Toys ’R’ Us is being resurrected for the holiday season. But the environment that caused the toy chain’s demise has not changed. It still must compete with Wal-mart, Target and especially Amazon, a competition based on price and convenience that it could not win.
Retailers today face two choices: offer consumers time well saved or time well spent. Toys ’R’ Us failed at the former strategy in its first incarnation. In coming out of bankruptcy, the company must pursue a time-well-spent strategy, offering places where both parents and their kids enjoy great experiences.
For the reborn company to have a chance, it must turn 180 degrees and embrace a parent- and kid-centric strategy. It must become a stager of toy-playing experiences—enticing consumers into its new places by offering experiences that both parents and kids value.
Imagine venues designed around toys themselves with never-ending play experiences—one with spots where children can play with Lego sets and participate in gaming tournaments. Imagine a testing lab where vendors pay to have children play with their latest and greatest toys. Imagine a studio where kids can design and create toys. Imagine becoming the place for children’s birthday parties.
The absolute best way of knowing you’re providing time well spent is to charge admission for gaining entry to at least parts of the store—as the old Toys ’R’ Us once did for the ferris wheel in its former flagship store in Times Square in New York City.
In addition, Toys ’R’ Us could create a toy club that parents would value so much they’d pay a membership fee. The club’s fees could include the ability to return toys past their useful life or age-appropriateness and upgrade them via customized recommendations based on each individual child. By changing its business model to offer—and charge for—time well spent, the new Toys ’R’ Us can carve out a lasting and valued role in the toy business for decades to come.
Kevin M. Dulle & B. Joseph Pine II
Kevin M. Dulle is a director of experience innovations at NewGround and founder of The thINKing Canvas. B. Joseph Pine II is a cofounder of Strategic Horizons.
Image credits: Robert Philip | Dreamstime.com