Toys :: essays research papers

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 children ´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.