited to buy a slime factory… I’m not sure what that is but it sounds cool!
Grand Opening Details
There are lots of grand opening specials on top toys, baby gear, and even essentials like nappies and lotions (stock up now!). You can get a sneak peek at the special offers on their Facebook page. The crowds were pretty big on Friday, so please be patient with your bargain buying.
Today kids will be treated to an exclusive meet and greet opportunity with the popular Toys R Us mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe, who will also be offering customers amazing prizes and giveaways on opening day. Our friends from Rise and Shine with Galyn and Deja on Gabz FM will be doing a special live broadcast this weekend.
We hope that’s given you a better understanding of the new store. Toys R Us says they will keep us coming back with great deals, great range and great customer service. Let’s hope they do because we’re excited to have another place to buy those birthday presents. You never know… we might be back for a slime factory before we know it.
2 Comments
That is great to hear!
Wow, what a wonderful place to go to for kids stuff, a one stop shop for kids indeed. as if that was not enough, I received the best service ever from the store yesterday as I was looking for a bike for my son. Good and friendly staff, very receptive, patient, excellent customer service overall.
Keep up the good work