In Focus

Will Toys 'R' Us B' Big Again?

All this week the Chicks' Eye View, we'll look at kid-related companies... from Toys R Us to Limited Too. It's a Chicklette Week!

Toys 'R' Us rarely gets my business anymore. At one time I was their number one customer - ever since it was the only place I could find the Atari Pong game. After that I would shop there for any and every child's birthday party, and could always be found roaming the aisles at midnight on Christmas Eve. (Being early isn't my forte.) It was the first of its kind. the mother of all toy warehouses.

Then something changed. I can't pinpoint exactly when, but I found myself dreading a trip to Toys 'R' Us. It had gotten to the point that I would usually leave the store in a worse mood than when I entered. The long aisles were grungy, and everything I needed was usually ten feet above my head. Then I'd have to spend twenty minutes trying to find a sixteen-year-old clerk to help me and by that time, I had forgotten what aisle it was in.

Last Christmas (December 23rd to be exact - and dang proud to have finished my shopping by then), I was in the store looking for the Tony Hawk Nintendo game. I asked the clerk where I could find it. "I'm not really sure," she replied, "but I think it's back there." She pointed to miles and miles of aisle. Back there? I left and went to Walmart.

I wasn't the only one jumping ship. Two years ago, Walmart surpassed Toys 'R' Us as the number one toy retailer. But this wouldn't be the Chicks Eye View unless there was something for a Chick to cheer about. In Toys 'R' Us's case, there is hot news. It's getting a face-lift! (A Chick loves to discuss someone else's face lift. so let's have at Toys 'R' Us!)

In a move that seems too good to be true, the CEO of FAO Schwarz, John H. Eyler has moved over to Toys 'R' Us. Can you say fairytale? The CEO of FAO Schwarz? The Gucci of toy stores? The bigger-than-life stuffed animals? The toy story from Tom Hanks movie Big? Yeeee-Haa!! Yes Virginia, there are real-life knights in shining armor. Pardon my excitement, but I love to play at FAO Schwarz. The only problem is, the toys are a little pricey. Eyler plans on adding the FAO excitement to Toys R Us while still keeping his low prices. I can hardly wait!

For starters, he is remodeling the existing stores. He has already remodeled 167 stores and is going to nip and tuck 308 more next year! He must have read all eighteen of my letters to the Toys 'R' Us Headquarters. I mean, where else would a man get a remodeling idea if not from a woman? Soon the long gray and blue aisles and depressing warehouses will be replaced by a newer, fresher look. Eylers believes that toy shopping should be fun, not something that leaves you with a migraine. The newer stores have displays with toys grouped according to their age and gender. For example, there are cul-de-sacs for eight-year-old boys with WWF action figures and a cul-de-sac for Chick Megan filled with Barbies.

Another thing I happened to mention in my letters was that their customer-service stunk. Not a single employee cared about my last minute distress, nor knew an ounce more than my ten-year-old about video games. Once again, my Knight-In-Shining Eylers comes through. He is spending more than Monopoly money to train managers to hire good people, train employees about Toys 'R' Us toys and has increased everyone's wages. He has also placed as many as nine people at the customer service center and returns counter. That is up from the measly one or two last year.

But wait, it gets even more fantasyland-ish. Next fall Toys 'R' Us is opening their flagship store on 44th and Broadway in the heart of New York City. I don't know if I should reveal everything, but Chick Megan is going to go nutty over the 2-story Barbie townhouse with its own elevator. It will also have an indoor Ferris Wheel able to take up to 600 people a day on a spin. They will have a humongous animatontric dinosaur and life-size version of the board game Candyland that will also serve as a Candy store. And if my dream comes true, someday I might get a chance to sit in the VIP box at Toys 'R' Us and watch all the bustling below. (Note to self: While there, please hire one of their personal shoppers so the Christmas shopping can be done in October.) Sounds like FAO has a new competitor.