Toys 'R' Us vows it's back in game

Toys ''R" Us Inc., the retailer acquired by three buyout firms, expanded its offerings of exclusive merchandise to win sales this holiday season and said its new owners are committed to building the business.

Seventy-five percent of the company's ''doorbuster" specials, or limited discounts, offered from 6 a.m. to noon yesterday were available only in Toys ''R" Us, Richard Markee, interim chief executive, said in an interview.

Toys ''R" Us is fighting to win back market share after Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, unseated the Wayne, N.J., company as the biggest US toy retailer in 1998.

New owners Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Boston-based Bain Capital LLC, and Vornado Realty Trust have gone through a review of the business and are committed to Toys ''R" Us staying in the toy business, Markee said. The three firms bought the toy retailer for $6.6 billion in July.

''Last year we were still uncertain about our long-term future," said Markee, 52, who will be CEO until a replacement is found. Now ''we have a broader assortment. . . . We're working diligently to test early, find the best toys, and make sure we have them."