How I Could Have Saved Toys "R" Us - A Branding Lesson

The opinions expressed by Entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

Toys "R" Us was once a household name, thanks to several innovative practices including stockpiling iconic toy brands, using high-profile celebrities for promotional events, negotiating lucrative contracts with different toy production and the development of Geoffrey the Giraffe, which would remain the face of the brand's advertising campaigns for decades.

Despite all of this, the company has struggled to keep up with ever-changing consumer expectations and the rise of e-commerce platforms. In 2017, the company filed for bankruptcy. Now, with the fifth anniversary of store closures in June, what lessons can be learned from the downfall of the once-loved brand?

The answer is a lesson in building a strong, modern and agile brand. Here are three ways Toys "R" Us could have not only survived, but retained its iconic status to this day:

Related: 5 Strategies You Need to Grow Your Brand

1. Encourage people to discover and connect with your brand

The average size of a Toys "R" Us store was around 30,000 square feet. The company has used this space to stock the shelves with the latest and greatest children's toys and activities. In fact, the company has often overstocked, offering "large inventory deals" between Thanksgiving and Christmas to entice last-minute shoppers.

This type of "big box" structure and approach has made the company more of a store than a destination. To create a true brand experience, I would have cut out 10,000-15,000 square feet of each location and turned it into a one-stop-shop for birthday parties. Amenities would have included a bouncy house, trampoline area, learning stations, arcade and more.

In this way, the store would become a destination for customers. Rather than a place to “collide,” creating a branded destination would have provided an experience for Toys “R” Us customers. And research shows that experience drives results. A Salesforce study found that 80% of customers think the experience a company provides is as important as the products it sells.

In addition, the business could also have built a kitchen to serve food and sell drinks for birthday parties, thereby generating more revenue. When the parents booked a party, one of the advantageous requirements would have been to complete a birthday registry for the items sold in the retail store. This all-in-one business model would have separated the brand from its competitors.

Related: 4 Things That Make Customer Experiences Unforgettable

2. Understand your client's pain points

A changing retail landscape and an increasingly competitive landscape are some of the many reasons Toys "R" Us has closed. But I would say Toys "R" Us ultimately failed because its management failed to understand the changing needs of its customers.

As a destination for toys, the company missed the pain points of its main target audience: parents. Take birthday parties, for example. A recent study found that 55% of parents are stressed about how long it takes to plan a birthday party and how to keep it affordable. At its core, today's consumers prioritize...