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...many retail analysts, the Toys "R" Us tweak makes a ton of sense. After all, if Wal-Mart and the Targets of the world can sell toys, why shouldn't Toys "R" Us sell food and paper towels? "Sometimes the fence swings both ways," says Marshall Cohen, an analyst at the NPD Group. Consumers are willing to pay for convenience, say the experts, especially when grabbing items that they really need. "Is it a good idea? It's the only idea," says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consultancy and investment bank. "Mothers are going to the store...
...other major challenge facing the "R" Market: prices. Like many Toys "R" Us stores, the Phillipsburg outlet is dangerously close to a Wal-Mart - in this case, only a two-minute walk away, in the same shopping plaza. Sure, it's convenient to one-stop shop at Toys "R" Us. But after glancing at the prices - the Stauffer's Whales snacks, juice boxes and bottled water are all cheaper at Wal-Mart - Meade said she'd get that stuff there...
...Phillipsburg, Toys "R" Us is more price competitive with Wal-Mart on diapers and baby formula. But an 8.9-oz. box of Cheerios at the Phillipsburg Toys "R" Us cost $3.49. At the Phillipsburg Wal-Mart, you get 21.06 ounces for $3.98. At Toys "R" Us, a 52-load container of Tide with Febreze costs $16.49. At Wal-Mart, you get 78 loads for $19.97. Not a huge difference, but cash-strapped consumers are searching for every kind of bargain these days...
...surprising that Wal-Mart offer lower prices than Toys "R" Us on consumables, one of the retail giant's core competencies. What should be more disconcerting for Toys "R" Us is that Wal-Mart often beats the toy company at its own game. For example, a collectable Lighting McQueen, the main character in the hit Pixar movie Cars, costs $2.97 at Wal-Mart. At Toys "R" Us, he and other key characters go for $3.59. Monopoly is $10.44 at Wal-Mart and $12.99 at Toys "R" Us. Here's a real shocker: at Wal-Mart, a "Surf's Up" Barbie...
...would the global recession worsen - a 2008 World Bank report estimated that a severe pandemic could reduce the world's GDP by 4.8% - but we depend on international trade now for countless necessities, from generic medicines to surgical gloves. The just-in-time production systems embraced by companies like Wal-Mart - where inventories are kept as low as possible to cut waste and boost profit - mean that we don't have stockpiles of most things. Supply chains for food, medicines and even the coal that generates half our electricity are easily disruptable, with potentially catastrophic results. Though we'll likely...