Toys and Games industry

However, GameStop is still at a disadvantage, because there are such a large number of competitors in the industry. Buyer’s bargaining power are high, since there is no brand loyalty in the industry. Customers are very well aware of the market price of a product and will look for the best deals they can find. Suppliers have high bargaining power since suppliers can choose to integrate forward and sell their products themselves. The success of the retail gaming industry is very dependent on the availability of supplier’s goods. Additionally, since there are low barriers of entrance, substitute products and new entrants often appear in the market. Since most competitors in the industry do not have a strong presence, the expected retaliation towards new entrants is low. An increasing popularity of smartphone games and social media games such as Farmville on Facebook, allows customers to play against friends. Although these social media games do not offer the same experience as a video game, the fact that virtually no switching cost is associated with switching to a competitor’s game and since they are so cheap compared to video game disk and consoles, can easily drive customers from video gaming to online gaming. (Exhibit 2)

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.

With its attainment of Electronics Boutique (EB Games) in 2005, GameStop is on a more equal foundation with its biggest competitors. GameStop’s competitors consist of major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Toys "R" Us. Other competition comes from online retail stores such as Amazon and Ebay, as well as players purchasing games digitally – whether on a traditional game console or on a smartphone or tablet.

the retail market, behind: Wal-mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Kohl’s Corp, and JC Penney Company Inc.

I am employed at a company by the name of Stage Stores,Inc. This company consists of 885 stores in 40 different states(Hoover,2016). Hoover.com says that J.C. Penney Corporation,Inc, Sears,Roebuck and CO., and Ross,Inc continue to be Stage Stores’ top three competition in the retail industry.

This is a very competitive market, which is a result of the number of competing companies battling for market share. In addition, the market for toys is fairly concentrated because of major companies in the industry, including Hasbro, Mattel, Leggo and Jakks Pacific. This forces Architrep’s KitRex to compete in a niche market.

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,

Best Buy is a household name among the electronics industry. In recent years they have seen a decline in profits and are forced to close fifty stores in an attempt to restructure. In an attempt to understand the competitive forces that Best Buy must overcome and determine their strategic position in the electronic marketplace I will utilize the Porter six forces framework.

Mr. Brandon, CEO of Toys R Us, Inc. stated “There is simply no reason to go somewhere else-our focus is kids and families every day of the year-unlike some of our competitors who only play (pun-intended) a few weeks a year” Toys “R” Us Inc.,2017, Oct 24). Another innovative way the company has gained competitive advantage recently is by introducing Play Labs nationwide. Play Labs are a free reality application which includes AR games and play experiences that children can play on their smartphone or tablet devices while they are in the stores shopping. Toys R Us is now more than just a place to shop, they have created experiences which bring their stores to life with their interactive games that the kids highly enjoy playing (Toys “R” Us Inc, 2017).

Toys “R” Us is a distinct competitor, though it does not compete in the same niche business, so it will be considered an indirect competitor.

This report is about the situational analysis of the Toy R US Company. This company is currently facing some drop in sales, possible reasons and potential solutions are provided in this report. All the detailed analysis are given here. Report has suggested that company lost its main perspective which it famous at the first point. This is main outcome of the report. There are many other reasons as well which are causing the decline of the company. There is a lot of room for improvement which can be tackled, implementation plan is also given in this report along with the possible and potential full recommendations. So lets’ start with the report.

Where they buy and use the product: absolute leadership belongs to specialty stores of children’s products; hypermarkets and supermarkets are the main competitors of the children’s stores and 80% of the target audience buy toys for their kids there. Parents of younger children (up to 2 years old) are more likely then

The company has total debt in the billions, which was largely incurred in connection with a buyout in 2005. Repaying that debt has become increasingly difficult as business has been declining. Boomey (2017) has noted that Toys R Us recently had to shut down some of its stores and let go some of its corporate employees. The company’s competition, which includes Amazon and Walmart, have had an advantage over Toys R Us because they mark down toy prices to attract their customers. But the competition was only part of their problem. The main cause of the company’s debt was the inability to transform its company digitally. In 2009, the company’s e-commerce sales amounted to only 4% of its gross revenues. The company’s failure to properly set up a digital strategy was their main downfall (Lashinsky, 2017).

The global toys and games industry is expected to hit the $100 billion mark by 2015, according to research from Global Industry Analysts. In recent years the market has been influenced by changing consumer tastes, with children opting for more sophisticated video games and electronic toys. Children are also becoming increasingly accustomed to changing toys more frequently. This means toy and game manufacturers are obliged to introduce new products on a regular basis, and focus on innovation and technological advancements.

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.