- It can be said that the Japanese distribution big bang was started by America's major toy store Toys'R'Us which made inroads into Japan. Toys'R'Us first appeared in Japan in 1989, and the first store opened in Arakawaoki in 1991.
- The success of Toys'R'Us will be explained in the following four points. The first point is the overwhelming scale of its advancement. The usual Japanese toy shop was standard at 100 tsubo (one tsubo is 3.3m2), but Toys'R'Us is one digit different at 1,000 tsubo with 18,000 kinds of products.
- The second is that they introduced direct buying, which does not go through a wholesaler. The Japanese toy distribution route, until then, had been common sense that one must go through maker to first wholesaler to second wholesaler to retailer. That is why the middle margin ran up and it was difficult to sell at cheap prices. However, as soon as Toys'R'Us started doing business directly with small and medium sized makers, then increased to do business with major makers, and it is speculated that they currently do 90% of their business directly. Since Toys'R'Us showed off their 10% domestic buying power, it was difficult for major makers to resist doing business directly. It should be mentioned especially that a windhole opened in this way and has spread to other Japanese retail businesses and has broken the "business condition" of the usual "seller's common sense."
- The third is as the example of overcoming the business condition that one of Toys'R'Us' main product is paper diapers. In Japanese common sense, toy stores did not carry this product. Toys'R'Us also carries snacks by breaking the common sense up to that point.
- The fourth is that Toys'R'Us has begun to carry products that meet the Japanese market. Not only products that are carried on from the American mainland, but also adding in Japanese- style things. For example, they have begun selling "Hina dolls" (dolls displayed during the Girl's festival on March 3rd) made by Toys'R'Us.
- The Toys'R'Us business method is not only to sell cheaply, but also secretly contains the innovation urging the Japanese distribution system to fundamentally reform. Toys'R'Us is not only that, they are also a "category killer" as mentioned above.
- On January 7, 1992, then President Bush attended the opening ceremonies of the Toys'R'Us in Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture via Korea and made a speech saying, "If Toys'R'Us is successful, other retail stores will most likely make successive inroads into Japan." Not just the head of state from a single country, but the president from the world's leading country came just for the opening of a retail store. The third opening of Japan drew near as the "toy sales" the president used to try to break open the closed Japanese market like Perry and MacArthur did during their time. That prophecy is coming true and looking at Toys'R'Us' success, America's small retail chains have begun their successive advance into Japan.
- Six years have passed since then and Toys'R'Us has opened 68 stores domestically in Japan, with sales of 100 trillion yen and more than a 10% share of the domestic toy market. They are opening stores at a pace of ten stores a year. The Tokyo Kamedo Store, which opened in 1997, passed the Sagamihara Store in Kanagawa Prefecture, which was said to have had the world's highest sales in the group. In short, the world's number one and number two thriving Toys'R'Us' are in Japan. Mr. Den Fujita, Vice President of Toys'R'Us Japan Ltd. and President of McDonald's Co. (JAPAN) Ltd., is aiming for 100 stores by 2002 and says that 200 stores are possible in the future. Mr. Fujita says, "At first, there were objections to the advance, but now there are lots of applications from those who want to attract, and in these past six years, the atmosphere has changed quite a bit."
- The number one reason for the increase in the number of Toys'R'Us stores is from lots of sales bringing in a profit, but also aside from that, big store laws have been abolished from deregulation, store opening procedures have been simplified, store conditions of strict ordering have been lessened, falling land prices and an increase in idle land, and suburban shopping centers have begun to win civic approve even in Japan. The country known as Japan, when seen from abroad, is seen as the "island of gold ? Zipangu (Japan)." The European and American markets are already saturated and there is no hope for a rise in sales.
- At first, because a lot of space was necessary to display the large number of products, Toys'R'Us opened many stores in the suburbs, but because the economic bubble has burst and idle land has increased, the renewal of large-scale stores goes with the rise of stores in cities.
- At first, the cash and carry method which was unfamiliar to Japanese was taken and customers slightly were puzzled, but now they are completely used to it. At the beginning, since there are no explanations for the high-grade games at Toys'R'Us, those who did not know how to use the toys would learn how at department stores and buy the cheaper product at Toys'R'Us. It still continues in this method.
- Japan Toys'R'Us have recently set about enlarging the baby specialty stores BabiesRUs. On September 12, 1997 in the Toys'R'Us Shingu Store in Shingu-cho, Fukuoka Prefecture, the first BabiesRUs opened followed by the opening of the second BabiesRUs in the Toys'R'Us Hassamu Store in Sapporo on July 10, 1998. Since the opening of the first BabiesRUs store in New York in 1996, baby specialty stores have already opened 99 stores across the globe. On Toys'R'Us targeting the 0 to15 year age group, BabiesRUs deals things for infants from 0 to 3 and will increase as specialty stores inside the Toys'R'Us stores in the future. A complete range of items are carried for the baby including baby clothing, paper diapers, baby furniture, baby strollers, baby food, and powdered milk. Aside from the many original items, albums with the baby's name, christening papers and other items for visiting a shrine, maternity items, photo stands, and many other gift items have been gathered. 13. The Toys'R'Us and BabiesRUs stores will continue to increase and as a good example for entering into the Japanese market, will be a model for foreign businesses thinking of advancing into Japan.
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