Globalization with

Aytan AsgarovaODLAR YURDU UNIVERSITY

MBA

Toys "R" Us is a toy store chain headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, United States.Toys“R”Us, Inc. is the world’s leading dedicated toy and juvenile products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Toys“R”Us is an industry leader in identifying and offering innovative product choices to today’s tech-savvy generation of kids. From digital cameras to Apple iPods, musical instruments and more, Toys“R”Us is the destination for what’s new and hot in children’s electronics.

H i s t o r y

In 1948, 25-year-old Charles Lazarus turned his dream of creating a child-oriented business into a reality. Lazarus started a baby furniture store-Children's Supermart in Washington, D.C. to cater to the post-war baby boom era.

The first toy was –a cradle gym. When it proved a strong seller, he added tricycles, books and other toys. Almost ten years later, Lazarus adopted the supermarket model for his store, which allowed customers to examine and pick out products on their own and pay for them at a checkout stand. With the opening of his second store, he settled on the name Toys“R”Us® with a backward “R.” Lazarus knew it was grammatical in correct, but an attention-getter. Became a public company in 1978 . In 1983, the company branched out into children’s clothing when it opened its first Kids“R”Us® stores in Paramus, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York.

1948 2011

… H i s t o r y Although Toys“R”Us, Inc. closed its freestanding Kids“R”Us locations in 2003, the company remained committed to the apparel business and continued to sell a wide variety of name-brand designer and private label boys and girls clothing. Thus, in 1996, due to positive apparel sales, the company addedapparel to most of its Toys“R”Us stores across the country and gave birth to a newaddition in the “R”Us family with the launch of its first Babies“R”Us® location in Westbury, New York. In addition to expanding “R”Us stores and brands in the United States, Toys“R”Us launched a worldwide presence in 1984 when the company opened its first international wholly-owned store in Canada and licensed operation in Singapore. Almost ten years later, former President George H. Bush traveled to Japan to open the country’s first Toys“R”Us store.

Today, Babies“R”Us is the nation’s leading baby products specialty retailer and the chain has grown to more than 260 locations across the country since its first store opened.

Featuring its iconic mascot

Geoffrey® the Giraffe, who was

introduced in February 1960,

along with its catchy jingle “I

Don’t Want to Grow Up, I’m A

Toys“R”Us Kid®,” Toys“R”Us is

one of the most recognized and

beloved brands in the world.

KB Toys - The KB Toys brand and related copyrights were auctioned off to Toys R Us on September 4, 2009 for $2.1 Million. Plans for KB Toys remains unknown.FAO Schwarz - Upscale toy retailer headquartered in New York City. The store and its Las Vegas satellite were purchased by the company on May 28, 2009.[16]Kids "R" Us - A store chain no longer operating independently, Kids "R" Us deals in children's clothing. Babies "R" Us - Superstores specializing in clothing, furniture, toys and other accessories for babies.Scoops "R" Us - An ice cream restaurant in the flagship Times Square store.[17]Bikes "R" Us - Bike store inside Toys "R" Us (UK only)Geoffrey's Toys "R" Us/Geoffrey - Retailtainment stores named for Toys "R" Us' mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe, offering toys, juvenile merchandise, and children's apparel all in one location. "Studio G" activity center. Mostly found in the American Midwest, but are also found in Texas, Mississippi, and North CarolinaToys "R" Us Toy Box (introduced in 2003) - This version of Toys "R" Us is found in Albertsons, Giant, Jewel-Osco supermarkets, and stores in Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore.Toys "R" Us/Kids "R" Us - co-branded stores found in markets not served by the Geoffrey Stores.Toys "R" Us Express - mini store version of Toys "R" Us, found inside Asian stores. (Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan (Republic of China), Wollongong, Australia and other) Also found in some malls in United States Imaginarium - Initially, Imaginarium was an independent chain of kids toy stores with a focus on learning toys, with most of its stores located in malls. Toys "R" Us bought the chain in 1999Studio Alice- Found inside Toys "R" Us in Japan.eToys.com - ecommerce site acquired February 12, 2009 from bankrupt The Parent Company.BabyUniverse.com - another ecommerce site acquired February 12, 2009 from bankrupt The Parent Company.ePregnancy.com - parenting resource website acquired February 12, 2009

Toys "R" Us, Inc. also owns other chains:

Now we are interested in Toys “R” Us known as a global brand or not?!

The answer is : YES

As we know Globalization is the process by which businesses create value by leveraging their resources & capabilities across borders and include the

coordination of cross-border manufacturing & marketing strategies.

In today's changing global economy, it is extremely hard for companies to build competitive advantage and even more difficult to sustain it. Products of competitors catch up with cutting-edge technologies. Brand advantage requires enormous amount of financial and human resources. Pricing is

highly competitive, so buyers always look for best offers and deals.

Toy’s “R” Us is one of the most recognized brands amongst several world markets. As a global brand it meets inglobal level the demand for children’s toys.It is an $11 billion dollar company with approximately 1,600 stores worldwide. The company is a market share leader in both the U.S. and Japan, including 866 Toys“R”Us® and Babies“R”Us® stores in the United States, and morethan 520 international stores and over 200 licensed stores in 33 countries and jurisdictions. In addition, it exclusively operates the legendary FAO Schwarz® brand and sells extraordinary toys in the brand’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com, eToys.com, FAO.com and babyuniverse.com, Toys“R”Us, Inc. provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toys and baby products. Toys“R”Us, Inc. employs approximately 70,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need.For nearly ten years, Toys“R”Us Times Square, the company’s international flagship store, has delighted customers from around the globe as one of New York City’s top tourist destinations. Featuring a 60-foot Ferris wheel, a 20-foot animatronic T-Rex dinosaur and a life-sized Barbie dollhouse, the world’s largest dedicated toy store showcases spectacular special attractions and a unique toy shopping experience.

It operates more than 415 Toys“R”Us®, 20 Babies“R”Us®, and nearly 80 Side-by-Side toy and baby stores in the U.K., Japan, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, among others. Toys“R”Us, International has embodied a customer philosophy of quality, value and selection under one roof that resonates with parents around the globe. The company continues to grow internationally, and made its most recent entry into a new market in 2007 when it opened its first licensed location in South Korea.

Toys“R”Us, Inc. continually tracks toy trends around the world, and is able to move quickly when it identifies an emerging hot product in any given country. For example, a popular item in Japan could be the next big thing in Germany, and subsequently make its way to the U.S., or vice versa. Being a global retailer in the toy business year-round helps Toys“R”Us obtain early indications on what’s hot, allowing the company the opportunity to have the best in-stock position on must-have items. Major movie releases, such as Iron Man 2 and Toy Story 3, and successful television programs like Ben 10 and Bakugan drive licensed product offerings around the world.

Toys"R"Us, International

Furthermore, regional management teams that understand cultural nuances from country to country

contribute to the success of Toys“R”Us, International by selecting merchandise and implementing programs that

are both relevant and meaningful to customers in a particular market.

Positioning the global franchise for the future, Toys“R”Us became a private company in July 2005 when an investment group consisting of affiliates of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), and Vornado Realty Trust completed the acquisition of Toys“R”Us, Inc. for $6.6 billion. 

Since the acquisition, Toys“R”Us, Inc. has become a leader in the industry through its differentiated product assortment and special offerings that continue evolving to meet customers’ needs.

Relationship with

Part of the company's successful turnaroundlays in the partnership its Toysrus.com unit formed with Amazon.com just over two years ago to sell toys online. Under the

agreement, Amazon.com is responsible for handling all orders, including shipping and customer service, for Toysrus.com. The primary responsibility of Toysrus.com is

to choose the toys to offer online and make sure there's plenty of available stock. Both companies will face challenges, however. For Amazon.com, the test will be to make sure its complex fulfillment systems integrate seamlessly with Toysrus.com's.

The eTailer must also coordinate the tricky placement of products in distribution centers to avoid cost overruns. Toysrus.com is faced with finding the right balance

between supplying Toys "R" Us stores and the web site with "hot" toys, so as not to disappoint customers.

The uniqueness and success of the company can partially be attributed to the standardization of the business. Every store is similar in shape, design, size and layout. Customer’s can expect certain qualities or features to be present at every store. Advertisements and presentation including uniform colors are used at all stores. Store sizes are averaged at 54,000 square feet and the design, down to each aisle, are alike. The company is also successful because of their central control systems involving extensive computer networks. These networks connect point of sale terminal transactions with inventory levels and inventory ordering. This process ensures that the right amount of inventory is in stock at the right time.

THE SUCCESS OF THE COMPANY

International locations• Australia, established 1993, 36 stores

and 3 Babies "R" Us stores• Austria, 14 stores• Bahrain, 1 store• Brunei, established August 2000, 2

stores• Canada, established 1984, 70 stores• China, established December 2006,

23 stores: 15 Toys"R"Us Main stores, 5 Toys"R"Us Express, 3 Toy Box

• Denmark, established 1995, 13 stores• Egypt, 4 stores

• Finland, established 2006, 4 stores• France, established 1987, 42 Stores• Germany, established 1987, 58 Stores

• Hong Kong, established 1980, 8 Main stores and 3 Toys "R" Us Express stores

• Iceland, established October 2007, 3 stores

• Ireland, established 2010, 1 store in Dublin

• Israel, established 1995, 22 stores• Japan, established 1989, 167 stores and

20 Babies "R" Us stores• Kuwait, established July 5, 2009, 1

store[21]• Macau, 1 Toys "R" Us Express store• Malaysia, 22 stores: 7 Main stores, 11

Toys"R"Us Express stores, 4 Toy Box• Mauritius, 2 stores• Malta, 1 store• Norway, 8 stores

International locationsPhilippines, established July 1, 2006,

41 stores: 8 Main stores (including former Kidz Station branches acquired in December 2010) and 4 Toys "R" Us Express stores, 29 Toy Box

Portugal, 8 storesQatar, 1 storeSaudi Arabia, established 1996, 10

stores Singapore, established 1984, 6

stores:5 Main stores + 1 Toys"R"Us Express stores

South Africa, established 1987, 25 stores

South Korea, established 2007, 10 stores

Spain, 45 stores

Republic of China, Taiwan, 18 stores: 8 Main stores, 8 Toys "R" Us Express stores

Thailand, established 2005, 9 stores: 2 Main stores + 7 Toys "R" Us Express

United Arab Emirates, established 1995, 6 stores

United Kingdom, established 1985, 75 stores and 3 Babies "R" Us stores

United States, established 1948 as Children's Supermart, changed its name to Toys "R" Us in 1957, 866 stores

Sweden, established 1994, 14 stores

Switzerland, 7 Stores

Countries where Toys R Us is no longer active

Italy (1996-2000s)

Guatemala (90's closure)

Netherlands, established 1993, 17 stores. All stores continued on March 3, 2009 as Toys XL. Toys "R" Us tried to sell its stores in 1997, but encountered objections from the European Competition regulator.

Turkey, the stores in Turkey are now changed to Toyiki, because the firm that the Toys"R"Us brand was franchised to wanted to create its own brand.

Toys"R"Us, Inc. Corporate Vision At Toys“R”Us®, we love kids!  _____________________________ In delivering on their mission to be the

World’s Greatest Kids’ Brand, they not only offer parents and families a broad selection of products to create magical playtime memories along with everyday essentials, but they provide the resources necessary to keep their kids safe. For them, this is not a revolutionary idea — it’s a core value at the forefront of all they do.