"I'm very pleased to announce that following an extensive search including both internal and external candidates, Rick Markee has been selected as Vice Chairman of Toys "R" Us, Inc. and President of our U.S. Toy Stores division," said Mr. Eyler. "Rick's superb track record of having founded Babies "R" Us, our company's most successful division, and his experience over the last 17 months in running a portfolio of businesses -- Toys "R" Us International, Babies "R" Us and Toysrus.com -- which had the best performances in their histories this past year -- led us to conclude that he is undoubtedly the best candidate to assume responsibility for the U.S. toy store division."

Mr. Eyler pointed to Mr. Markee's outstanding operational and managerial skills as critical components in the selection process, as was his role in helping to create Geoffrey, an innovative new store concept that is currently located in rural markets and serving as a learning laboratory for Toys "R" Us.

Mr. Markee joined the company as Vice President/General Manager of the Kids "R" Us division in 1990. He was named President and later Chairman of that division, and in 1995 he founded Babies "R" Us, assuming the additional responsibility of serving as President of that division as well. In January 2002 Mr. Markee was named President of Specialty Businesses and International Operations, assuming additional responsibilities for overseeing the Toysrus.com and International divisions as well as new business ventures.

As Vice Chairman, Toys "R" Us, Inc. and President of the U.S. Toy Stores, Mr. Markee will be responsible for the Toys "R" Us U.S. division, product development, Toysrus.com and Geoffrey. The International, Babies "R" Us and Kids "R" Us divisions will report directly to Mr. Eyler.

"I'm delighted for the opportunity to build on the foundation that's been laid in our U.S. toy stores," said Mr. Markee. "A lot of work has been done over the past three years in improving our merchandising, store formats and presentation as well as in associate training and enhancing our service capability. Now, it's time to take all that hard work to another level and build profitable sales growth. I've got more than 27,000 partners in our U.S. toy stores who are fully capable and ready to go, and I look forward to working with them to improve sales and profits in the U.S. toy store division, and to continue the good progress we've made at Toysrus.com and Geoffrey."

Prior to joining Toys "R" Us, Inc., Mr. Markee was Vice President/ Divisional Merchandise Manager of Target Stores, a division of Dayton Hudson Corp., and had previously been a buyer at Famous-Barr, a division of May Company.

He has a B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and serves as a board member and former Chairman of K.I.D.S. (Kids in Distressed Situations), a national charity of leading retailers and manufacturers of children's products committed to helping children in need.

Separately, Deborah Derby, formerly Senior Vice President, Associate Relations and Organizational Effectiveness, was promoted to Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Toys "R" Us, Inc. reporting directly to Mr. Eyler.

Ms. Derby joined the company in June 2000 as Vice President, Human Resources for the Babies "R" Us division. Two years later she was promoted to Senior Vice President responsible for the field Human Resource organization for five of the company's six divisions, as well as for the corporate offices and distribution centers.

"Deb is a highly talented executive with operating expertise in all aspects of Human Resources management," said Mr. Eyler. "We're very pleased to promote from within an individual of such caliber and professionalism. Deb is an asset to our organization and has made a number of important contributions to the company in the three years she's been with us. We're pleased to recognize her accomplishments with this well-deserved promotion."

Prior to her tenure at Toys "R" Us, Ms. Derby spent eight years at Whirpool Corporation in various Human Resources roles including Corporate Director, Compensation and Benefits. Before that, she was an attorney specializing in employment law at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone in Detroit, Michigan. She also had been a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs and spent a year working in that company's London offices.

Ms. Derby received a BA in Economics from Harvard University and her MBA and JD from the University of Notre Dame. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Michigan Bar Association and the Society for Human Resource Professionals.

She replaces Michael D'Ambrose who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

Both Mr. Markee and Ms. Derby's appointments are effective immediately.

Toys "R" Us is one of the world's leading retailers of toys, children's apparel and baby products, currently sells merchandise through 1,602 stores worldwide: 680 toy stores in the United States; 547 international toy stores including licensed and franchised stores; 146 Kids "R" Us children's clothing stores; 188 Babies "R" Us stores; 37 Imaginarium stores; 4 Geoffrey stores; and through Internet sites at www.toysrus.com, www.babiesrus.com, www.imaginarium.com and www.giftsrus.com.