Toys R Us opens new distribution center to better meet holiday crush

When the Christmas season rolls around later this year, many parents in the western United States will benefit from an announcement made Thursday by Wayne-based retail giant Toys R Us, which announced plans to open a new distribution center outside of Reno, Nev., by June to speed delivery of online orders.

When the Christmas season rolls around later this year, many parents in the western United States will benefit from an announcement made Thursday by Wayne-based retail giant Toys R Us, which announced plans to open a new distribution center outside of Reno, Nev., by June to speed delivery of online orders.

The facility will be located in an office park in McCarran, Nev., and will occupy a new, 300,000-square-foot building. The facility, according to Toys R Us, was built according to a prototype that’s expected to receive gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

The building will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art robotic picking system, as well as other technological innovations to speed the delivery process. The McCarran facility will serve only Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com customers.

“We expect this facility to increase our capacity to fulfill orders, simplify the shipment process and expedite deliveries to online customers throughout the western United States,” spokeswoman Linda DeNotaris said in an e-mail.

According to the company, the new center will “enable shipments to reach destinations through the West within two business days or less by means of major carriers’ ground-shipping methods.”

The McCarran facility will be fully staffed through local hiring, with an expected year-round work force of 120 full- and part-time workers and an additional 230 seasonal positions during the holidays.

The new building is the 12th distribution facility for store and e-commerce for the company, which employs approximately 70,000 people worldwide. Toys R Us took in more than $13 billion in revenue in 2010, but does not break out e-commerce business within reporting of U.S. or international sales.

E-mail Melinda Caliendo at mcaliendo@njbiz.com