Coles Fires $15m Shot In Toy Wars

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday August 18, 1993

By ROCHELLE BURBURY

Coles Myer will open its first World 4 Kids Sydney store today with a $15 million marketing push which aims to turn the shopping experience into what McDonald's has done for dining.

The strategy behind the World 4 Kids concept takes a leaf out of consumer marketing textbooks, rather than retail marketing.

When Coles Myer recognised it had a hefty branding exercise ahead, it took the rare step of appointing consumer goods marketer Mr Chris Kelly to head the stores. "This whole exercise has really been marketing driven and very different to anything Coles Myer has ever done before," Mr Kelly said.

World 4 Kids' unique selling proposition, according to Mr Kelly, will be its single-minded approach to developing a destination people see as"discernibly different", encouraging repeat visits and a loyal customer base. "The secret to World 4 Kids is to develop the stores as a genuine destination- a lot like Ikea and McDonald's," he said. "Our product is a shopping experience that's unique and enjoyable.

"The feel of the store and the approach and attitudes to the staff will build World 4 Kids into the preferred toy store in Australia."

Mr Kelly aims to make the World 4 Kids name a valuable brand and has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to achieve it.

A television launch campaign went to air on Sunday night which cashes in on"dinomania" created by the imminent arrival of the film Jurassic Park and uses a friendly dinosaur to communicate the stores' huge size.

To create the campaign, Mr Kelly took the unusual step of hiring freelance creative talent, plus a production house, and used a media-buying shop, bypassing the need to use an agency.

"I think it is one of the new ways of the future," Mr Kelly said. "Picking the best independent talent and putting them together."

A press campaign began yesterday and distribution began in Sydney last Saturday of more than 200,000 156-page "megalogues".

In addition, an in-store information program, hourly activities and events, a travelling museum exhibition will complement the marketing campaign.

"No two visits will ever be the same," said Mr Kelly. "When you're dealing with a product that's so fashion-oriented you have to keep renewing the offer. We have a very, very extensive program of in-store activities run by our staff that will change on a regular basis."

The Australian toy market is worth $2.2 billion and each person spends an average of $250 on toys a year. Mr Kelly believes the interest stimulated by new activity in toy stores can increase the market to $3 billion in the next five years and push individual spending to $320 a year.

World 4 Kids hopes to grab between 7 per cent and 10 per cent of the market over the five years. Its main rival will be the American toy giant Toys R Us, which plans to open several megastores here before Christmas.

Anticipating the toy war, independents Uncle Pete's Toys and Toyland have merged their operations, which will trade under the Uncle Pete's banner in NSW. The stores will push their Australian ownership and personal service. World 4 Kids will open 18 stores in the next 12 months.