The company built the Toys R Us toy empire in the 1990s with its warehouse-style outlets. The US-side of the business is going into administration, but apparently the company was slow to take on digital. The belief is that footfall has been decimated by rivals such as Amazon.
All is not lost for the UK stores. Why? I would find it difficult to meet a person who doesn’t have a nostalgic notion of going into one of these warehouses as a kid looking for the latest Star Wars, Lego or to play on the latest games consoles? It was sometimes the highlight of my weekend to go to Toys R Us and play F-Zero and Street Fighter on the Super NES.
KIDS LOVE TOYS… THEY LOVE REAL PLACES – Look at Hamley’s – a brilliant brand and they’ve cracked the retail experience. Toys R Us could really make an impact in 2018/19.
The power of the brand is king… They are a national nostalgic and household brand that can be revived through new and nostalgic value propositions, re-think on their use of space, Mixed Reality events, Minecraft competitions, Lego days, Softly areas with the toys you can buy, you name it – Most of these ideas can be tried and tested in focus groups. All bolstered with a brilliant operational and leadership transformation throughout all stores to redress the cultural heritage making the staff proud to work for Toys R Us.
Let’s see what happens.