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Toysrus.com Aggressively Prepares For 2000 Holiday Season
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 Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge today announced that Toysrus.com -- a leading Internet retailer of toys and children's products -- is building a new distribution facility in Chambersburg, Franklin County, creating 350 new jobs.``We are proud that Toysrus.com has recognized Pennsylvania's excellent workforce and our unmatched quality of life," Gov. Ridge said., "and has selected Franklin County as the site of its new distribution facility. We welcome Toysrus.com and the 350 new jobs they will bring to Southcentral Pennsylvania.'' Toysrus.com will build a 700,000 square-foot distribution facility in the Chamber Five Industrial Park in Franklin County. Toysrus.com anticipates its distribution operations will begin at the new facility this fall. ``We are making a long-term commitment to creating the best possible customer experience,'' said Jonathan Foster, COO, Toysrus.com. ``Our new Chambersburg facility will be a great resource in helping us meet our distribution and shipping needs as we grow in the future." Toysrus.com had made the announcement on Monday about the Chambersburg facility, as well as another distribution center to open in Mira Loma, California. Both the Chambersburg and Mira Loma centers will support the existing Memphis, Tennessee facility. Each new site will employ 300 full-time employees and have more than 800 seasonal workers during the holiday system. ``Our number one priority in 2000 is to strengthen our infrastructure. Last year, we learned invaluable lessons,'' Foster said. Despite the widely publicized difficulties the company experienced during the holiday season with outages and delivery problems, Toysrus.com was the fifth most visited e-commerce site during the 1999 holiday season, the company said, citing a Media Metrix survey. Toysrus.com said it is upgrading the Memphis center, which employs 175 full-time employees with a seasonal payroll projected of more than 500. The company reportedly had sales in excess of $50 million last year, compared with its parent company's $11 billion. The online arm of the business did $10.6 million in the first quarter of this year, a figure the company claims is 30 times greater than the same period one year ago. Toysrus.com is aggressively eyeing the 2000 holiday season, taking bold measures to avoid the missteps of last year as well as keeping a watchful eye on it's nearest competitor, eToys. [Updated 4/12/2000]
  
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