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Post by spockoda on May 30, 2017 19:21:30 GMT -6
My wife recently read to me an e-article that discussed 34 businesses that were likely to file for bankruptcy by either the end of the year or next year. While a lot of the stores I had never heard of, Toys R Us is one on the list I used to be quite familiar with. Although this saddens me in a like fashion to other stores of the same ilk that have gone under it fails to surprise me as much as the others due to the kind of time we are in now where the economy isn't doing all that great from what I see and the apparent fact that internet sales are by and large killing brick and mortar store chains in general. Plus, as Toys R Us goes, collecting figures seems to have come close to being dead at retail. I personally have purchased around six figures this whole year, a number at one time I could hit or go beyond on a single Saturday.
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Post by waywardmonk on May 31, 2017 15:37:12 GMT -6
It would be sad to see TRU go under. Simply because they are the last of the brick and mortar chain toy stores. I have many fond memories of walking down their aisles. I have doubts that they will truly disappear, but I'm sure they will have store closures like many other big name companies have in recent years. My local TRU has been kind of a ghost town for years. The regular cashier lines are always closed and I rarely see anyone working electronics or roaming the floor. Most days there is one lone employee at the return counter doubling as the cashier. Last Christmas I used their in-store pick-up for several items for my kid and I was in and out in just a few minutes. Didn't even bother to look around. I still go once in awhile on a whim if I'm nearby and have a few minutes to kill, but I rarely buy anything.
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Post by waywardmonk on May 31, 2017 22:23:33 GMT -6
This thread got me thinking of your KB thread, Spockoda. And then I immediately relived the deja vu of walking into a TRU Express not much long after that and feeling like I just walked into a KB back in the 90's. So much so that I googled it on a hunch and found that Toys R Us bought the KB brand when it went out of business in 2009. The TRU wiki had a snippet about it and how the TRU Express came into existence. I wonder if those will be among their first cuts. I should make it back to the one near me soon, just to have that nostalgic feeling one more time. "The K·B Toys brand and related intangible assets were sold by Streambank LLC to Toys "R" Us on September 4, 2009, for a reported $2.1 million. Because K·B Toys's 460 stores had been closed and liquidated, the sale applied mainly to the company's logo, website, trademarks, and other intellectual properties. Toys "R" Us was initially unsure of how to integrate the K·B name into its business plan.[3] Toys "R" Us has used the K·B Toys name on self-manufactured toys under the name "KB Classics" with the K·B Toys logo." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KB_Toys"For the 2009 holiday-shopping season, Toys "R" Us tried a smaller-store concept to attract customers and 90 "Holiday Express" stores across the United States and Canada were opened.[15] The Holiday Express stores are smaller than regular Toys "R" Us locations, often located in malls, and offer a more limited selection of merchandise than would be available at a stand-alone Toys "R" Us store. Most (if not all) of these 90 stores were opened in shopping-center and mall spaces that had been vacated by store chains closing their doors during the recession (including KB Toys, several of which were taken over by Toys "R" Us).[15] Toys "R" Us's plan was to keep the Holiday Express stores open until early January 2010 and close them shortly thereafter, but the success of so many prompted the company to reconsider and several were kept open.[16] These stores are known as "Toys "R" Us Express". Beginning in June 2010, Toys "R" Us opened a total of 600 Express locations. Four more were converted to Toys "R" Us outlet stores." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toys_%22R%22_Us
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croaker
Forum Lurker
Jan 29, 2014 9:28:46 GMT -6
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Post by croaker on Jun 1, 2017 13:36:58 GMT -6
I recall that TRU went bankrupt already once, several years back and was purchased by a retail real estate company. Then some of the stores were closed and sold off for the property. This was also when the greater focus on Babies-R-us started as that was the part of the company that made the most revenue.
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Post by spockoda on Jun 1, 2017 19:10:06 GMT -6
I kind of miss the hobby, collecting figures. It had its down points at times but I was at least really motivated to get up and take a road trip, even if it was just to hit any stores that might have figures . Of course after a few years it became "what am I going to do with all these figures?"!
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jun 2, 2017 16:20:51 GMT -6
You can get everything online. It's the same in meatspace as it is on amazon--when new figures come out, the early people get all the most desired stuff and sell it back to us at a huge markup.
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Post by Ebessan on Jun 3, 2017 4:20:17 GMT -6
If Sears didn't go under, I doubt TRU will. The name itself is a monopoly; at worst, they'll discreetly get bought-out, but keep everything the same (save for a job losses/few store closures).
KB had a reason to get bought-out. This is a last-bastion kinda thing. It's all-American. At worst, if they do go bankrupt, I see a Geoffrey statue in Times Square somewhere. Just as good, no?
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jun 3, 2017 15:06:28 GMT -6
Yeah, can't imagine they'd really go under since they are the only national toy chain. Close some brick and mortar stores probably, but not disappear. I haven't been into one in a long time.
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Post by figurecollector on Jun 3, 2017 20:17:07 GMT -6
I always found TRU to be overpriced on the items I could find elsewhere cheaper.
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Post by Ebessan on Jun 4, 2017 7:32:05 GMT -6
I haven't been into one in a long time. I always found TRU to be overpriced on the items I could find elsewhere cheaper. I echo both of your sentiments. With the Internet, there's zero need for physically searching. A friend and I used to visit TRU weekly up until 2010 or so. Even then, it was always new stuff, and every trip was depressing. They bothered more with relocating items than stocking interesting ones. You know the toys suck when you're anticipating the crane machine by the sliding doors. Every KB I ever went to, its own building or in a superstore, had some kinda surprise in it. TRU will never have that due to too much supervision. Edit: Cut the ramble down.
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jun 4, 2017 11:30:38 GMT -6
I echo both of your sentiments. With the Internet, there's zero need for physically searching. A friend and I used to visit TRU weekly up until 2010 or so. Even then, it was always new stuff, and every trip was depressing. They bothered more with relocating items than stocking interesting ones. You know the toys suck when you're anticipating the crane machine by the sliding doors. Every KB I ever went to, its own building or in a superstore, had some kinda surprise in it. TRU will never have that due to too much supervision. Edit: Cut the ramble down. I'd go a step further and say the internet has pretty much killed the thrill of hunting in the wild. You can't even go to a yard sale without people checking prices for stuff on their phones.
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Post by Ebessan on Jun 4, 2017 18:49:50 GMT -6
You can't even go to a yard sale without people checking prices for stuff on their phones. It's amazing, the lack of subtlety some people show. Even worse, you see the seller lounging on their own phone, practically taking inventory of beaten-up stuff they equate to store-bought.
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Post by waywardmonk on Jun 5, 2017 14:42:43 GMT -6
I stopped at the TRU Express near me again this weekend. It is really bizarre how they set up the TRU Express *exactly* like the old KB's were, but outside of that novelty unfortunately the nostalgia had worn off for me. I couldn't find one thing I was interested in buying. Even with the 25% off all clearance items sale that was going on...
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jun 5, 2017 16:18:58 GMT -6
It's amazing, the lack of subtlety some people show. Even worse, you see the seller lounging on their own phone, practically taking inventory of beaten-up stuff they equate to store-bought. Sounds like my mom. Sorry mom, your garage is not some treasure trove of ancient antiquities.
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Post by bowspearer on Jun 7, 2017 5:22:13 GMT -6
Honestly, TRU going bankrupt would be karmic retribution. When they came to Australia they predatorily priced out the competition and destroyed the bricks and mortar toy retail industry in this country. Then when they had their all but monopoly, they then raised their prices here, being the only game in town. If Toys'R'Us are now going bankrupt, then it's their own fault for ignoring the old adage of "those who live by the sword, die by the sword".
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Post by spockoda on Jun 8, 2017 18:06:04 GMT -6
I echo both of your sentiments. With the Internet, there's zero need for physically searching. A friend and I used to visit TRU weekly up until 2010 or so. Even then, it was always new stuff, and every trip was depressing. They bothered more with relocating items than stocking interesting ones. You know the toys suck when you're anticipating the crane machine by the sliding doors. Every KB I ever went to, its own building or in a superstore, had some kinda surprise in it. TRU will never have that due to too much supervision. Edit: Cut the ramble down. I'd go a step further and say the internet has pretty much killed the thrill of hunting in the wild. You can't even go to a yard sale without people checking prices for stuff on their phones. Funny you mention that. I saw that exact same thing at a Goodwill. There was a bunch of comic books from the early to mid 80's and there was more than one person standing around them looking up the comics on their phones to see if any of the comics were worth cherry picking. Presumably not because they actually wanted them....
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jun 8, 2017 18:15:47 GMT -6
Goodwill itself is becoming a bit greedy. You can walk through a Goodwill and see that they skew towards eBay (over)pricing.
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Post by spockoda on Jun 9, 2017 22:18:06 GMT -6
My wife works at another chain of thrift stores and ebay gets referred to quite a bit on items thought to be collectible or just really expensive.
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Post by spockoda on Jun 9, 2017 22:29:08 GMT -6
It would be sad to see TRU go under. Simply because they are the last of the brick and mortar chain toy stores. I have many fond memories of walking down their aisles. I have doubts that they will truly disappear, but I'm sure they will have store closures like many other big name companies have in recent years. My local TRU has been kind of a ghost town for years. The regular cashier lines are always closed and I rarely see anyone working electronics or roaming the floor. Most days there is one lone employee at the return counter doubling as the cashier. Last Christmas I used their in-store pick-up for several items for my kid and I was in and out in just a few minutes. Didn't even bother to look around. I still go once in awhile on a whim if I'm nearby and have a few minutes to kill, but I rarely buy anything. My wife and I recently went on vacation out of state and I came across a store called "Calendars Games And Toys" or something like that. It was sort of like Hastings without the books, movies, and music. The prices were overblown such as $28.95 on the 40th Anniversary Star Wars 6 inch figures as opposed to Wal-Mart's $19.87. I did almost buy series 2 of the 3.75" Bif Bang Pow Kiss figures but I just couldn't part with the near $75 it would have took to take them home with me. I don't know if this store is an actual "chain" or just a local store to the area.
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Post by waywardmonk on Jun 10, 2017 14:00:20 GMT -6
One of the few things I picked up at TRU in the last year. 8" Bigfoot from an Animal Planet playset. Fisto for scale.
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Post by Ebessan on Jun 11, 2017 13:49:45 GMT -6
Honestly, TRU going bankrupt would be karmic retribution. When they came to Australia they predatorily priced out the competition and destroyed the bricks and mortar toy retail industry in this country. Then when they had their all but monopoly, they then raised their prices here, being the only game in town. If Toys'R'Us are now going bankrupt, then it's their own fault for ignoring the old adage of "those who live by the sword, die by the sword". I must've been 11 or 12 when I discovered KB Toys, not long after which they were devoured by TRU. Even when they had to resort to supermarkets, those last few KBs always had something really cool somewhere, either in a gigantic bin or behind 15 other hanging cards. The over-organization & professionalism, plus [possibly] being too picky about what to carry, has killed TRU. Well, good. Their model shifted from quantity to what-goes-where. I realized the place was shit when they installed an entire video game section. Racks of games, cartoon soundtracks, EB Games-type setup with the upright "test" arcade. Nothing screams "Toys" like a 5-minute virtual boxing match. And it was always empty.
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Post by waywardmonk on Jun 11, 2017 14:30:50 GMT -6
Wow, I'm surprised to hear so much hate for TRU and love for KB from multiple people. I went to both in the 80's & 90's and even though I can relate to some of the comments, I generally feel the total opposite. I only went to KB in the 80's if I happened to be at the mall, and as an adult collector in the 90's I only went to KB when I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere else (because every other store's prices were lower). I guess when Taco Bell wins the franchise wars there will be a similar debate
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Post by Ebessan on Jun 14, 2017 5:07:46 GMT -6
Wow, I'm surprised to hear so much hate for TRU and love for KB from multiple people. I went to both in the 80's & 90's and even though I can relate to some of the comments, I generally feel the total opposite. I only went to KB in the 80's if I happened to be at the mall, and as an adult collector in the 90's I only went to KB when I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere else (because every other store's prices were lower). I guess when Taco Bell wins the franchise wars there will be a similar debate :P I think sentimentality wins, really. TRU was infinitely a better place, I agree. Though, KB was more charming, not in a mom-and-pop way but but you felt less under pressure. I own several weird toys now that I found at KB Toys or would later come to find out only got distributed there. Around 1997 this gigantic Mall of America-type place opened up in Ankara. First-ever Turkish TRU inside. It was as big as the average Wal-Mart, and they had so much stuff, including stockpiles of older stuff Europe had sent over (since nobody here had seen them, it wouldn't have mattered). I think TRU in the '80s must have been the greatest place ever. The decade itself was the best ever for toys. Walk in, right there you see He-Man and the 200 other badass copycats. They no longer have a go-to toyline, hence the switch to electronics.
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Post by bowspearer on Jun 15, 2017 22:49:18 GMT -6
Wow, I'm surprised to hear so much hate for TRU You need to understand that the toy industry in Australia was radically different to that of the USA in the 80s and early 90s. In the 80s and early 90s, what dominated the toy retail landscape wasn't giant corporate toy superstores, it was smaller toy stores. Sure you had Grace Bros (now Myer), Target, David Jones, Big-W and Kmart who all had toy sections, but there was a harmony between the smaller toy stores and the toy departments of department stores, with neither really going after the other and each operating within their niche. Some of my happiest moments as a child are with my local toy store. The owner was a retired bank manager who loved kids and used to do unlimited time laybys (I think you guys call them layaways), where even if a child was paying $0.50 a time over a period of weeks, the toy would be there for them if when they'd paid it off. It was where I remember getting my first He-Man figure, falling in love with Transformers and where I got my Panosh Place Voltron. Around the early 90s, that all changed. Coles, who still own several of the department stores here today, got wind of Toys'R'Us expanding into the Australian Market with the intentions of dominating it and Coles responded in kind with their own toy megastore - World4Kids. Within 3 years World4Kids was all but dead and became the toy departments of every Kmart store and TRU was the only big player left standing, supporting themselves out here by massively overpriced exclusives. However long before that, the smaller chains were all but wiped out. When it comes to the worst aspects of American crony capitalism, Toys'R'Us out here is a textbook example of it. They're a parasite on the Australian toy landscape and the sooner they disappear, the better.
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Post by rihia2k on Jun 16, 2017 19:16:18 GMT -6
You need to understand that the toy industry in Australia was radically different to that of the USA in the 80s and early 90s. In the 80s and early 90s, what dominated the toy retail landscape wasn't giant corporate toy superstores, it was smaller toy stores. Basically everything bowspearer said about Aus applies to New Zealand, with all sizes reduced by about 99.7% Our TRU equivalent being Toyworld. I have to confess going into TRU first time in Aus was kind of an exciting novelty - like my first (and only) Twinkie or pack o' Crackerjacks.
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drtest
Forum Lurker
Jun 21, 2017 9:03:32 GMT -6
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Post by drtest on Jun 21, 2017 9:12:45 GMT -6
I doubt that it will disappear, it will only maybe reduce it's number of stores. Before, a trip to Toys R Us was magical (ok, as I child I would only go there once or twice on a year) but everything was absolutely new, full of wonderful things, and always some on heavy discounts. Last time I went it was very boring and depressing, always the same stuff that they've had there for years.
Ok, less toys are bought, there is the internet, but there is an obvious lack of commercial vision there.
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Post by spockoda on Jun 27, 2017 20:47:43 GMT -6
Wow, I'm surprised to hear so much hate for TRU and love for KB from multiple people. I went to both in the 80's & 90's and even though I can relate to some of the comments, I generally feel the total opposite. I only went to KB in the 80's if I happened to be at the mall, and as an adult collector in the 90's I only went to KB when I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere else (because every other store's prices were lower). I guess when Taco Bell wins the franchise wars there will be a similar debate I think sentimentality wins, really. TRU was infinitely a better place, I agree. Though, KB was more charming, not in a mom-and-pop way but but you felt less under pressure. I own several weird toys now that I found at KB Toys or would later come to find out only got distributed there. Around 1997 this gigantic Mall of America-type place opened up in Ankara. First-ever Turkish TRU inside. It was as big as the average Wal-Mart, and they had so much stuff, including stockpiles of older stuff Europe had sent over (since nobody here had seen them, it wouldn't have mattered). I think TRU in the '80s must have been the greatest place ever. The decade itself was the best ever for toys. Walk in, right there you see He-Man and the 200 other badass copycats. They no longer have a go-to toyline, hence the switch to electronics. There was a KB Outlet near me that you just never knew what might show up there. Some toys that people I have communicated with swear never made it to this country I bought there. I can't immediately recall what the toy line was called but it was based on a foreign cartoon. Battle Planet or War Planets, something like that.
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Post by spockoda on Jun 27, 2017 20:50:57 GMT -6
I doubt that it will disappear, it will only maybe reduce it's number of stores. Before, a trip to Toys R Us was magical (ok, as I child I would only go there once or twice on a year) but everything was absolutely new, full of wonderful things, and always some on heavy discounts. Last time I went it was very boring and depressing, always the same stuff that they've had there for years. Ok, less toys are bought, there is the internet, but there is an obvious lack of commercial vision there. I experienced that "magic" of going to TRU as a child back in the 80's. There might be a trip there two or three times a year but seeing all those toys would about make my head explode .
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Post by spockoda on Jun 27, 2017 20:52:37 GMT -6
It's amazing, the lack of subtlety some people show. Even worse, you see the seller lounging on their own phone, practically taking inventory of beaten-up stuff they equate to store-bought. Sounds like my mom. Sorry mom, your garage is not some treasure trove of ancient antiquities. thor, I like your avatar pic of the ol' Super Powers Braniac with the bluish background. Good stuff.
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jun 28, 2017 16:28:29 GMT -6
Sounds like my mom. Sorry mom, your garage is not some treasure trove of ancient antiquities. thor, I like your avatar pic of the ol' Super Powers Braniac with the bluish background. Good stuff. Thanks. And for the record, I always thought Lionel Kiddie City was a million tiimes better.
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