By George Anderson
The Christmas season is supposed to be about giving and doing unto others as you would have then done unto you. Well, it appears as though Toys R Us is taking this biblical lesson to heart when it comes to "Always Low Prices" Wal-Mart.
In a market basket study conducted by Oppenheimer and Co., Toys R Us was found to have lower overall prices than its toy store killer competitor. In a cart of 62 toys selected by the firm, Toys R Us' prices were five percent below Wal-Mart's.
A similar study of 75 items conducted by Harris Nesbitt Corp. found Toys R Us was 0.2 percent cheaper than Wal-Mart.
The aggressive pricing stance of Toys R Us has surprised some industry observers who believed the retailer would focus primarily on exclusive toy deals it has with a number of manufacturers (see RetailWire 11/11/04, Toy Manufacturers Choose Sides).
Greg Ahearn, vice president of store marketing at Toys R Us, told the Washington Post the chain was not willing to cede the lowest price ground to Wal-Mart. Acknowledging that Toys R Us "took it on the chin last year," Mr. Ahearn added, "we want to be price-competitive and do it throughout the holiday season this year."
Moderator's Comment: Considering its exclusive toy deals and its sharp pricing on items both it and Wal-Mart sells, do you think Toys R Us is ready to reclaim some lost market share in the toy category?
We know Wal-Mart is not just going to hang back and let itself be under-priced if it can help it. It appears, however, that consumers are going to be getting a lot of toy bargains no matter where they shop this holiday. - George Anderson - Moderator