Amazon.com has agreed to write check for $51 million to Toys R Us to settle a longstanding lawsuit that charged the e-tailer with allowing other companies to sell toys on its site at the same time that it had an exclusivity arrangement with Toys R Us. Amazon had argued that Toys R Us didn’t keep appropriate in-stock levels, but the courts agreed with Toys R Us…and now the two companies have reached a financial settlement.
- KC's View:
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This may be the right legal conclusion, but I cannot help but remember that Toys R Us turned to Amazon after it had a disastrous holiday shopping season when it failed to fulfill so many orders that it almost completely blew its online credibility.
Oh, well. Amazon can write the check, and find some solace in the fact that it likely will be around long after Toys R Us has bitten the dust. Long tail virtual retailing has a much longer prospective life span than the likes of Toys R Us, in my humble opinion; then again, maybe I’m prejudiced because I’d rather visit the proctologist than a Toys R Us.
