Build-a-Bear International Expansion Into the Chinese Toy Market

Specialty Toys, Inc., sells a variety of new and innovative children’s toys. Management learned that the preholiday season is the best time to introduce a new toy, because many families use this time to look for new ideas for December holiday gifts. When Specialty discovers a new toy with good market potential, it chooses an October market entry date.

In 2007, Mattel a California based toy company shockingly recalled 19 million toys that had been manufactured in China. Mattel was founded in 1944, and has produced iconic toys such as Barbie and Hot Wheels. The company had a long established trust with their consumers that had been forged from decades of reliability. However, when the company recalled 19 million toys due to health and safety violations, consumer confusion and outrage soared. The public wanted to know how such an established company’s safety regulations could fail, how Mattel was addressing the issue, and whether consumers could trust Mattel to produce reliable toys in the future.

The CEO of VTB, John Gilbert recently returned from American International Toy Fair and met with CIO, Bob Stetzel, to discuss the vision of the company. Gilbert mentioned that there had been a lot of interest in classic toys. He also highlighted the need for VTB to be able to satisfy all their orders, should a product’s popularity suddenly spike. Their main vision for the company was to propel their products to sell beyond seasonal dates and current target audiences in order to smooth the peaks and to be regarded by their customers as the ‘best high-end gift business in the country.’

Toys R Us is the world's largest children's specialty retailer. The company operates toy stores throughout the world and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In this paper I will give a brief company history, cite where the competitive environment is coming from, strategies that were attempted, and where they stand today.

On the morning of January 17, 1993, before the annual buying trip to Germany for the 1993 Christmas season, the toy buyer for the chain of Hightower Department Stores named Julia Brown was reviewing the performance of some models of stuffed animals tested for sales during 1992. Every time Julia’s on the trip, she would buy some stuffed animals for testing. Fifty was the minimum amount the manufacturers require. Based on Julia’s years of buying experience, the tested result would give Julia a clear estimation about how many new stuffed animals she needed to order. Figure 1 in below shows the timeline of how Julia buys the toys for the company:

I will approach the process of exploring more technologically advanced and interactive toys within the American Girl core brand by pulling a team of people to complete the strategic planning process (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). A strategic plan is a roadmap to grow your business (Lavinsky, 2013). The roadmap will detail what it will take the implement the new technology and interactive product (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014). The team will explore the new technologies and understand the current status of interactive toys that the Mattel has had success with and the pain points. This will help the team understand what works and what has not worked. Research and analysis will be performed to understand the new technologically that is available

Their mission is to “play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to reunite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign and to contribute to better communities in the future.” (www.ToysForTots.org)

A bear symbolizes strength, ferocity, and protection, but the teddy bear means more than that. Although Teddy’s bear had a huge time and meaning in world history, the meaning is often forgotten and replaced with the thought of a children’s toy. Most of the time, people do not think twice about having a teddy bear. While the teddy bear symbolizes what Roosevelt did, several people consider it just another ‘stuffed animal’. Several individuals own a teddy bear, but do not understand the history and legacy that it carries with it.

Through studying the entire retail toy industry, we have been able to understand the complexity of the industry in which Toys "R" Us operates. Upon completion of the analysis, we realized that the industry is growing stably,

just building blocks.  Due to the different segments that make up the toy industry, buyer power is

The competitive rivalry in the toy industry is intense. Organizations try to sell through their own retailers and online instead of solely through other retailers. Flexibility and responsiveness to the market are

Build-a-Bear was a company that was inspired by a need to find the unfindable. Maxine Clark saw the need to develop a shop that catered to a need that both children and adults can combine crafting and the love for stuffed animals. “One 10 year old girl was the inspiration for this entire company! Think of the difference you can make!” (BAB)

Retailing the right product at the right season, like outdoor games in the spring, is important to maximize sales. The continual display and presentation of new toys, games and crafts will attract customers and generate higher sales. Looking into expanding operations and product lines towards video games and other growth segments (e.g. Building sets and action figures). Building up a well-designed online marketing channel can promote efficiency and cost savings. Expanding the international market to avoid the intense competition in the U.S. Retail Toy Industry. Closing underperforming stores to improve liquidity through the expertise of Vornado Realty Trust and reinvest the money back into the operation.

In 1994 the company opened seven new stores: five of its own and two franchised. In that way, Tena thought he might be able to open a total of about sixty toy stores throughout Spain. This figure was exceeded in 1998 and doubled by 1999.

Conclusion: The entry of Toys “R” Us would shake the traditional Japanese toy business, however the cracks appearing in the retail structure points towards the need for transformation in the Japanese market. Hence Toys “R” Us potentially is a good prospect for the Japanese markets.