AGMs

8 questions asked at 2022 Toys R Us AGM


January 8, 2023

Here is the text of the written questions asked at the 2022 Toys R Us hybrid AGM held on December 7. Most were not answered because the share registry Automic prematurely shut down the Zoom meeting and the CEO emailed through an apology after the meeting.

1. The 2021-22 accounts note that we have accumulated losses of $261 million. Where did all this money go and would it be worth attempting to sell our business to a taxpaying retailer such as Premier Investments, particularly given its controlling shareholder Solomon Lew has a long history in the Australian toy scene.

2. Chairman Kevin Moore has signed the accounts in the annual report from Cairns. Is he based in Cairns? How do the logistics work in terms of where our directors and senior executives are based?

3. The Pratt family's Thorney investment family is listed in the annual report as our third biggest shareholder with a 5% stake. The Pratt family are worth more than $20 billion. What is the history of Thorney's investment in our company and is there any chance they could be encourgaed to appoint a nominee to our small board which is now down to just 3 directors.

4. Given the interesting discussions across a range of topics today, could the chair undertake to make an archived copy of the webcast available on the company's website or even produce a full transcript for the 3,000-plus shareholders who weren't able to attend today's meeting? The likes of Nine, AGL, ASX, ANZ, Domino's and Lend Lease all produced their 1st AGM transcripts in 2021. Will you follow suit today?

5. How much are we paying property developer ESR for access to their new state of the art warehouse facility in Clayton. Were there attractive incentives offered for Toys R Us to become an anchor tenant? How many other retailers are using the same facility?

6. Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey avoids having stores in Westfield centres because he says the rent is too high and they often send retailers broke. How is our store at Westfield Doncaster going and how many other Westfield centres are we in? Are these stores profitable after paying high rents to Westfield?

7. Could the auditor Mr Miano please comment on how involved the CEO and major shareholder was in the Hobby Warehouse write-down decision given that he was the founder of that business and we only bought it two years ago. It is unusual to write-down an acquisition so quickly. Could the CEO comment on what changed and does he recognise that the old Funtastic overpaid for his business?

8. When disclosing the outcome of voting on all resolutions today, could you please advise the ASX how many shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to what happens with a scheme of arrangement? This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment on all resolutions and was a disclosure initiative adopted by the likes of Metcash, Dexus, Myer and Tabcorp.