Toy Store Takes On the Internet Giants

They're taking on the big guys by focusing on doing what they do best.

My Favorite Toy Store (MFTS), located in Downers Grove and Elmhurst, will venture into the flourishing e-tail market as it launches its new concept website TheNewToy.com.

Recognizing and even embracing the fact that it can't compete with Amazon.com, Toys "R" Us or Wal-Mart in terms of inventory, MFTS instead is flaunting its attention to excellent customer service. By introducing a limited number of toys each week on the internet, and utilizing high-resolution photos and videos, the store is hoping to virtually replicate the experience of in-store toy shopping with the assistance of a highly informed toy aficionado.

"We want our site to be the equivalent of walking around the neighborhood toy store with a friendly, knowledgeable person who knows about, cares about and knows how to play with the toys," said James Geisen, who heads up marketing for MFTS. "Our big PR hook is 'what can a neighborhood toy store do to compete with Amazon.com leading up to the holidays?'"

TheNewToy.com, which launched in September, was developed largely as a way to reach a national market, which is most readily accessible through online sales.  MFTS did not however, want to duplicate existing online toy sites that are enormous in terms of product offerings, but negligible in terms of service.

Geisen said that it was easy to identify what has made MFTS stores successful. "It's not because of our prices and not because we have something that you can't find anywhere else," he said. "It's customer service. Since we started the toy store, the very first day it opened, we've been over the top with customer service. That's the reason that we hear over and over again why people come to our brick-and-mortar stores."

That concept is being translated into TheNewToy.com, where each new toy is introduced and accompanied by a video of Geisen talking about the toy, much like a sales person would do in the store. A second video shows kids enjoying playing with the toy. "We try to make it feel like coming to the store," said Emily Bieritz, a buyer for MFTS. "Someone is telling you how something works and why it's wonderful, the educational aspect, how unique it is and why it's fun."

"Hopefully people will watch our videos to see how some toy that they're interested in works, and they'll see that we feature more cool stuff," Geisen said. "We're leaning on the videos pretty heavily to draw people into the website." Once on the site, he said, people will be able to explore all of the great offerings.

In some ways, the website is a new twist on the Wine Library TV, a daily video blog about wine. That blog, Geisen said, is successful because "you feel like you know the guy after a couple of times and, inherently, you want to check in and see what he's up to. You want to know what's coming next." Similarly, TheNewToy.com is hoping to draw faithful followers who will look forward to learning about the next toy to be launched.

TheNewToy.com will feature one new toy weekly. Each weekly item selected, Geisen said, "will be the coolest of the new cool stuff. They're toys that we sat down with and hand-picked."

In selecting the TheNewToy.com toys, they will likely look to smaller, independent toy companies—especially those that may not have the capability of manufacturing toys on a large scale or support extensive packaging or marketing, Bieritz said. She stressed, however, that MFTS is not limiting itself to only small specialty companies. "We just really want cool products that are new and unique." she said. "The common thread will be toys that have durability and value of play."

Toys will be appropriate for varying age groups and are most likely to range in price from $20-$60.

Geisen said that promoting TheNewToy.com has been an adventure. In addition to working with online companies, he's connected with more than 100 different mommy blogs. Geisen said that he initially sat down to identify blogs that he, as a parent, would most likely want to follow. "Ones that had a whole bunch of good quality things that they reviewed and that seemed respectful and good. We got a hold of them." 

The mommy blogs, along with aggressive use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, have given TheNewToy.com a visible presence in 76 countries at virtually no cost for advertising. "They're all content-drive websites," Geisen said. "They need stuff to write about and we hopefully have something for them to write about," he said. More important, perhaps, is the fact that people following the mommy blogs are online while doing so. "All they have to do is click with one finger and they'll be on our website."

People will not be drawn to TheNewToy.com because of the prices, but won't be frightened away by them either, Geisen said. "We're as close to low as you're able to find.," he said. "There are always going to be bargain-basement prices, but we're working with a lot of toy companies to get our prices to be competitive with lots of other people," he said.  Furthermore, TheNewToy.com utilizes flat-rate shipping, which right now is $5.99. As the sales volume increases, the shipping rate is likely to decline further, Geisen said.

Bieritz is confident that the appeal of TheNewToy.com can compete with internet behemoths such as Amazon.com. "How do you pick out something for the nephew who has everything and four older brothers? If you go onto a website like Amazon.com, unless someone tells you exactly what to look for, how do you know? They are millions of things to search through," she said.

TheNewToy.com will be like a trusted sales person showing you how a toy works, how many pieces there are, and the directions, Bieritz said. "More than anything, we'll build a reputation by showing the very best toys ever so that kids can enjoy them."