Dive Brief:
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Toys 'R' Us CEO Antonio Urcelay said Tuesday that the retailer’s stores will become play destinations, with more tech toys and more space to get kids and their families into the store.
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Urcelay said the destination approach to stores will paint a picture to shoppers that the retailer is a toy and play specialist, which will reduce the need to compete on price.
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The retailer will add more workers with mobile devices who can aid customers, and will similarly employ more staff to provide expertise and aid customers at sister brand Babies 'R' Us.
Dive Insight:
Aggressive cost-cutting has helped Toys 'R' Us enormously, but that’s never enough to save a brand. Certainly, a toy store is a natural "destination." Done right, its space can be a wonderful place for children to have fun and for their parents to buy things. And Urcelay is clearly interested in getting out of the discount price race that has hurt so much.
The problem for Toys 'R' Us, though, is that much of the same merchandise found there is also available at Amazon, Wal-Mart Stores, or Target. With smartphones in their hands, there’s little to prevent shoppers from price-checking toys even as the little ones play happily in a Toys 'R' Us playspace. This means Toys 'R' Us will need to rely heavily on the training and expertise of their employees, because the right level of service could prevent customers from shopping elsewhere, even for a better price.
