dsgnioeghwi'oarhj Toys R Us signed an agreement with Amazon.com in 2000 that placed Toys R Us products on the Amazon.com Web site. Amazon.com would accept the orders on its Web site and would ship products to consumers for Toys R Us in exchange for a percentage of each sale. Amazon.com also agreed not to sell toys itself or on behalf of other partners for whom it might provide online sales services in the future. For example, when Amazon agreed to sell Target products online, it could not sell Target’s toy lines on its Web site. The two companies signed a ten-year exclusive partnership, in which the toy maker paid $200 million to be the exclusive supplier of toys and baby products for the online retailer, and which would make the latter the former’s only online storefront. As part of the deal Amazon would be in charge of the online business while Toys “R” Us would handle the toy buying and inventory management.
While Amazon remained the exclusive online retailer for Toys “R” Us it also started selling products from other companies, claiming that the toy maker couldn't handle the demand, a move that prompted a breach of contract suit by Toys “R” Us in 2004. Amazon then filed its own counterclaim asking for $750 million in damages and made an official request to end the partnership. A New Jersey court ruled for the termination of the contract in 2006 but also in favor of Toys “R” Us, although it didn't issue any penalties for any party. On June 11, 2009, Amazon.com entered into a settlement agreement in its lawsuit with Toys “R” Us, Inc., and its affiliates, with terms that include, among other things, a one-time payment from Amazon.com of $51 million in the third quarter 2009.
The judge’s decision was based the reason behind the contract. For Toys “R” Us, the partnership would vastly increase its product base and potential without having to recreate the e-commerce code that Amazon has developed. For Amazon, the company could also see a potential...