Toys “R” Us Expansion in Japan: Development of the Strategy

Toys “R” Us Expansion in Japan
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Introduction
One aim that propels any business organization to grow its business functions regionally and internationally remains in increasing its profits. It is necessary for any organization to command a wide consumer base so as to reach a large number of customers who will stay loyal to a certain product/brand. Without these factors, a business will surely fall and will no longer exist in the market CITATION Hua07 \l 1033 (Huang, 2007). Multinational companies are quite persistent in their pursuit to control foreign markets by gaining new customers. This is not always easy though, because they have to overcome a variety of factors which hinder them from entering such markets. They first need to appeal to the intended customers in a way that relates to their needs CITATION Hua07 \l 1033 (Huang, 2007). In order to fulfill these needs, they need understand their consumer’slanguage and culture. Not only should they be able to fulfill their needs, but they should also present their products or services at favorable prices.
These are some of the driving factors that determine a company’s success in a foreign market, especially where the environment is new to them. Toys “R” Us is one such example of a company whose intention to enter the Japanese market was plagued by several challenges CITATION Cro05 \l 1033 (Cross, 2005). This paper therefore seeks to conduct an analysis of Toys “R” Us company in its efforts to expand its business operations in Japan, an aspect that will determine the firm’s communication styles and methods within the medium of domestic and global contexts. On the other hand, the paper will conduct an analysis on the firm’s leadership approach in the domestic and global context and the manner in which communication methods can be designed to support effective leadership, decisions and conflicts in the firm.
Development of the Strategy
In 1991, Toys “R” Us purposed to extend its international stores to Japan. The company had already commanded a significant market share both in the United States of America and Europe at the time (Huang, 2007). The odds were against the company at the time because it was difficult for any American company to enter the Japanese market. McDonald's had penetrated the Japanese market initially through collaboration with Fujita and Company, which is based in Japan. Every step that the U.S based company employed in its pursuit of the opportunity to join the Japanese market faced some difficulty. One of the factors that hindered the company’s penetration into the market was Japan’s multilayered distribution system (Dawson, 2004).
Various critics disputed the move proclaiming that the cultures between Japan and the U.S were entirely different and that there was no chance of them entering the Japanese market. Where there were critics, there were optimists too who saw a chance of the company entering the Japanese market. To bypass the restrictions present at the time, Toys “R” Us’ leader collaborated with McDonald’s Japan (Dawson, 2004). This move was made since McDonald’s Japan already had a join...