Peer Review

Toys R Us Bankruptcy: Marketing Environmental Factors - Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing

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Reviewed:: Jan 6, 2021 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

As most students would be aware, Toys R Us went into liquidation in 2018 closing virtually all their stores throughout the world. Toys R Us was essentially a victim of failing to adapt to a significantly changing marketing environment. They maintained their large-scale supermarket retailing model for over 50 years without considering trends in retail. This video case study is a simple overview of Toys R Us' business model and subsequent demise.

Type of Material:

Case Study

Recommended Uses:

This could be used as an in-class exercise and discussion, or homework. Additionally, small teams could complete the review and analysis, and compare their observations and conclusions.

Technical Requirements:

Chrome

Identify Major Learning Goals:

List all the factors and changes that contributed to the decline in Toys R Us commercial success,
Categorize those factors into the main marketing environment components of: the internal environment, the micro-environment, and the macro-environment, and
Rank the factors (based on the video and additional information) in terms of which ones were the most significant in the downfall of Toys R Us.
Understnad how and why a major retailer that was successful for decades failed.

Target Student Population:

College Lower Division, general business, marketing or retailing students/classes.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Students would benefit from a basic understanding of a SWOT analysis.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

This is a self-contained activity that can be adapted for different situations (i.e., online or classroom)
It can be used to demonstrate content beyond the activity if desired.
The material is clean in design
The video provides a concise history of the company.

Concerns:

No specific learning objectives are provided, so the instructor will want to develop these and provide some foundational information for using this activity.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The video is short (6 mins) and keeps the learner’s attention as it tells the history of Toys R Us from the 1970s to filing for bankruptcy in 2017.
The information provided is adequate for the learner to complete the assignment and walk away learning more about corporate downfalls.
This is relatively current, and given today's retail environment was just the beginning of the retailer's demise.
The material is short and concise.

Concerns:

The instructor may want to set the conceptual background and explain how this activity fits within the course/class discussion.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Simple, clean, and easily viewed.
Plays without issue and has closed captions that are accurate.

Concerns:

None

Other Issues and Comments:

This content is hosted on a WordPress platform with many ads. It may be distracting to users.
An update that provides additional retail failures would be helpful and would provide additional discussion points and insights.

Creative Commons: