Back in the center of the toy universe - Toys "R" Us®: taking the family of brands to new heights

DSN Retailing Today, Oct, 2003 by Doug Desjardins

With its new look and new attitude in place, the chain is now focused on ways to integrate its divisions and drive sales. Overall, sales have been relatively flat the past few years with total revenues of $11.3 billion in 2000, $11 billion in 2001 and $11.3 billion in 2002.

Generating more sales outside the holiday season is a primary goal and the genesis behind its new Toy Box initiative with the Albertsons supermarket chain. Toys "R" Us began opening small Toy Box stores inside Albertsons stores last month and plans to have 1,100 open by November. The departments will carry a product mix with about 400 branded and non-branded products with most of it priced under $25.

Online sales at Toysrus.com are another engine for driving sales on a year-around basis. The company added a new sporting goods e-commerce site called Sportrus.com and is hoping to improve on its sales results from the fourth quarter of 2002 when it posted its first profitable quarter with $3 million in earnings.

And the company plans to step up its marketing campaign featuring its once-and-future mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe. A new round of TV commercials starring Geoffrey will be on the airwaves during the holidays and stores are now featuring new Geoffrey's Box Office sections to drive DVD and VHS sales.

Heading into the holiday season and the home stretch of its fiscal year, Toys "R" Us is looking to improve on its performance in 2002, when it posted its first earnings increase since 1997 on the strength of sales at international stores and Babies "R" Us.

"In addition to having further increases and earnings as a corporation [in 2003], we also expect to have increases in sales and earnings in our Toys 'R' Us division," said Eyler. "So it's been a lot of hard work to rebuild the basic capabilities, foundations and organizational strength, but we're going to see it pay off."