Toys R Us

Toys\\\"R\\\"Us

INTRODUCTION

In this assignment I have chosen to focus on explaining what kind of company Toys\\\"R\\\"Us is, giving a brief, short summary of the firms history, their corporate responsibilities, what their competitive advantages are and how they implement their strategies through retailing and merchandise. I also found it relevant to explain the market situation in the toy-industry and what the trends are, for understanding what other difficulties that are important to consider in order to survive.

SHORT HISTORY

In 1948, a company which totally dedicated themselves to children and their needs, was formed by Charles Lazarus in Washington DC. This was a perfect timing in relation to the post-war baby boom period, the demand for accessories for children was high, and the main purpose for the company was to carry furniture for babies. After some time, he heard customers saying phrases like \\\"I need a toy for my baby\\\", so he began selling toys aswell. Mr.Lanzarus tried to give his customers what they wanted he understood early that this was the best way to keep his customers. In 1957, he opened his first toy supermarket, and with specialized retailing and the off-price positioning, he revolutionized the concepts in the pre-mall and discount days. After this success, he sold his business to Interstate, which later went bankrupt. Mr.Lazarus rejoined the company and made it profitable, and in 1978 it became a public company; Toys\\\"R\\\"Us,Inc.

DIVISION OF THE COMPANY

Today, Toys\\\"R\\\"Us is a $11 billion dollar company and they have over 1500 stores over the whole world. The company is divided into six different divisions:

Toys\\\"R\\\"Us US Strongly focuses on strengthening the shopping experience by providing better service and better merchandise. There are around 680 locations of Toys R Us in the US.

Toys\\\"R\\\"Us International Is licensed, franchised and operated through over 570 locations in 29 countries outside the US

Kids\\\"R\\\"Us Consists of more than 375 locations where childrenÒ's clothing and toys are all under one roof, and oughts to offer all of the latest fashions and of course high quality merchandise.

Imaginarium

Toysrus.com Developed in alliance with Amazon.com in order to offer an online shopping service.

Babies\\\"R\\\"Us Offers everything parents need for their babies, like furniture, bedding, car seats etc. All products can be purchased under one roof

By organizing their organization into these different divisions, it gives them a competitive advantage because it makes it easier to focus in the certain areas. These divisions are very different from each other, and needs specialization in all the different aspects. It is very important that the divisions work closely together on top level to coordinate all different activities. Also by combining and using the \\\"all under one roof\\\" idea, they make it easier for parents to shop so that they save time.

CEO

The company has a very talented Chief Executive Officer which of course gives them a competitive advantage. John Eyler joined the company in January 2000, with top lead positions as CEO in both FAO Schwarz and Hartmarx. Mr.Eyler took his MBA in Harvard, and started of his retail career at The May D&F where he was named CEO at only the age of 32. ToysÒ'RÒ'UsÒ'CEO has a wide experience within different retail and merchandise areas, worked for big companies before and should be perfectly suited for the job.

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

In 1992 the company established Toys \\\"R\\\" Us ChildrenÒ's Fund Inc, which main function is to raise money for charity which is dedicated to meet childrenÒ's needs in the US. They believe that \\\"our children are our best and most rewarding investments\\\" and they want to continue to \\\"seek innovative ways to improve their lives\\\".

Apparently, the foundation contributes millions of dollars to organizations that makes a childÒ's life better and easier, examples are funding corporations like Reading is Fundamental (RIF) which is the oldest and largest nonprofit literacy organization in the US. Their aim is distribute free books to more than 100.000 children and to engage them with motivational activities designed by the parents. This way, children will get better educated and strengthen the relationsship.

The fund also works with renovating and construct playrooms in hospitals to make the environment better for sick children and their families. They have joined partnership with the Starlight ChildrenÒ's Foundation in order to do this, and have also awarded GildaÒ's Club Worldwide with a three-year grant to offer the same opportunities in relation to families that are effected by cancer.

By showing corporate responsibility, the company most definitely

look better in the eyes of society, and that they donÒ't seem as a pure capitalistic firm where profits only go to their shareholders. Especially since they are in the toy industry, their involvement in children reflects back on their brand and image. It is the children that they make profits on, and by funding good causes people will also buy more of their products.

www.toysrusinc.com

TOYS\\\"R\\\"US COMPETITORS, WHAT THREATHS THEY FACE AND HOW THEY IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES

Toys \\\"R\\\" Us maybe think that they have the dominant position in the market, but other resources claim that the position has been eroded by WalMart and Target. These retailers are the companies main competitors but also other emerging reatilers such as Home Depot and Kmart/Sears. In 2003, their profits fell by more than 60 percent, and in the second half of 2004, rumors came clare that the company was considering selling its toy business and just spinn of their successful

Babies\\\"R\\\"Us division.

www.retailwire.com