page_title: Child World
section_title: Beginnings and early expansion
hierarchical_section_title: Child World / History / Beginnings and early expansion
caption_attribution_description: English: Child World, Saugus, Massachusetts USA. From 1993.
context_page_description: Child World was an American chain of toy stores founded by Sid Shneider and Joseph Arnesano in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1962. Child World once had 182 stores and revenues of approximately $830 million annually. From 1977 until its closure Child World also operated the Children's Palace chain of stores after acquiring it from Kobacker Stores, and later incorporated most of the aesthetic design features from the latter chain into Child World stores.
context_section_description: Child World was founded by Sid Shneider and Joseph Arnesano in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1962. It became a publicly-traded corporation in 1968 based in Avon, Massachusetts.
  After the acquisition of Children's Palace in 1975, Child World became the second largest toy retailer in the United States after Toys "R" Us, its chief competitor. In many areas Child World stores were operated near Toys "R" Us locations.
  Child World also began incorporating elements of the Children's Palace store design into its stores that opened post-merger, with many of the new stores taking on a castle-like design (see image at right). In 1981 the chain became a subsidiary of Cole National Corporation, a retail ownership group that is now a division of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
  Until 1990, Child World was led by then-President Peter Hayes. The chain was known for, largely, a 'warehouse' style of merchandising, with long aisles and so-called "over-stock" storage above selling-floor-level shelves.
  Although sales had begun to decline by the late 1980s, in 1989 the chain announced a new 29,000 sq ft (2,700 m²) store prototype designed to appeal to customers and real estate developers alike. The first store remodeled into the new prototype was in Framingham, Massachusetts, near the Shoppers World mall and key competitor Toys "R" Us, just one block away. Initially, the prototype was well-received, with strong first-day openings, and good performance in the critical Christmas selling season. Owing partly to that success, Child World management announced that the new prototype would be used to renovate 11 existing sites, and new market expansion would be targeted in 1990, 1991 and 1992 using the new design. However, Child World would not have the chance to implement the design, as problems began to arise.
caption: The former Saugus, Massachusetts Child World store, taken in 1993. This was a typical store using the new design right before Child World was liquidated.
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