Potential Toys R Us bankruptcy

Sadly, Toys R Us has been going downhill for a long time now. The one near me was pretty much taken over by Babies R Us years ago. I was telling my son about the joys of Kiddie City recently and he was so sad they closed he actually cried. That store closed in 1993.
 
To be honest, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they have. The prices are always higher than other retailers. Yes, it was a great store and fun to look around. There used to be a toys r us in all the major cities in my area in florida, and nows there are only 2 within 80 apart. Walmart and target are kings around here. Kmart just closed back in march. I worked at one in Connecticut when I was a kid, and my wife had a part time job at the one in port charlotte florida till it finally closed.
 
A shame, but I can see why brick and mortar retail stores a disappearing. I went to TRU earlier last week and they didn't have any of the Commander Gree figure I wanted even AFTER I checked the website to confirm that my local TRU had it in stock AND after I called ahead to double check before going go the store. I'm going to have to order the figure online now, when I wanted to buy in store so that I could ensure I purchased the figure with the best paint apps. If I was TRU I'd switch to online only, it's where retail is all going anyway. The thing is, the system TRU uses is so outdated that you can't find anything you want even as an employee.
 
in the uk we have a store called richer sound. their prices are generally cheapest around and ALL of the staff really know their stuff. I recently got a surround sound setup, i'd done some speaker research so I know what i wanted there but for the amp i basically walked in, said i have this much to spend and came away with their recommendation and it is great. i also couldnt find the stuff online any cheaper when i checked afterwards. they also gave me 20m of speaker cable for free. cant get that on Amazon
 
Toys R Us has been in trouble for ages. I worked for them for 14 years. First, they lost a high profile court case and lost their leverage with suppliers. Then they got bought by a "company flipper" who had a 5 year plan to turn the company around. Most of the higher ups got golden parachutes and left. Many of the smarter employees bailed before they began turning the screws. Once, they considered spinning off Babys R Us - the profitable part of the company- but reconsidered after realizing they'd be stuck with an even harder turnaround. I feel sorry for the people still working there but the writing has been on the wall for ages.
 
Moviefreak said:
While I like shopping online and buying stuff on Amazon, I like having Best Buy around for the large electronic purchases. I like going and looking at the big ticket purchase, in person. I like checking out the features... in person. I like picking up the item and paying... in person. The way shipping companies treat items these days, I do not trust they will get my 70+ inch fragile flat screen, or $2,000 computer to my door without damages. To be able to pay and load it up myself is a big deciding factor of my purchase.
Click to expand...

The problem, especially with Best Buy, is that when you walk into their store, they really have very little to buy. I went in to buy a computer a year or so ago, they had none in stock and wanted me to order off BestBuy.com. I took my business elsewhere. Yes, I want to actually see what I'm getting a lot of times, but stores don't actually stock all that much, especially things that are not common or that move fast. Most of my in-store purchases these days are things I need right now and more and more often, they simply don't bother putting much on the shelves.
 
My wife and I stopped into TRU over the weekend looking for some Funko Pops. The place was a mess. It always is. So while we were looking through their shelves, we cleaned up the whole section for them. We pretty much had to. But the shelves are all a disaster, they don't stock worth a damn, nobody reorganizes anything, you can't find things, TRU has been a disaster for a long time. Way back when I used to collect action figures, I used to love going in there, there were always new things on the shelves. Today, forget it. That's how a lot of retailers are. The brick-and-mortar stores are loss leaders for their online sales. Walmart couldn't stock if their lives depended on it. Neither could Target. Walgreens is a joke for toy collectors. They don't stock at all, you have to know what their inventory is before you walk in because they have no idea where anything is or if they have it.

When these stores fail, it will be their own fault. They've lost the edge that made them worthwhile.
 
Cephaus you are spot on! I went to Best Buy to buy a disposable laptop for a trip. Checked online and ended up having to go to Walmart.

As for my local TRU, the employees try to keep the store organized. Occasionally, products will look like they are on sale... thanks to hanging on the wrong hook but are full price.

Yet, distribution is awful. TRU has exclusives but my store seemingly is the last, if never, to get those exclusive products. When I can buy one of a collectible. I want to see if the figure wasn't painted crossed or at risk of being subjected to the trash compactor that shipping passes for these days.

But since my town never gets exclusives, I have come to detest them and not just TRU but Best Buy, Walmart, Walgreen's, and Game Stop.
If I find an exclusive "in the wild" it hasn't been here.
 
Fly4v said:
Cephaus you are spot on! I went to Best Buy to buy a disposable laptop for a trip. Checked online and ended up having to go to Walmart.

As for my local TRU, the employees try to keep the store organized. Occasionally, products will look like they are on sale... thanks to hanging on the wrong hook but are full price.

Yet, distribution is awful. TRU has exclusives but my store seemingly is the last, if never, to get those exclusive products. When I can buy one of a collectible. I want to see if the figure wasn't painted crossed or at risk of being subjected to the trash compactor that shipping passes for these days.

But since my town never gets exclusives, I have come to detest them and not just TRU but Best Buy, Walmart, Walgreen's, and Game Stop.
If I find an exclusive "in the wild" it hasn't been here.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. We stopped in for a TRU exclusive that came out months ago, but never got put on the shelves. This time, there were 6 of them. All of them were stuffed in the back. Apparently, lots of stores are clearing out their back rooms, getting ready for Christmas, that's why we went out looking. Hot Topic, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and TRU all had stuff out that they haven't had out before. 95% of the time, hunting exclusives is a complete waste of time, that's why I just buy them online. No wonder these companies are going out of business.
 
sooooooo why does NICK show the T.R.U's commercials about every 15 minutes and MATTEL have an exclusive deal to sell there brand new toy line chosen from the "shark tank" version T.V. reality show with kid judges "exclusively" with T.R.U?? I would think everyone would be jumping ship if the Toyz R Us business was going "bankrupt"... :confused
 
Going bankrupt may not mean an end to business.
It could for protection from debt, relief from a contract obligations.... bla bla bla.
Don't think we will see a fire house clearance sale anytime soon.
Companies can reemerge from bankruptcy, sometimes stronger.
 
One frustration I have is sales, items will sit marked at normal price forever warming pegs, but if you go scan them sometimes they are greatly discounted. Very annoying they are not clearly marked when on sale. You would never know. Another interesting thing happened, they were keeping some GOTG figures up front, you would never know they had them, the girl there just happened to tell us. I also wonder about their own employees sniping the hot item stuff to sell elsewhere. Some things I never see on the shelves.
 
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