Business intelligence Helps Toys R Us Build 600 Seasonal Pop Up Stores
November 8, 2010 No CommentsSOURCE: ComputerWeekly.com
The global toy store Toys R Us will open 600 new stores, and shut as many again this season. Most will take just two weeks to open their doors from when the lease is signed.
Toys R Us is leading the retailing trend to ‘pop-up’ stores. These are stores that are take advantage of cheap or even free rents in malls and high streets desolated by the fragile economy in the US. Next year Toys R Us will expand its pop-up programme in Europe.
The ability to do this began several years ago and was driven by the CEO. The company had to work out how to do it, Joe Young, senior director for sales and operations planning (S&OP) at the toy store, told delegates at the Teradata Partners conference in San Diego last week.
“We had to stop doing what came naturally and start doing what worked,” he said.
The natural path involved silo-ed information, politicised control of data and relationships, poor or neglected relationships with key partners, and a lack of communication, he said.