Toys R Us files Chapter 11

[no3Ljm]

"Toys R Us, facing imminent deadlines to pay off hundreds of millions in debt, said Monday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.   

The move comes on the cusp of the all-important holiday season, a period in which many retailers earn nearly half of their annual revenue, and a time of year that is particularly lucrative for the giant toy seller. The filing was long in the making.

The filing also strikes at the heart of one of the nation's most iconic retailers, a household name for more than a generation. Toys R Us pioneered big-box toy retailing generations ago, a national chain that displaced many smaller, neighborhood toy stores.

The company emphasized that its roughly 1,600 locations will remain open and it will continue to work with suppliers to make sure its shelves remain well-stocked with games, gadgets, and other toys.

The company made the filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District in Richmond, Va. Its Canadian subsidiary plans to make a similar petition in Ontario Superior Court."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/19/toys-r-us-files-bankruptcy/678069001/

 

[AN/ALQ128]

Can't say I'm shocked, it seems a lot of brick and mortar chains are facing tough times as everyone gets used to online shopping. I myself like the convenience of online shopping, but there's something to be said for being able to have a hands on look with whatever you're buying.

[Graham]

I wonder if this effects Toys R Us branches in other countries, such as here in Hong Kong?

[JB0]

 

:'(

[sh9000]

Goodbye to TRU exclusives, getting figures for relatively cheap with sales, price adjustments, and TRU rewards, and the convenience of finding at least some figures in store because of location.

[myk]

Maybe not.  Maybe TRU can go the way of Circuit City and just be an online e-tailer?  

I too like walking into a store and fondling merchandise before I buy it, but...who really has time for that?  If it's car parts, movies, even clothes, I don't want to spend the time driving around town, putting up with traffic and crowds just to find something I know I already want.  I'd rather just point and click and then see it on my doorstep THAT afternoon.  A friend of mine in retail doesn't understand how Amazon Prime is taking business away from his company; the fact of the matter is that online shopping has become the bee's knee's, and shopping in person is just oh-so 1990's.  Personally, I see a lot of retail concepts losing out to online business...

[Kelsain]

This does make my heart a little sad. I have many magical memories (and a few bad ones) from TRU as a kid.

The nearest one to us is 45 minutes away, and with Walmart and Target closer, who has the time to go to TRU? Especially when you have to factor in the time it takes to have your kids make up their damn minds and then extract them from the store. As it is, my kids have only been to TRU less than 10 times in their lives...

I'll have to keep an ear out about whether the Erie location will be shutting down, and whether they'll start marking things down.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

Goodbye to TRU exclusives

Yep. And goodbye to them street dating figures for months after they're available online, goodbye to their regular markups, and goodbye to the extra markups they all when they think they've got something hot.

Good riddance.

26 minutes ago, Kelsain said:

The nearest one to us is 45 minutes away, and with Walmart and Target closer

Plus, if you happen to be at Walmart or Target for something else and happen to find something you want it's probably cheaper than TRU.

I swear, the only time I buy stuff at TRU any more is if it's sold out online and not something Target or Walmart carry, or if it's on clearance.

Also, since when is there a Target around Meadville? I feel like last time I was up there there was Walmart and then the handful of stores in the plaza with Staples, and that was basically it.

[kanedaestes]

I was just in a TRU and man it was grim. I while it's the end of an era good riddance. They did it to themselves with low stocks of what people wanted, terrible layouts and selections and everything else that was just mentioned. The sections for action figures was so pathetic I was like Barnes and Noble is better than this. 

[Mommar]

The situation with Toys R Us is a bit different.  They're actually a profitable company.  The problem is they had massive debt from quite a few years ago that has never been paid down.  It's not like a lot of other brick and mortar places that were never making enough money to survive originally.

[Roy Focker]

2 minutes ago, Mommar said:

The situation with Toys R Us is a bit different.  They're actually a profitable company.  The problem is they had massive debt from quite a few years ago that has never been paid down.  It's not like a lot of other brick and mortar places that were never making enough money to survive originally.

That's what I heard too.  They brought in new owners a couple of times or something and with each new owner created more debt.

34 minutes ago, kanedaestes said:

I was just in a TRU and man it was grim. I while it's the end of an era good riddance. They did it to themselves with low stocks of what people wanted, terrible layouts and selections and everything else that was just mentioned. The sections for action figures was so pathetic I was like Barnes and Noble is better than this. 

This hurt their potential to make more.  Worst is the baby sections eats up so much space.  Parents can easily go to any big box store for Baby stuff.  Many families have more than one child.  Why stop at TRU for just baby clothes when still have to dress your other kids by shopping somewhere else?  I miss their walls & walls for toys warehouse design.  It was the place to be if you were a kid.  

[Vifam7]

Are kids today even interested in toys?

[Chronocidal]

12 minutes ago, Roy Focker said:

This hurt their potential to make more.  Worst is the baby sections eats up so much space.  Parents can easily go to any big box store for Baby stuff.  Many families have more than one child.  Why stop at TRU for just baby clothes when still have to dress your other kids by shopping somewhere else?  I miss their walls & walls for toys warehouse design.  It was the place to be if you were a kid.  

This was my reaction too, and I haven't even been in one for years.  The new layouts looked like the tunnels ants would dig when given LSD.  Nothing had a defined section, and it felt like products just got wedged into tiny little corners of the labyrinth, with no room for any kind of selection to be stocked.

My best memories are still of the late 80s and early 90s (I was actually at the grand opening for the one in Colorado Springs, I think), when every individual aisle was an adventure into a new genre of toys.  Transformers, G.I. Joes, Nerf, RC toys, I mean sheesh, Nintendo and Sega each had their own entire aisles to themselves on one end of the store, with all of the hardware displayed behind glass cases, and the opposite end was literally a double-walled hallway of nothing but LEGO.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Chronocidal

[tekering]

8 hours ago, Graham said:

I wonder if this effects Toys R Us branches in other countries, such as here in Hong Kong?

International operations won't be affected.

http://fortune.com/2017/09/19/toys-us-bankruptcy-chapter-11/

Also from the article:

"Suppliers such as Mattel and Hasbro may also be hit. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that those two companies are named in the bankruptcy filing as two of its biggest unsecured lenders. Mattel is owed $135 million for goods it has supplied, while Hasbro is owed $59 million."

That's a lot of debt the big toymakers will have to make up for, by lowering production costs and raising retail prices...  

[Duymon]

It's sad, but it can't be helped really.

Amazon, ebay and other online places allow consumers to get items cheaper than TRU higher prices and TRU's stock of good stuff has always been a little low anyways.

Add to that I think it's a generational shift as well as kids, for better or worse, get hooked on digital crap from an early age and never really get into physical / tangible cool crap. I know all my nephews are already into video games and they're already uninterested in toys... none of them are even 10 while I am still into robot toys well into my mid 30's ;0

 

[UN Spacy]

#SAD

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Shoot, I guess I'll have to take my little ones over to a TRU while I still can so they can share in the joy of seeing so many things they want in one store.  They still light up when we go into the Thomas the Train section.

[Slave IV]

Why all the gloom? The article says that stores will stay open and continue to stock new products. It says they will have the ability to abandon the stores that don't perform but that couldn't be all of them.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Slave IV

[mechaninac]

Much like Blockbuster killed the local Mom and Pop Video rental joints to then be killed in turn by Netflix and Redbox, so too Toys-R-Us decimated small/regional toy stores like Toy Works and K-B Toys; it may now be their turn to fade into the ash-heap as they're out-competed by Amazon and eBay... if they can reorganize into a more nimble enterprise that offers true value to their customers they may yet come out of this situation stronger and more competitive, and if not they'll go the way of Borders and Circuit City.

[Phobos]

what a bummer. I have so many fond memories going to TRU when I was a kid. It was TRU that introduced me to model building. I suppose it was inevitable. 

[505thAirborne]

I bought my first SDF-1 & Legioss at a Toy "R" Us! 

[Kelsain]

14 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Also, since when is there a Target around Meadville? I feel like last time I was up there there was Walmart and then the handful of stores in the plaza with Staples, and that was basically it.

 There's not, we're just far more likely to go to Target in Erie for all the usual stuff. And maybe a toy, depending on the circumstances.

The only times we've done TRU lately is on Force Fridays, which was far lamer this time.

[TehPW]

4 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

I bought my first SDF-1 & Legioss at a Toy "R" Us! 

I remember getting both the Revel Robotech model kits and the Pitban 1/200 boxes in the mid 80's from TRU. It was those products that showed me that Macross was definitely something under RT's skin.

[Kelsain]

I remember getting some awesome Dougram and Dunbine toys, in addition to the Gakken Legioss. We took the Legiosses(?) back, though, because the wing pins kept falling out.

Edited September 20, 2017 by Kelsain

[Shadow]

Spent one holiday season during college working at a TRU. Wouldn't do it again but I certainly don't mind wondering around as a customer. There is one next to a now abandoned mall that I walked around last week. I think I was one of only 2-3  customers there. Still, they had some unique toys that I actually wanted to walk away. I remember when they carried Gundam toys and kits 13 years ago. I bought a toy figure of a MS-18 Kampfer at one. I still remember how they used to sell video games when I was kid, when they only showed a pricetag for the game. You'd grab the pricetag and take it to the clerk, they'd fetch the game.

[Knight26]

The clearance sales will be just in time to buy Christmas presents.

[505thAirborne]

12 hours ago, TehPW said:

I remember getting both the Revel Robotech model kits and the Pitban 1/200 boxes in the mid 80's from TRU. It was those products that showed me that Macross was definitely something under RT's skin.

It's amazing what TRU carried in those earlier years, genuine Gakken Mospeada marked toys, even original Macross for a short time. The SDF-1 that I got (which I no longer have... kicks myself again & again) was an actual Takatoku version, not the Matchbox. The artwork caught my eye and told my Grandpa that's the one I want! He & my grandma were big into buying me toys as a kid! 

[JetJockey]

On 9/19/2017 at 1:39 AM, AN/ALQ128 said:

Can't say I'm shocked, it seems a lot of brick and mortar chains are facing tough times as everyone gets used to online shopping. I myself like the convenience of online shopping, but there's something to be said for being able to have a hands on look with whatever you're buying.

 

The majority are probably used to online shopping by now. It's just the usually cheaper prices and free shipping are really kicking in.

 

On 9/19/2017 at 7:24 AM, myk said:

Maybe not.  Maybe TRU can go the way of Circuit City and just be an online e-tailer?  

I too like walking into a store and fondling merchandise before I buy it, but...who really has time for that?  If it's car parts, movies, even clothes, I don't want to spend the time driving around town, putting up with traffic and crowds just to find something I know I already want.  I'd rather just point and click and then see it on my doorstep THAT afternoon.  A friend of mine in retail doesn't understand how Amazon Prime is taking business away from his company; the fact of the matter is that online shopping has become the bee's knee's, and shopping in person is just oh-so 1990's.  Personally, I see a lot of retail concepts losing out to online business...

 

People had time for it before. The amount of time in a day hasn't changed. It's just easier to use your computer or phone to order and wait for it to arrive at home. But guess what, when retailers go out of business, towns and smaller cities become ghost towns. I've lived in places like that and although it doesn't bother me too much to have all that space. It isn't a good thing for an area to survive.

 

On 9/19/2017 at 9:50 AM, Chronocidal said:

This was my reaction too, and I haven't even been in one for years.  The new layouts looked like the tunnels ants would dig when given LSD.  Nothing had a defined section, and it felt like products just got wedged into tiny little corners of the labyrinth, with no room for any kind of selection to be stocked.

My best memories are still of the late 80s and early 90s (I was actually at the grand opening for the one in Colorado Springs, I think), when every individual aisle was an adventure into a new genre of toys.  Transformers, G.I. Joes, Nerf, RC toys, I mean sheesh, Nintendo and Sega each had their own entire aisles to themselves on one end of the store, with all of the hardware displayed behind glass cases, and the opposite end was literally a double-walled hallway of nothing but LEGO.

 

I remember those days. That was when Toys R Us was the place to go to. I remember the crowds during holidays looking at the new G.I. Joe toys. The then $100+ dollar huge Aircraft Carrier packaging up on the stands. You would turn to the next aisle and have tons of Transformers. Also the videogame aisle and pulling tickets. Systems behind those glass cases. I don't know how Toys R Us lost that appeal as Gamestop truly sucks. I barely went there. I mean I did try other places because I was growing up. So I went to Best Buy and EB Games too. I think Software Etc and Babbages. But a good toy store should never lose it's appeal. Perhaps it's the product too. Right now I can't think of a good domestic cartoon.

[Nightbat]

What's the catch?

 

You can't just file bankruptcy under the guise of "Sorry suppliers, you're not getting your money, while we're keeping our business"

“Today marks the dawn of a new era at Toys R Us where we expect that the financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way,” Dave Brandon, the company's CEO said in a statement.

......wait wut?

"Financial constraints"? maybe I should try that with my mortgage

[Wolf-1]

Personally, I always preferred Children's Palace over TRU; though I never made it to NY for FAO Schwarz. The last few times I had to visit a TRU to look for gift ideas for my nephew I was very disappointed even with half the store being stocked for his age group, toddler.  Why do I have a sudden urge to re-watch "The Toy" now? 

 

[arbit]

23 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

It's amazing what TRU carried in those earlier years, genuine Gakken Mospeada marked toys, even original Macross for a short time. The SDF-1 that I got (which I no longer have... kicks myself again & again) was an actual Takatoku version, not the Matchbox. The artwork caught my eye and told my Grandpa that's the one I want! He & my grandma were big into buying me toys as a kid! 

Which part of the country was this in?

My TRU never had much in the 80s, except for Joke valks.

Edited September 21, 2017 by arbit

[505thAirborne]

9 hours ago, arbit said:

Which part of the country was this in?

My TRU never had much in the 80s, except for Joke valks.

I was in San Jose, CA visiting my grandparents (either 1985 or 86). It's a vague memory but I remember it being just one shelf after another of Mospeada, Cyclones, RT toys, Destroids and SDF-1's. One of the best trips ever to a TRU,  followed by the release of Starship Trooper toys years later! 

Edited September 22, 2017 by 505thAirborne

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

41 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

I was in San Jose, CA visiting my grandparents (either 1985 or 86). It's a vague memory but I remember it being just one shelf after another of Mospeada, Cyclones, RT toys, Destroids and SDF-1's.

Small world! Yeah, if this was the TRU in East SJ, it was loaded with anime toys of olde and their respective KO's.  I remember seeing the KO of the large Dorvack helicopter in there.

[505thAirborne]

49 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Small world! Yeah, if this was the TRU in East SJ, it was loaded with anime toys of olde and their respective KO's.  I remember seeing the KO of the large Dorvack helicopter in there.

Super small world, that was the very one! 

[derex3592]

Yeh.....it wasn't what it once was!  As a child of the 80', I remember seeing this at Toys R Us and then finding it under the Xmas tree!!!