Toys 'R' Us gives '90s consumers more - Toys R Us Inc - Prototypes & Presentations

Discount Store News, April 15, 1991 by Laura Liebeck

Toys `R' Us Gives '90s Consumers More

New Prototype Offers Cleaner, Softer Look for a Customer Friendly Atmosphere

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Toys "R" Us is softening the look and feel of its stores for the 1990s consumer who seems to want more: more attention to detail, more service and a contemporary shopping environment.

While a large portion of the chain's 450 U.S. stores are still in the old mode, Toys "R" Us is moving forward with a store remodeling program that gives the units a fresh look. New stores are opening with the updated floor plan.

While some of the changes are obvious--new colors, lower fixtures, brighter stores, better signing, less imposing overall look--they are not revolutionary. There are no new in-store merchandising programs or even experimental programs stretching the chain's merchandising mind, noted one retail analyst who follows the chain.

"The ideas are functional," the analyst said, "not creative." Although the stores look refreshed and cleaner, "there's no testing of new merchandising concepts. Every retailer has to have a certain element of experimentation."

Barry Rothberg, a retail analyst with Nabon Nugent, New York, said the new prototype is simply a "cleaner" version of the old one and more customer friendly. "They're addressing their new competition: Wal-Mart and Target."

Focusing on presentation is probably the most noteworthy aspect of Toys "R" Us' new prototype because it takes obvious aim at the discounters, many of which are re-emphasizing toys after years of neglect.

"It's a good change for them," said William Underwood, senior vice president, Kmart. "They're repositioning their presentation."

Gone from Toys "R" Us' new prototype is the chain's signature orange color scheme, huge warehouse fixtures piled to the rafters with merchandise, as well as crowded, sometimes dark, narrow aisles.

Instead, Toys "R" Us has a clean, meticulously organized layout furnished with a graphically pleasing signage program that helps guide customers easily through the store and to the desired departments.

The merchandise racks are still in the warehouse mode but much lower, about 8 feet tall, except along the walls where product is stacked high to take full advantage of the cube. Toys "R" Us still looks chock full of all the toys customers want most at sharp, competitive prices. Obviously, it's not ready to change its basic format.

The new prototype is also much brighter now thanks to a new lighting program and open grid ceiling which is painted white. Long florescent lights now run both horizontally and vertically in the ceiling for maximum light along the aisles.

The color scheme has been changed from orange to a pleasing white with blue and yellow accent colors. The warehouse racks are also in blue. The floor is a high-buff white tile.

A recently remodeled Toys "R" Us store in Levittown, N.Y., on Long Island, features 11 checkout lanes in the middle of the store behind the customer service area, a slight position shift for these two areas. Also customer pick-up was moved to the right side of the registers next to an outer wall.

The entrance is on the left side of the store. Customers, as they did before, enter through the seasonal area.

The Levittown store has 14 vertical aisles split in three sections, "A," "B" and "C." There are four horizontal aisles identified by signs as "A," "A/B," "B/C" and "C."

Vertical Segment

Each vertical segment is identified with the aisle number and segment area, such as "1A." A blue rectangular sign is hung from the ceiling at each section informing customers about what is in that portion of the aisle. Each section is identified with a different colored geometric shape and a graphic illustration of the kinds of toys in the area.

For example, aisle "1A," the first aisle after seasonals, has board games, organized in alphabetical order, down the left wall. Crayons, greeting cards, gift wrap and school supplies are on the other side of the aisle. The sign hanging in the vertical aisle has a red rectangle on it representing merchandise in the "A" area. It reads, "Games, Board Games, Crayons, Greeting Cards" and has a checker-board graphic illustrative of a board game.

"B" aisles are identified with the same blue rectangular sign, but with an orange square on it. "C" aisles also have a blue sign but with a green circle logo on it.

Nintendo products, located in the video game section of the store, at aisles "1B" and "2B," include a glass-enclosed 7-foot high cabinet for some product. A Sega Genesis display with monitor is located at aisle "2BC." Turbo Gafix is located here, too.

Children's apparel has not been enlarged in this prototype. It is still located in the front center of the store, behind the registers, spanning aisles 5A-8A. Children's furniture and accessories such as carriages, cribs, and booster seats are next to apparel on lower, more customer-accessible fixtures.

Attention-grabbing merchandising programs are rare. But there are a few examples.

Girls accessories, for example, which is located at aisle 12B, features a large overhead sign in bright pink with purple lettering that says, "Girls' Accessories." The area is filled with pompons, batons, Barbie licensed fashions as well as hair accessories.