THE FEEL IS THE DEAL!

"Hey sweetie do you want to go to Toys R US. No I want to go to Walmart!" These are the words I heard from my 5 year old niece last week. I'm thinking when I was a kid when I heard those three words “Toys R Us” I would go crazy, fast forwarding today the same excitement I felt doesn't resonate with some kids today. Why? Why is this? Well because that feeling isn't there like it was before. Today another major blow has been thrown at another retail giant. This time it's thrown at a brick and mortar retailer that we all know and love, Toys R Us.  The iconic brand that put a twinkle in the eyes of children across the country has announced that it will be closing 800 stores because of lack luster sales.  From fierce competition of online retailers and big box discounters, to poor management, to massive amounts of debt there are soo many quote unquote experts saying this is the reason for the demise of Toys R Us. At one point this retail giant was the King of the Hill when it came to the toy industry. Children from all ages would beg their parents to take them to the enchanting world of Toys R Us. Unfortunately just as it's other fellow brick and mortar retailers Toys R US will be joining the graveyard right next to the likes of Circuit City, Borders, Blockbusters, Radio Shack, and the other retailers who failed to evolve and differentiate themselves in the market today.

​The questions that must be raised is How? How can Toys R US go from dominating the Toy Industry to being outgunned by Amazon, Walmart and other competitors in the market? Well let’s take a look. Could it be the Toy Industry itself? Currently you have the likes of tablets, computers, and other digital devices that may have a huge effect from children running to buy the next GI Joe Action Figure (I maybe telling my age with that) Next could it be pricing from competitors. Amazon, Walmart and other discount retailers have lower prices? Many big box retailers use toys as a loss leader to get people in the store. So Toys R Us maybe just couldn't compete with the low price of these retailers? Could that be the answer, but think about this Toys R US specializes in Toys, Walmart just has a section of Toys where Toys R US whole store is filled with Toys? Could it be poor management? Toys R Us had massive debt and loans they had to pay back every year that maybe didn’t give them the luxury to revamp their outdated stores and create a better experience for the consumer. Or just maybe it was a combination of all these things that caused Toys R US to close its doors.

The one thing that is for certain Toys R Us failed to evolve. Businesses that don’t evolve  will soon dissolve. This seems to be the case for the traditional brick and mortar retailer time and time again. This is exactly what happened to Toys R Us. Whether poor management or a bad market if you just sit there twiddling;ng your thumbs you will be numb. Numb to the pain of poor performance and lack luster customer appeal. Numb to the fact that your competitors are slowly nibbling away at market share and you are dying a slow death. Numb to the fact that your customers are tire of visiting your stores and not feeling no excitement or any type of engagement from visiting your business. Yes they may have been strapped for cash but you don’t have to have a truck load of money to create an experience that pricks the heart of your consumer.
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They stayed stagnate and didn’t innovate. They failed to create an unforgettable experience that Amazon or Walmart couldn't create. Toys R US failed to differentiate from the Walmart and Amazon's of the world and basically was left to compete on price. When we are competing on price and product then it just a matter of time before were subject to a loss of sales and profit margin.  This is sad news from a kid that was proud to be a Toys R Us kid. Toys R Us still had the same unattractive less engaging stores that had boxed products on the shelf with the same giraffe in the 90'S as their brand ambassador. They failed to evolve and as a result their stores will dissolve. This should ring in the ears of every retailer out there. This won’t be the last you hear of the traditional retailer closing and getting outdone and outmatched by competition by having an outdated experience that just doesn’t do it for their customer. 

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