And speaking of toys

Former Target vice chairman Gerald Storch has spent the past four years righting the ship at Toys“R”Us, and now the toy retailer, where he serves as chairman and CEO, is preparing to go public. Toys“R”Us went private in July 2005 when it was acquired by the investment firms of Bain Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Vornado Realty Trust. One of the first things the new owners did was to lure Storch away from Target.

Now Toys“R”Us is coming off its most profitable year since going private, with net income last year of $312 million despite a 3% same-store sales decrease at domestic units and full year revenues that declined slightly to $13.6 billion from $13.7 billion. Prior-year profits totaled $218 million.

Storch has received assistance from other former Target executives who are now among the senior ranks at Toys“R”Us, including Clay Creasey and Daniel Casperson. Creasey serves as CFO at Toys“R”Us, but from 1992 through 2005 was with Target’s Mervyn’s subsidiary, where he served as CFO from 2000 to 2005. Casperson serves as EVP human resources at Toy’s“R”Us, a position he has held since May 2006, but prior to that he spent four years as VP headquarters human resources for Target.