Toys "R" Us Japan (A) and (B)
By
Mark J. Kay
Assistant Professor
of:
Montclair State University
LOGISTICS CASE STUDY
DEVELOPED FOR:
COUNCIL OF LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
Toys "R" Us Japan (A) and (B)*
Abstract
The cases describe the growth of Toys "R" Us (TRU) as the leading U.S. toy retailer to its
international expansion and entry into Japan. Access to the Japanese market was made possible
by adjustments to the Daitenho or "Big Store Law," described in Toys "R" Us Japan (A). Toys
"R" Us Japan next had to develop the distribution and logistic linkages to suppliers in support of
the low price, wide selection, and in-stock retail strategy. This is examined in Toys "R" Us Japan
(B). TRU expanded rapidly to 27 stores, but as the case ends, management needs to quickly
respond to the crisis of losing its distribution center in Kobe.
Toys "R" Us Japan (A)
Tuesday, January 6, 1992, Toys "R" Us (TRU) Grand Opening in Kashihara, Naraken,
Japan. Arriving by helicopter, U.S. President George Bush appeared at the opening
ceremonies for the second TRU store in Japan. Attending were Minister Kozo Watanabe of
Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert
Mosbacher, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost, Japanese Ambassador to the United
States Ryohei Murata, Toys "R" Us Chairman Charles Lazarus, and the local governor and
mayor. About 2,000 Nara-ken policemen and students from local police academies were
mobilized in a massive security measure. About 5,000 people came to witness the event, many
of them waved small Japanese and American flags1 .
President Bush thanked the gathered officials and praised the progress of the Structural
Impediments Initiative ( ...