As part of that promotion, TRU also gave away some two million child passenger safety tip brochures, in partnership with Daimler-Chrysler. During 2001, the company intends to step up its promotional campaigning. It will team up with Scholastic boutiques to feature arts and crafts, activity toys, puzzles, games, construction sets, role-playing toys, school supplies and electronic learning aids in its Toys'R'Us and Imaginarium stores. Boutiques will be built in 1,215 stand-alone Imaginarium stores, Imaginarium shops within Toys'R'Us stores and also in stores without Imaginarium departments. The company plans to support the Scholastic boutiques with advertising, marketing programmes, promotions and other initiatives.
Analysts are sanguine about the future of TRU, too.
The toy merchant has experimented with many new concepts, but the Times Square venture is a definite clue that it wants to be taken seriously, says Sean McGowan, director of research for Gerard Klauer Mattison, New York. Eyler gives the company an opportunity to establish good relationships with vendors, and the new flagship store offers visibility and a chance to showcase new categories. TRU wants to be taken seriously Melissa Williams, senior vice-president for Gerard Klauer Mattison, follows the toy market for the firm and is impressed by TRU's improved marketing and customer services. The Times Square store is an interesting extension of the company's marketing. It gives a larger presence to Toys'R'Us in the perception of customers.