As the internet has separated shopping from buying, it has turned traditional retailing on its head. Retailers that have gotten the message are beginning to think differently about “the goods” attempting to turn stores from a place of mere storing into ones of exploring. The toy industry finds itself at the forefront of this “reimagination” and retailers both large and small are attempting to rewrite the rules, emphasizing fun, discovery and even learning as a gateway to purchasing; essentially a reversal of the old “buy then play” into the new “play then buy” formula.
Central to the theme is one of the most anticipated store openings of recent memory, the newly relaunched Toys R Us, which opened in the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey on black Friday to much fanfare. Its new owners, TRU Kids Brands, expects to have 10 such stores opened by the end of 2020. And, other than the store’s name and various versions of their mascot Geoffrey, nothing is a carryover from the big-box blur of the giraffe’s past. It’s a different game, a new DNA and a recalibrated monetization play.
For starters the store embodies the latest in Retail as a Service (RaaS) thinking; whereby a third-party (TRU Kids) provides the expert staging for selected brands who pay-to-play, quite literally. The B8ta team, partners in the venture, acted as designers, merchandisers, and marketers for the highly edited, third-party brands. They created the destination “branded environment” for creative play and discovery, that leverages the Geoffrey nostalgia. It serves as a backdrop to an entirely new value proposition that emphasizes immersive engagement over pushing product.
Want to publish your own articles on DistilINFO Publications?
Send us an email, we will get in touch with you.
Source: Forbes