Author Topic: its official toys r us is dead... (Read 11279 times)

Nightlord01 · « **Reply #60 on:** 17 March 2018, 01:06:09 »

Quote from: Feenix74 on 16 March 2018, 06:59:38

It was not just Toys'R'Us, do you remember World4Kids? The local Coles Myers copy of TRU. And it was not just Toyworld that died because of the TRU and W4K onslaught, in Sydney we also used to have Uncle Pete's Toys (https://rctoymemories.com/2014/01/08/lost-hobby-shops-uncle-petes-toys/) . . .

The Australian arm of TRU will live on and here in Canberra we still have a Toyworld (where I buy my paints and tools for my BT minis from).

I live five minutes away from that Toyworld. :-) I'm not too sure that TRU Australia will continue though, they aren't shutting down yet, but they have been totally dependent on the US franchise for support.

I know that there are plenty of other toy stores that got shut out by TRU/W4K. The beauty is getting to see Toyworlds still in every major city (Even if they aren't a franchise anymore), after their primogenitor was killed off by predatory marketing. Not that Mr Toys was particularly nice to a lot of their competitors in the 80s, but they were far more heavily regulated at the time.

Bosefius · « **Reply #61 on:** 17 March 2018, 02:39:58 »

Quote from: Lazarus Jaguar on 16 March 2018, 04:27:52

Wasnt Kay-Bee also ruined by Bain Capital/Mitt Romney? I rrmember them being mentioned as a textbook example when I was reading an article on corporate raiding

I looked this claim up on a fact check site and it's labeled Mostly False. Though Bain hastened KB's closing it wasn't by much.

I also want to point out that Romney left Bain in 1999.

Nightlord01 · « **Reply #62 on:** 17 March 2018, 05:25:56 »

Quote from: Bosefius on 17 March 2018, 02:39:58

I looked this claim up on a fact check site and it's labeled Mostly False. Though Bain hastened KB's closing it wasn't by much.

I also want to point out that Romney left Bain in 1999.

This seems to be the MO for a lot of the chopshop firms, they take over struggling or failing firms, pillage them for everything they are worth and use what money was in them to enrich themselves, then fob it off. You can't/won't do it to a healthy firm, mostly because the buy in would be too expensive but also because even the chopshops acknowledge that a buy in for a healthy firm is about long term growth, not pillage.

beachhead1985 · « **Reply #63 on:** 17 March 2018, 08:43:53 »

My favourite part was their sale/discount/disposal aisles you had to walk past to get in the local store in the early-mid 90s.

All sorts of weird, broken, parts-missing random junk you could have for peanuts.

beachhead1985 · « **Reply #64 on:** 17 March 2018, 08:45:42 »

Quote from: beachhead1985 on 17 March 2018, 08:43:53

My favourite part was their sale/discount/disposal aisles you had to walk past to get in the local store in the early-mid 90s.

All sorts of weird, broken, parts-missing random junk you could have for peanuts.

When we stood up toys for tots in...2006? We got a huge shipment of old action figures including ALIENS, 80s barbie and what looked just like original ROTJ stuff. I always suspected that Toys R' Us had some crazy back warehouse of old stuff and I *THINK* that and the disposal aisle must have been where it came from.

Charlie 6 · « **Reply #65 on:** 17 March 2018, 08:50:20 »

My first year running a Toys for Tots program we were gifted a shipping container of Digimon. Everybody over the age of four got some.

My last year I spent a couple grand on a mandated shopping trip to TRU Toys for Tots.

ColBosch · « **Reply #66 on:** 17 March 2018, 10:03:36 »

While we didn't directly participate in Toys for Tots - being Army pukes - every year we did pool our money and send the Old Man and Top out to buy toys at TRU for our Devil Dog battle buddies and the kids. We may have made a few jokes about buying the Marines the Barbie dolls they always wanted.

Charlie 6 · « **Reply #67 on:** 17 March 2018, 12:40:45 »

Quote from: ColBosch on 17 March 2018, 10:03:36

While we didn't directly participate in Toys for Tots - being Army pukes - every year we did pool our money and send the Old Man and Top out to buy toys at TRU for our Devil Dog battle buddies and the kids. We may have made a few jokes about buying the Marines the Barbie dolls they always wanted.

Amongst yourselves naturally.

ColBosch · « **Reply #68 on:** 17 March 2018, 14:03:56 »

Quote from: Charlie 6 on 17 March 2018, 12:40:45

Amongst yourselves naturally.

Of course. They didn't trust us around the other services.

I am Belch II · « **Reply #69 on:** 17 March 2018, 16:16:03 »

It's sad to see TOys are Us go away. Not suprised when you go into the store, when it looks like a tornado went thru the store, the price is higher, nothing is in stock, customer service sucks, and they tell you to go online to the get the product anyways.

Lazarus Jaguar · « **Reply #70 on:** 17 March 2018, 18:33:37 »

So I went to the one near me see if I can grab some nick knacks. The place was full

And the cashier told me nothing was marked down yet. The going out of business sale hadnt begun and already people are buying stuff up

Orin J. · « **Reply #71 on:** 17 March 2018, 21:06:55 »

Eventually, i wonder if actual toy stores will see a small comeback after this. Certainly amazon can't maintain its current business model forever, and there's going to be a demand for a better cultivated offering that what you'd find at target......

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #72 on:** 17 March 2018, 22:40:05 »

Quote from: Lazarus Jaguar on 17 March 2018, 18:33:37

So I went to the one near me see if I can grab some nick knacks. The place was full

And the cashier told me nothing was marked down yet. The going out of business sale hadnt begun and already people are buying stuff up

It's like Border's: the company announced it was going out of business in February, but the liquidations didn't start until July.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #73 on:** 17 March 2018, 22:42:33 »

Quote from: I am Belch II on 17 March 2018, 16:16:03

It's sad to see TOys are Us go away. Not suprised when you go into the store, when it looks like a tornado went thru the store, the price is higher, nothing is in stock, customer service sucks, and they tell you to go online to the get the product anyways.

That's really not much different than Target or other big box stores, though. Most of the year the shelves are at best half-full and they're months behind on new releases.

worktroll · « **Reply #74 on:** 17 March 2018, 23:02:55 »

Well the TrU in Chadstone was already 20% off ... but nothing there worth getting. A particular lego architecture set my son-in-law collects was 20% off $60 thus $50 - which is the online price. Kinda explains it.

(And no decent boardgames. Yes, I did look.)

Nightlord01 · « **Reply #75 on:** 18 March 2018, 00:20:35 »

Quote from: Orin J. on 17 March 2018, 21:06:55

Eventually, i wonder if actual toy stores will see a small comeback after this. Certainly amazon can't maintain its current business model forever, and there's going to be a demand for a better cultivated offering that what you'd find at target......

It's not just Amazon, it's a whole swag of online retailers. Amazon is simply the largest, and I see no reason why their business model is unsustainable. They are presently profitable, and solid value, although it is inevitable that something else will come along and rain on their parade. Toys are one of those things that suits both BnM and online stores, with young kids preferring BnM so they can see the toy and spend their gift money, and adults generally preferring the greater variety and lower prices of the internet.

garhkal · « **Reply #76 on:** 18 March 2018, 00:54:08 »

Quote from: Lazarus Jaguar on 17 March 2018, 18:33:37

So I went to the one near me see if I can grab some nick knacks. The place was full

And the cashier told me nothing was marked down yet. The going out of business sale hadnt begun and already people are buying stuff up

Same here. ANd when i DID ask when that might happen, they said "WE have not gotten the word from corporate yet."

Terminax · « **Reply #77 on:** 18 March 2018, 08:17:40 »

As far as I know, the Canadian branch isn't as bad off and is looking for a buyer.

NeonKnight · « **Reply #78 on:** 18 March 2018, 12:43:39 »

Quote from: Terminax on 18 March 2018, 08:17:40

As far as I know, the Canadian branch isn't as bad off and is looking for a buyer.

True...not seeing any GOING OUT OF BUSINESS signs here...yet

I am Belch II · « **Reply #79 on:** 18 March 2018, 14:14:51 »

Toys without Toy's R US is just like Books without Borders.

Others will pop up and provide better service for a while.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #80 on:** 18 March 2018, 15:11:09 »

I don't think that's such a great analogy. All that's really happened since Borders closed was that Amazon became the only source of books outside of cities too small to support a Barnes & Nobel. Books are shifting to electronic format, which is a bit difficult to do with toys. So there's really a better chance for small toy stores to start up after this than small bookstores had.

Orin J. · « **Reply #81 on:** 18 March 2018, 22:48:12 »

Quote from: Nightlord01 on 18 March 2018, 00:20:35

It's not just Amazon, it's a whole swag of online retailers. Amazon is simply the largest, and I see no reason why their business model is unsustainable. They are presently profitable, and solid value, although it is inevitable that something else will come along and rain on their parade. Toys are one of those things that suits both BnM and online stores, with young kids preferring BnM so they can see the toy and spend their gift money, and adults generally preferring the greater variety and lower prices of the internet.

From what i've seen amazon gets by largely on some suspect practices in how they use their workforce and a tax system that hasn't caught up to how they operate to properly figure out how to charge them yet. I suspect that they will probably get caught up fairly soon for political reasons, but that's veering off the topic.

Personally, i expect the biggest problem for small toy stores making a resurgance to end up being the price of the real estate.

Bedwyr · « **Reply #82 on:** 18 March 2018, 23:00:30 »

Quote from: Orin J. on 18 March 2018, 22:48:12

I suspect that they will probably get caught up fairly soon for political reasons, but that's veering off the topic.

Not just off topic. Into a subject that makes paperwork for me. Don't make me modly. You wouldn't like me when I'm modly.

Kidd · « **Reply #83 on:** 18 March 2018, 23:03:12 »

(Wanna know his secret? He's always modly...!)

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #84 on:** 19 March 2018, 01:54:29 »

There's a reason for the particular color of his avatar's paint scheme.

JadeHellbringer · « **Reply #85 on:** 19 March 2018, 07:47:46 »

A friend of mine actually worked for Borders in downtown Washington DC, and said she realized it was time to look for work elsewhere when she realized that they couldn't order new movie releases from some places. Paramount was the one she said was the big red flag that stuck out to her, they couldn't get their movies in stock anymore- what was already on the shelves, sure, but nothing new. She began realizing that it wasn't just that, but several companies weren't sending movies anymore- which likely meant the vendors weren't willing to work with Borders anymore. And that's, if not the last nail in the coffin, certainly not the FIRST one either.

She left less than four months before the store closed, as it turned out.

I'd be curious to see if the same has happened here, with TRU struggling to get products from vendors as things get more grim by the quarter- and whether or not that, if it's the case, helped contribute to the bad '17 4th quarter numbers that finally did them in.

Orin J. · « **Reply #86 on:** 19 March 2018, 12:10:44 »

Quote from: JadeHellbringer on 19 March 2018, 07:47:46

A friend of mine actually worked for Borders in downtown Washington DC, and said she realized it was time to look for work elsewhere when she realized that they couldn't order new movie releases from some places. Paramount was the one she said was the big red flag that stuck out to her, they couldn't get their movies in stock anymore- what was already on the shelves, sure, but nothing new. She began realizing that it wasn't just that, but several companies weren't sending movies anymore- which likely meant the vendors weren't willing to work with Borders anymore. And that's, if not the last nail in the coffin, certainly not the FIRST one either.

She left less than four months before the store closed, as it turned out.

worked at TRU for a while and they didn't have that problem until everything came crashing down from my memory. getting stock wasn't any noticable problem, getting office supplies was however. they more or less cut off the petty cash for that and the manager was paying out of pocket for anything not marked with a big company letterhead on it.

i suspect that since there wasn't much of an alternative for much of the stock companies were selling to them, they weren't willing to withhold the merchandise of stock they could sell elsewhere....

I'd be curious to see if the same has happened here, with TRU struggling to get products from vendors as things get more grim by the quarter- and whether or not that, if it's the case, helped contribute to the bad '17 4th quarter numbers that finally did them in.

garhkal · « **Reply #87 on:** 19 March 2018, 14:18:03 »

Quote from: JadeHellbringer on 19 March 2018, 07:47:46

I'd be curious to see if the same has happened here, with TRU struggling to get products from vendors as things get more grim by the quarter- and whether or not that, if it's the case, helped contribute to the bad '17 4th quarter numbers that finally did them in.

Certainly sounds like it might have been getting that way.

Orin J. · « **Reply #88 on:** 19 March 2018, 14:33:54 »

Quote from: garhkal on 19 March 2018, 14:18:03

Certainly sounds like it might have been getting that way.

black fridays have been getting less and less 'black' for them for a long time, honestly. it's rarely they didn't have product to sell (at least in the stores i worked at) and more that the customers went online and there was no way to "upsell" their shopping anymore.

MadCapellan · « **Reply #89 on:** 19 March 2018, 15:12:18 »

Went into a Toys R' Us the other day after the news, & there sure didn't seem to be any shortage of product on the shelves. I have to imagine most toy companies would be hard pressed to cut them off - where else moves as much Mattel & Hasbro product as Toys R' Us? I'd expect both those companies to take a knock-on hit from these closures - both are significantly more diversified than Toys R' Us & sell elsewhere, but both are likely going to lose a lot of money as Toys R' Us defaults in reimbursement for product & returns unsold materials.