Bye Bye Toys R Us...

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by HERITAGE82

Very touching image...

I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid
they got a million toys at Toys R us that I can play with
I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid
they got the best for so much less, it'll really flip your lid
From bikes to trains to video games
it's the biggest toy store there is (gee whiz!)
I don't wanna grow up, cause maybe if I did
I couldn't be a Toys R Us kid
more games, more toys, oh boy!
I wanna be a Toys R Us kid

I bet FAO Schwarz in NYC could challenge that statement.

[Bigblu10]

Originally Posted by SDRider

I bet FAO Schwarz in NYC could challenge that statement.

Not sure if you know but FAO in NYC is also long gone.
Sears, Penney, Kmart are on life support and surely just a matter of time.

[outtatime]

Originally Posted by joerivers1961

You are so right. But I think in their case they chose not to invest in new technologies and keep up with the changes in commerce. From what I've read they didn't invest in their employees either so it is a recipe for failure. Then there's Amazon & game over. Very sad.

Or, blame the private equity firm that bought them, saddled them with hundreds of millions in debt, collected a bunch of bonuses for themselves and then jettisoned while leaving the employees with no severance...

[RW16610]

So many memories from back in the day, this is sad.

[joerivers1961]

100% with you.

Originally Posted by outtatime

Or, blame the private equity firm that bought them, saddled them with hundreds of millions in debt, collected a bunch of bonuses for themselves and then jettisoned while leaving the employees with no severance...

[dddrees]

Thing is, if it’s anything of any value I’ll purchase it on the internet. It’s not because I won’t pay sales tax, it’s not because I can do it from home and not have to spend gas and generally because shipping is free. It’s generally because I can get something better online. I simply can get things online I can’t get locally. It’s because I can make comparisons and get user ratings online.

Brick and mortars are dying and it’s not just because you can get it for less but it’s because I can do better online.

[dmash]

Originally Posted by dddrees

Thing is, if it’s anything of any value I’ll purchase it on the internet. It’s not because I won’t pay sales tax, it’s not because I can do it from home and not have to spend gas and generally because shipping is free. It’s generally because I can get something better online. I simply can get things online I can’t get locally. It’s because I can make comparisons and get user ratings online.

Brick and mortars are dying and it’s not just because you can get it for less but it’s because I can do better online.

Yup, the entire 'review' system runs everything now. and it's actually getting kind of useless, because everybody and their brother thinks they're professional reviewers now, ranging from electronics to restaurants to hotels. The ONLY thing I use reviews for any more, is to simply rule something out if it notoriously has horrible reviews. Anything from 3-5 stars is usually fair game to me though, way too many people who will give something a 1-2 star review for the most minuscule of things. The review system has really killed the food scene too, IMO.

Gah, this is one of the ways the internet has made something worse. and I say that as a 28 year old,

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by dddrees

Thing is, if it’s anything of any value I’ll purchase it on the internet. It’s not because I won’t pay sales tax, it’s not because I can do it from home and not have to spend gas and generally because shipping is free. It’s generally because I can get something better online. I simply can get things online I can’t get locally. It’s because I can make comparisons and get user ratings online.

Brick and mortars are dying and it’s not just because you can get it for less but it’s because I can do better online.

I think most people get that but those of us who've lived for a while have memories of a vibrant downtowns with locally owned stores and profits from businesses staying in the city and circulating. First came Walmart and with the cities giving them massive tax breaks, they soon forced the closing of hundreds of downtown mom and pops, and paying minimum wages, everything and everyone took a hit.

Now with Amazon doing much the same thing even major chains that have been around for almost a century are closing.

I guess it's progress but not sure if it's good or bad.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I think most people get that but those of us who've lived for a while have memories of a vibrant downtowns with locally owned stores and profits from businesses staying in the city and circulating. First came Walmart and with the cities giving them massive tax breaks, they soon forced the closing of hundreds of downtown mom and pops, and paying minimum wages, everything and everyone took a hit.

Now with Amazon doing much the same thing even major chains that have been around for almost a century are closing.

I guess it's progress but not sure if it's good or bad.

I’m not that young actually and I do worry what this change will bring. Not all changes in my opinion have been for the better. Frankly I think my childhood was fabulous because we actually played outside. Anyway, there are many reasons the internet is the way I have chosen to purchase almost everything besides groceries for a good while now.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by dmash

Yup, the entire 'review' system runs everything now. and it's actually getting kind of useless, because everybody and their brother thinks they're professional reviewers now, ranging from electronics to restaurants to hotels. The ONLY thing I use reviews for any more, is to simply rule something out if it notoriously has horrible reviews. Anything from 3-5 stars is usually fair game to me though, way too many people who will give something a 1-2 star review for the most minuscule of things. The review system has really killed the food scene too, IMO.

Gah, this is one of the ways the internet has made something worse. and I say that as a 28 year old,

I guess to some degree it depends where and what your looking for. By no means perfect, but nothing is however user forums like this helps when it comes to things that interest me.

[.brian.]

Originally Posted by djhiram

I am literally heartbroken that my 10 month old daughter will not experience the joy of running through aisles and aisles of toys. I am going to take her one last time tonight and take many pictures.

Hate to break it to you, but you are most likely going to get a bunch of pictures of empty shelves. If the stores near you are anything like the stores around me, it will be basically empty (from what I have read from people who went in the last few days).

[sco]

Originally Posted by joerivers1961

Interesting to hear from someone in the Industry. Just curious: did they have the same effect as perhaps Walmart did to smaller business operations? Or that more personal approach had enough strength? I've shopped both and though I feel sad about this company closing I do have to say that I have the best experience at a smaller "mom & pop" store.

Toys R us had been around so long, that Mom and Pop shops were able to co exist with them. When Walmart came in, they crushed the once mighty Sears and Kmart along with so many other chains and independents. After Amazon became a monster, they pretty much finished the job challenging Walmart with an modern, updated model of Sear's old catalog ordering system built for today.

Like other posters mentioned their business model got outdated. Their prices were high, in buildings with high rent, along with (potentially unmotivated) low paid employees. The Toy companies that I represent are strong, and did not get hurt very badly with the closing of TRU. It's the little guys that couldn't get their product into a mass retailer that benefited from a chain of stores like Toys R Us. They had so much space, that they pretty much bought everything to fill the shelves! Those smaller companies are going through tough times after relying on TRU solely.

I've seen quite a few retailers go out of business recently, and it does not look like it's getting better any time soon. Some chains are focusing more on .com business and ads, along with sharp pricing and tempting deals.

I've been selling to retail for the last 18 years personally, and it's more challenging than ever to keep up with the changing landscape. Luckily at this point we have strong manufacturers that we work with to get toys to what's left of the strong retailers.

[Peter99]

I think the UK Toys-R-Us set-up was rather different from the US stores.
The times I visited, in the main they seemed to be just full of cheapo plastic toys.
Can’t recall anything electronic, best they seemed to have were kids pedal cars.
They were no where near to the standard of say Hamley’s of Regent Street London or the Harrods Toy Department.
Poles apart!

[Wesley Crusher]

Part of the issue I suspect, and I could be wrong, is that toys just aren’t as popular as they used to be. Kids now care more about video games, phones, tablets, etc...

Toys R Us carried more than just toys. They had sporting equipment too. Basketball stuff, baseball, bikes, etc... kids don’t care about going out and playing with their friends anymore. They’d rather be locked in their room gaming. Really sad when you think about it.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Wesley Crusher

Part of the issue I suspect, and I could be wrong, is that toys just aren’t as popular as they used to be. Kids now care more about video games, phones, tablets, etc...

Toys R Us carried more than just toys. They had sporting equipment too. Basketball stuff, baseball, bikes, etc... kids don’t care about going out and playing with their friends anymore. They’d rather be locked in their room gaming. Really sad when you think about it.

I imagine it probably is more than just one thing, however brick and mortars are going the way of the dinosaur. Besides the Toys R Us we just had two more stores in our mall close. Frankly many are surprised our mall lasted this long. It’s only saving grace may have been it’s location. But now that two of the anchor stores are closing the entire mall is in jeopardy and probably be soon to close entirely.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Wesley Crusher

Part of the issue I suspect, and I could be wrong, is that toys just aren’t as popular as they used to be. Kids now care more about video games, phones, tablets, etc...

Toys R Us carried more than just toys. They had sporting equipment too. Basketball stuff, baseball, bikes, etc... kids don’t care about going out and playing with their friends anymore. They’d rather be locked in their room gaming. Really sad when you think about it.

It is a shame kids no longer play outside. It certainly contributes to the obesity and some of other issues our society has.

[joerivers1961]

Thank you for sharing. I always find these conversations fascinating.

Originally Posted by sco

Toys R us had been around so long, that Mom and Pop shops were able to co exist with them. When Walmart came in, they crushed the once mighty Sears and Kmart along with so many other chains and independents. After Amazon became a monster, they pretty much finished the job challenging Walmart with an modern, updated model of Sear's old catalog ordering system built for today.

Like other posters mentioned their business model got outdated. Their prices were high, in buildings with high rent, along with (potentially unmotivated) low paid employees. The Toy companies that I represent are strong, and did not get hurt very badly with the closing of TRU. It's the little guys that couldn't get their product into a mass retailer that benefited from a chain of stores like Toys R Us. They had so much space, that they pretty much bought everything to fill the shelves! Those smaller companies are going through tough times after relying on TRU solely.

I've seen quite a few retailers go out of business recently, and it does not look like it's getting better any time soon. Some chains are focusing more on .com business and ads, along with sharp pricing and tempting deals.

I've been selling to retail for the last 18 years personally, and it's more challenging than ever to keep up with the changing landscape. Luckily at this point we have strong manufacturers that we work with to get toys to what's left of the strong retailers.

[BNA/LION]

[77T]

A lesson Rolex may need to learn from.

Online sales, inventory issues, and alternative competitors could gut Rolex like TrU was.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[djhiram]

I don’t wanna grow up.

I’m a (_) - insert Walmart/Amazon/Target - kid

See how silly that sounds?

It’s not the same

[Cru Jones]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I think most people get that but those of us who've lived for a while have memories of a vibrant downtowns with locally owned stores and profits from businesses staying in the city and circulating. First came Walmart and with the cities giving them massive tax breaks, they soon forced the closing of hundreds of downtown mom and pops, and paying minimum wages, everything and everyone took a hit.

Now with Amazon doing much the same thing even major chains that have been around for almost a century are closing.

I guess it's progress but not sure if it's good or bad.

Exactly, this phenomenon started long before Amazon, which only sealed the deal. The real exodus of downtown stores and jobs began with suburban shopping malls.

[Andad]

I was sorry to read about this when it was announced.

Spent a few hours at the local Toys R Us earlier this month with my two year old granddaughter.

We had a lot of fun.

[The Libertine]

Originally Posted by Maybelline

America has really changed. Some things for the better and some not.

That is for sure.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by directioneng

I was sorry to read about this when it was announced.

Spent a few hours at the local Toys R Us earlier this month with my two year old granddaughter.

We had a lot of fun.

Cute picture.

[dmash]

Originally Posted by directioneng

I was sorry to read about this when it was announced.

Spent a few hours at the local Toys R Us earlier this month with my two year old granddaughter.

We had a lot of fun.

She’s already buttering you up to buy her cars. Be thankful this one is made from plastic and has no engine

[bayerische]

Still doing well in Europe...?

[SoCal_Batman]

Originally Posted by bdex75

Toys R Us and the Sears/JC Penny Christmas catalogs. Two memories of my youth now gone.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

+1, This really hit me in the feels.

[pilotjim]

Originally Posted by dmash

Yup, the entire 'review' system runs everything now. and it's actually getting kind of useless, because everybody and their brother thinks they're professional reviewers now, ranging from electronics to restaurants to hotels. The ONLY thing I use reviews for any more, is to simply rule something out if it notoriously has horrible reviews. Anything from 3-5 stars is usually fair game to me though, way too many people who will give something a 1-2 star review for the most minuscule of things. The review system has really killed the food scene too, IMO.

Gah, this is one of the ways the internet has made something worse. and I say that as a 28 year old,

Agree. I find many online "reviews" pretty useless. They appear to be similar to a bunch of old women sitting around gossiping and b**ching about something, all of them disagreeing with each other.

[dmash]

Originally Posted by pilotjim

Agree. I find many online "reviews" pretty useless. They appear to be similar to a bunch of old women sitting around gossiping and b**ching about something, all of them disagreeing with each other.

The food scene is the worst. Aside from the fabricated reviews of their friends coming on there to leave 5 star stellar reviews and skew the results........on the opposite spectrum you’ll have this guy: ‘Fantastic steaks cooked to perfection, side dishes were great, drinks were strong and service flawless. However, the (free) bread was a bit hard. 2/5 stars’

[tyler1980]

kids dont play with toys, they play with iPads and utilize the App store. Sad but true. I try to get my oldest interested in toys but according to him "they dont do anything" So its basically going to the park or electronics. He isnt interested in much else. Its less clutter around the house though.