Toys “R” Us Continues Customer Experience Transformation

Toys R us customer experienceOfficials at Toys “R” Us are determined to transform the customer experience both in-store and online.

Toys “R” Us CEO and Chairman of the Board Antonio Urcelay stressed this point during Tuesday’s presentation for investors, industry analysts, and the media. Enhancing the customer experience is part of the company’s  “TRU Transformation” strategy.

This year, the objective of the company’s “TRU Transformation” strategy will be to continue to slow the company’s sales decline, strengthen margin, and improve EBITDA to effectively position the business to become fit for growth. Company-wide efforts will focus on four key priorities:

Continue to transform the customer experience in-store and onlineInitiatives underway to improve the shopping experience for customers will expand over the course of the year. Additional stores have been identified for investments in interior and exterior physical improvements, and the elevated maintenance and lighting standards introduced last year will continue in all stores. The company is also placing a renewed focus on its Babies“R”Us business, in order to strengthen its specialist position in Toys r us customer experiencedifferentiated service, products and offerings. In advancing its goal to become a more customer-centric business, consumer insights will help guide the company in making service and selling improvements, and a deeper integration with its loyalty program will be concentrated on driving more special occasion visits year-round.

Optimize the ecommerce business. Now, with an over $1.2 billion global ecommerce business, the company’s focus is to continue to grow profitably online. An end-to-end assessment of the online business is underway to identify key areas for functionality and process improvements. In the coming year, the company plans to further strengthen its omnichannel capabilities, including in-store pickup and ship from store execution, especially during the peak holiday season. Mobile growth has rapidly become the most important driver of its e-commerce traffic, with 57% of Toys“R”Us, U.S. digital visits coming from a mobile or tablet device. The company plans to work quickly to advance its mobile capabilities to better serve the needs of its customers.

Grow internationally and leverage global scale to drive category leadership and differentiation. Toys“R”Us has a strong international presence across 36 countries outside of the U.S. Over the coming year, the company expects to continue to grow internationally, particularly in China and Southeast Asia. It will also fully leverage its scale and worldwide presence to deliver a coordinated and strategic approach to key merchandising decisions.

Right-size the cost structure and design a more efficient, streamlined organization. As part of its Fit for Growth initiative, the company continues to seek substantial cost and working capital savings opportunities through process and operating model improvements. Last year, the company identified potential cost savings of $150-200 million primarily in U.S. SG&A and cost of goods. Over $100 million of this was achieved in fiscal 2014 and the additional $50-100 million is expected to be fully realized by fiscal 2016. In addition, the company recently identified $50-75 million of potential savings in its international operations, which it expects to achieve by the end of fiscal 2016.

No near-term debt. The company recently completed the successful refinancing of $1.4 billion of its near-term debt maturities and now, has no significant outstanding debt repayments due until 2017.

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