Marketing Strategy and SWOT Analysis of Toys “R” Us

A part of ensuring an excellent childhood for kids is the means to select the products they might need. Ever since the newborn phase, children require certain toys, particular games for development, furniture additions to their rooms, etc. Some companies offer combinations of those, and some stores suggest all. Amongst those is Toys “R” Us. It is the leading toy retailer globally, offering products like toys, furniture, games, sporting goods, and diapers. Ever since the beginning, one of the company’s goals has been growth, and they have reached it through different methods, including overseas expansion and computer software. This blog will speak of the success behind that growth.

Let’s discuss the company’s mission and vision statements.

The mission statement of the company is as follows.

“Through strategic partnerships and programs focused on keeping children safe and helping them in need, the company is dedicated to serving communities worldwide as a caring and reputable neighbor. The Toys”R” Us family has given over $120 million in product donations from its Global Resource Center, distribution centers, and stores in the United States to local charitable organizations.”

As mentioned in the blog, the company’s primary goal has always been growth; however, that growth is not purely through sales. The company grows further and further for more networking and notoriety to support children worldwide.

The company is there for kids who need it and ensures that it always helps communities worldwide with love and respect.

It keeps donating to resource centers, stores, and distribution centers, providing toys and other necessary products.

That speaks of the company’s contribution to its growth strategy because they are not solely a company for children’s products for more sales and recognition. They always ensure that they give back and, in turn, maintain their more interesting, fun, and contemporary products.

Consumers of Toys “R” Us are aware that they are contributing to a unique and helpful initiative, not only locally but also globally.

Let’s move to the company’s vision statement, written below.

“Our Vision is to put joy in kids’ hearts and a smile on parents’ faces.”

At first glance, this might look like a short and to-the-point vision statement, but a lot deeper thought comes with it.

Some companies provide products for kids that might not be the best for them to get associated with, which harms the kids and their parents.

What is different about Toys “R” Us is that it ensures that harmless products are put out there that will bring only good to kids with their learning and habits, contributing to their overall well-being and happiness.

When making any purchase for their kids, parents need to be sure that they are making the right decision because, in the developmental state of children, everything needs to be as harmless as possible. With that, the relief and happiness of parents are also ensured, which also comes as a part of the company’s vision statement.

Toys “R” Us positioning strategy

To do that, let’s review the Instagram post below.

This post is a collaboration with Macy’s, an American department store chain.

It is a simple photo of a little girl and a giraffe toy, Geoffrey, on his bench. The post’s caption shows that this is an initiative for other children to detect Geoffrey on their local Macys and post with a hashtag to be featured on the company’s official page.

Of course, the kids’ parents would take the photos and post them on their Instagrams.

This post is a straightforward and cute method to engage the company’s 520k followers on Instagram.

What can we gather here from the post?

The first hint is the complete joy demonstrated in the picture, which the viewers feel as soon as they glance at it.

The second hint is the sense of belonging because by suggesting people post with Geoffrey under the hashtag #ToysRUsAtMacys, the company is possibly creating a community for people from different societies to connect.

With those two points in mind, we can guess that the archetype that Toys “R” Us belongs to is the Jester.

What do we know about the Jester?

Desire: to experience every moment with total enjoyment

Aim: to lighten up the world and have a wonderful time

Strategy: play, be funny, make jokes

These are the messaging levels of the archetype.

Level One: emotionlessness, lethargy

Level Two: life as a contest, delight

Level Three: intelligence utilized to trick others, get out of trouble, and uncover ways around obstacles, modification

Level Four: Life partaken at the moment, taking one day at a time

The Jester archetype might provide a good identity for brands:

• Whose service provides a sense for people to feel that they belong
• Whose use helps people have a valuable time
• with low to average pricing
• made and marketed by a company with a laidback and fun-loving corporate culture
• That requests to be differentiated from overconfident and self-centered established brands.

Brand archetypes: Why are they significant in practice?

After this discussion, do you think brand archetypes are significant in the real world?

Various business communication strategies might concentrate on other mediums with different objectives. The companies’ messaging, however, are all linked by a joint logic.

Communication and archetypal branding go hand in hand. Utilizing archetypal branding guarantees your messages are different, coherent, and authentic.

A motivational statement that follows your company can correspond to every individual on the earth and have different effects based on how they interpret it.

One archetype could be deeply connected with education, while another could be associated with becoming a hero.

Marketing specialists can connect their ideas to make more compelling messaging using communication based on archetypes.

For a deeper understanding of how you can ensure your brand messaging is more functional, take a closer look at the “8 Steps To a Complete Archetypal Branding” e-book.

Let’s discuss the SWOT analysis of Toys ‘R” Us

Strengths

Renowned Brand: Most of the time, brands do everything in their power so that people recognize them. Brands can spend more money on marketing if the brand is already well-known enough.

Since it is widely known, toys “R” Us does not have an issue like this.

Operating under Macy’s: When brands begin their business, they search for places to rent in the best locations where more individuals can pass by and pay a visit. But this company does not have that thought in mind.

As soon as the company re-entered the market, it collaborated with Macy’s, among the most significant US retail stores. The latter has a high number of consumers visiting it daily. That ensures that Toys “R” Us also has more visibility and its consumer base develops.

Online presence: Of course, in the 21st century, after lots of technological innovations, companies have to make use of their social media platforms for more engagement, visibility, and sales. Toys “R” Us is not an exception because it has reached a tremendous online presence, which contributes to targeting more consumers.

Toys “R” Us also has a website where customers can purchase their products. The company is also included on the Macy’s website.

Weaknesses

No personal retailing store: Many companies begin their business operation by creating a customized private store to showcase their products. This strategy attracts many consumers from the outside and drives more sales. For instance, Toys “R” Us used to have multiple stores in the US.

At some point, the company went bankrupt and closed its stores. Currently, the company is only at Macy’s stores and has no self-owned store.

Lack of marketing: Brands invest lots of time, energy, and money in their marketing to drive more customers in. For instance, Toys “R” Us has recently begun operating after a break; however, few marketing strategies have been implemented to advertise the brand’s products and services.

Limited product line: Brands must diversify their procedures and item lines to gain more consumers. Since customer preferences and trends constantly change, brands must keep coming up with fresh ideas and products to meet customer demands.

However, the Toys “R” Us product line has remained unchanged for decades.

Opportunities

Open stores across the US: All brands strive to grow and open more stores nationwide. That enables brands to heighten their consumer base and revenues. Toys “R” Us has just returned and can get there slowly but surely.

Grow internationally: Like the above, growing internationally is another opportunity for all brands to benefit significantly. The latter adds more consumers to the picture and expands revenue.

Mergers and acquisitions: Every business has a goal of maximizing its profit. Businesses have found multiple means of doing so. Yet, acquiring pre-existing brands and forming mergers are among the most effective ways. This is something that Toys “R” Us could also implement and increase its consumer base.

Threats

High competition: Companies should always watch for competitors because it lowers profit. Toys “R” Us has just made a return, but it is faced with lots of competition in the clothing and toy industries. Some of them are Tiny Love and Play Smart.

Global recession: The pandemic and the Russia and Ukraine conflict have resulted in a downturn. That does not help companies like Toys “R” Us that have recently made a comeback.

Increasing inflation: Higher inflation has also entered the picture due to increased oil prices. The latter boosts companies’ operational costs and raw materials costs.

The target segment of Toys “R” Us h

We are going to analyze another Instagram post for that.

We are following a friendly encounter with a mother taking her daughter to shop at Toys “R” Us for the holiday season. It is simply a walk through the store, and in the end, we get to see the girl’s decision.

The caption suggests all parents walk over their kids’ wishlist at Toys “R” Us.

The company is making another engaging post by suggesting people share their purchases under a hashtag.

The highlight on family is the biggest hint we are getting from this post alone and for the company in general.

The second hint is the tendency to purchase one excellent quality item, then take everything from the store and focus on something other than the quality.

These points are enough for us to understand that the segment that Toys “R” Us has chosen to target is the Traditionalists.

Lifestyle and values: 

The main priority is guiding their family through life.​ Traditionalists no longer have aspirations to advance in their careers.​ They think it is their responsibility to raise the children well​.

Furthermore, fulfilling one’s obligations comes before living for happiness or accomplishments.​ Traditionalists’ goals have centered on the children, raising them to succeed in life.​

Although they are rigorous with their kids, they can sometimes be challenging to say no to.​

This segment for life aims to be calm, organized, and steady. ​To achieve it, long-lasting and stable relationships are necessary.​

Traditionalists guide their families and give tasks to the family members.

Although maintaining a tidy and appealing appearance is crucial, who you are should not solely be defined by your appearance.​ This segment adheres to their taste and dresses nicely and youthfully.​They don’t spend much money on clothes.​

Traditionalists make sure their house is comfortable because it reflects who they are.​

Food is another major factor in the life of this segment. ​They ensure the family eats healthy, freshly prepared food while avoiding obsession with organic and environmentally-friendly foods.

Traditionalists have faith in their work and need their environment to be ethical to be incorporated into a team properly.

This segment loves spending time with their family, cooking for them, going on holiday once a year, etc.

Traditionalists like visiting places that they have been before. When on holiday, they need to be fully relaxed.

They prefer to spend their evenings at home rather than going out. This segment even likes to invite friends over for quality time.

Traditionalists are not adventurous or artistic and are not fond of foreign cultures and arts. However, they love reading a lot and encourage their kids to read as well.

Attitude towards shopping: 

Traditionalists like any shopping and want to get practical with it. They purchase clothes more for comfort and less for style.

Simultaneously, this segment enjoys spending money and sometimes gets spontaneous with shopping. They enjoy trying out new brands to fulfill their curiosity.

Traditionalists prefer quality over quantity, mostly making purchases such as down-market items.

They sometimes make premium purchases for the kids but enjoy special offers and bargains.

Other interesting facts:

• Magazines and papers are solely for gathering ideas for their hobbies.
• They read their recipes.
• To maintain the aesthetics of their homes, they continuously furnish them.
• Utilize TV programs for their evenings.
• Are fond of national and local news from the press, and they mostly consume articles regarding the start.
• Enjoy magazines and gossip dailies.
• Their internet usage could be better due to their technology difficulties. Hence, the primary utilization is for job hunting and emailing.
• They rely on TV as their primary source of information to stay up-to-date about the world.
• They are above-average radio consumers, mainly using it in the car for music channels.

That wraps up the Marketing Strategy and SWOT Analysis of Toys “R” Us blog, where we touched upon its mission and vision statements, archetype, SWOT analysis, and segment. For more blogs like this, please stop by our main website!