John Eyler, president and ceo of Toys “R” Us (Paramus, N.J.), told shareholders that the retailer will cut prices on about 200 popular items and continue to experiment with Toys R Us shops in grocery stores.
The strategy is designed to remain competitive with Wal-Mart (Bentonville, Ark.), the mass merchant discounter that has become the country's Number One toy seller. Toys “R” Us, an early category-killer that led the list for much of its existence, is Number Two, with a market share of about 17-20 percent.
Eyler said his company will also resume using Geoffrey, the giraffe mascot, in its advertising and marketing, an attempt to connect to parents who grew up with the character.
“Every year, we're going to try to launch a new business concept to see if we can grow our business,” Eyler told investors and analysts in New York. The first new concept is Toys “R” Us shops in grocery stores operated by Royal Ahold (Zaandam, Netherlands) and its U.S. operations, Ahold USA (Chantilly, Va.). The next new concept would be to open mid-size stores combining the company's divisions — Toys “R” Us, Kids “R” Us and Babies “R” Us — in small markets where the retailer has no current presence.