Toys R Us files Chapter 11

[505thAirborne]

4 hours ago, derex3592 said:

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!!! 

That is awesome! Had a similar experience with a Jetfire and only days later it was my Birthday gift, good times! 

[derex3592]

kinda sad THIS IS STILL the only large scale toy/collectible of the TV SDF-1 ever made...*COUGH...ARCADIA/BANDAI ARE YOU LISTENING???!!!...*COUGH

[Sandman]

7 hours ago, derex3592 said:

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!!! 

Robotech to the rescue.

[JB0]

3 hours ago, Sandman said:

Robotech to the rescue.

Dangit, I was about to do that!

[ScrambledValkyrie]

On September 19, 2017 at 10:44 AM, Vifam7 said:

Are kids today even interested in toys?

Very valid question.

On September 19, 2017 at 12:33 PM, Duymon said:

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

I remember going to TRU plenty in the early-to-mid '80s, hunting for the latest GI Joe figure, seeing the G1 Transformers and MASK toys on the shelves, and later browsing the Nintendo aisle. I agree about the differences in today's kids, and their tendency to embrace digital stuff at an earlier age. I actually tend to think this is a larger part of the equation than the competition from online markets. My son is 8, and he doesn't play with toys nearly half as much as I used to at that age. And here I am (a few years beyond mid-30s) scooping up the the latest Bandai HM-R releases...

[Mommar]

It's even more bizarre than just digital options.  My brother andnhis wife explicitely kept the nephew and neice from tv and video games for the first few years of their life and despite my nephews love for all things Marvel he didn't give a crap about any of the Marvel figures I bought him.  Other than Lego neither ofnthem care about physical toys.

[derex3592]

I'm still just a kid who enjoys his 80s toys, designed and built in 2017, and I'm 42....

[sketchley]

Speaking of kids and toys - it really depends on the kid.

My 3 play with toys a lot - a lot more than with their tablets or the PS3.  However, the toys each one prefers differs, and what their interested in playing with each week varies.  E.g.: my son consistently plays with Lego.  My daughters have, until recently, been playing with Sylvania Families and other things.  However, in the past week or two, they're all playing with Lego again.  Go figure!

 

So... all this talk of TRU, is making me want to take the kids there tomorrow!  LOL

Unlike some of the experiences that have been posted here, they really enjoy it.  Especially the double sided aisle of Lego!  LOL

It's a shame that Macross stuff is few and far between, and the store is generally more expensive than others...

[arbit]

6 hours ago, derex3592 said:

I'm still just a kid who enjoys his 80s toys, designed and built in 2017, and I'm 42....

Awesome photo Derex. 45 now and I wish I was that kid back then. I would have given ANYTHING for a tansforming valk or SDF-1.

[derex3592]

Oddly enough, liviing in Fort Worth TX in the mid 80's there was a fairly large amount of Robotech stuff around here, more than other parts of the country I've heard.  As the Dallas/Fort Worth area was one of only a VERY small markets to get that absolutely WRETCHED "Robotech The Movie!" release in theaters, I guess more merchandise was sent to this area back then.  I remember Toys R Us, Service Merchandise and all the mall toy stores having plenty of Robotech stuff, it was just the problem of convincing my parents I needed MORE toys besides Transformers, GI Joe and Voltron!  

[Black Valkyrie]

 

Really sad, most my of collection got it from them. 

 

 

[Dynaman]

Not been there in decades and the last time I stopped in there were far more video game cartridges then toys.  It was however the only place I had ever seen Star Trek Phaser Battle!

 

 

[sh9000]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-18/bankrupt-toys-r-us-is-said-to-mull-closing-at-least-100-stores

[Mommar]

My biggest takeaway was how different the price of shares of stock between Hasbro and Mattel are.  Mattel's waning sales aren't because of Toys R Us, it's because they don't sell anything people want.

[altermodes]

On 21/12/2017 at 6:22 AM, Mommar said:

My biggest takeaway was how different the price of shares of stock between Hasbro and Mattel are.  Mattel's waning sales aren't because of Toys R Us, it's because they don't sell anything people want.

Dont you mean a “vast majority” do not want as im sure barbie and hot wheel collectors buy mattel stuff?

Edited December 28, 2017 by altermodes

[JB0]

1 hour ago, altermodes said:

Dont you mean a “vast majority” do not want as im sure barbie and hot wheel collectors buy mattel stuff?

My understanding is that Mattel's biggest problem is they DO sell Barbie and Hot Wheels by the metric buttload. More specifically, that they set unrealistic expectations for everything else.

Every new product they introduce winds up being compared to those two lines by upper management, and thus has very little time to find a place in the market and has to do VERY well once it does get a toehold. Effectively, if it isn't an immediate superhit Mattel doesn't want to sell it.

[sh9000]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/24/toys-r-us-to-close-180-stores-across-the-us.html

List of US stores closing.

[Kelsain]

Welp, both my local TRU & my childhood TRU are on that list...

[JB0]

3 hours ago, Kelsain said:

Welp, both my local TRU & my childhood TRU are on that list...

Shockingly, neither of the ones near me is. One of them is dang near impossible to get to, and I don't know why it still exists even before this.

[Mechapilot77]

seems my childhood TRU made the cut and isn't on the list.  memories man...i love toy aisles back then and i'm sad for those losing their childhood TRU's.  

[M'Kyuun]

Visited my TRU a couple weeks ago, and upon inquiry the cashier said they're safe; moreover, they're going to be making some improvements in the store, so that me happy. They're the only TRU on the eastern side of WA (we lost the other one, also here in Spokane, about ten years ago and they turned it into a Babies R Us. My thinking is, can't you sell baby paraphernalia in a TRU and still keep all the toys? Alas, it's history, and also on the closing list. As the girl I spoke to said, the Spokane Valley store sees customers from Canada, Idaho and eastern WA, plus it's in a good location. So I'm glad we're holding on to ours, but I definitely feel a pang of sadness for all the folks losing theirs. We lost Hastings, a books and multimedia store a year or so ago, and we still feel that loss. It had great atmosphere and was a haunt for college kids, and we hoped it'd be saved, but it wasn't. 

However, TRU is a global iconic brand, and I hope with some good leadership, a strong financial plan, and cooperation from all the various toy makers, they can make it prosperous again. We're losing too much stuff like this, it seems. It's like losing Saturday cartoons again and again.

Edited January 25, 2018 by M'Kyuun

[myk]

I don't know about you guys but TRU has not been relevant to me for a long time; probably right around the POTF Star Wars toy release in the late 90's.  If I buy anything these days it's online so I can't say I'd miss these stores.  Lotsa memories for sure, though...

[Graham]

My son has always been into toys.  When he was a toddler it was Thomas The Tank Engine, Bob The Builder, then Ben 10 and Cars and Lego, then toy Knights and tanks.

From when he was 5 or 6 and we started Watching The Clone Wars together and he got really into Star Wars Figures. This was great for me too, as I've always been a huge Star Wars fan. My son's main preference was Clone Troopers rather than Jedi. I think  I must have bought him over a hundred 3.75" Clone Wars Figures over the years as well as several large vehicles, including the AT-TE, Republic Gunship, Republic Shuttle,  Droid tank, Droid troop transport. We had many great battles with his figures.

Then a few years ago when TFA came out he started getting into the 6" Black Series figures, as like me he was disappointed with Hasbro's return to 5 point articulation with the 3.75" figures.

Now he's 13 and a half, he seldom plays with his toys anymore, he's now more into online Steam games with his friends.

However, he still likes to collect and display and pose the Black Series figures that I buy for him/us.

I have to say as I approach 50, I probably play with his/our toys more than he does...........hahahha

 

 

[Mommar]

Only thing closing in NM is the Babies R Us.  Both toy stores are still open.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Mommar

[JetJockey]

I believe at this point all of the Toys R Us stores I used to go to are closed.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I guess it's official. Approximately 800 stores going kaput.

[505thAirborne]

6 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

I guess it's official. Approximately 800 stores going kaput.

So it's the official end of an Era. I haven't been a to Toy R us in years, yet lots of great memories! 

[mikeszekely]

27 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

I guess it's official. Approximately 800 stores going kaput.

Look at the bright side... maybe now US releases of Masterpiece Transformers won't be heavily marked-up exclusives.

Seriously, though, it's a bummer since TRU was the last real toy store (as opposed to the toy section of a department store).  I wonder if my daughter (just shy of three) will even remember me taking her to the toy store when she gets older.  They're certainly memories I'll cherish.

[Mommar]

Hmm, I saw a report earlier that they were looking into an option to keep 200 stores open.  Not that it makes much difference to me given I live in the boonies anyway.

[UN Spacy]

Get off my lawn.

[TangledThorns]

My wife and I are closely watching for news on when the liquidation starts as we plan on buying toys and a bike for my little girl who is turning four in September.

Don't know if I'll get myself anything as I'm at that age where I want to sell my collection, not add to it.

Edited March 15, 2018 by TangledThorns

[M'Kyuun]

The whole situation makes me sad and a bit annoyed. There are any number of billionaires out there who could easily save this company and hopefully turn it around, and yet it's hard to believe none of them have, not even out of a sense of nostalgia. We lost another retail store in 2016 called Hastings, which was a seller of multimedia, toys, games, collectible figures, as well as the largest comics retailer in the US. They also had a good café. They went through bankruptcy, but the folks at our favorite location remained hopeful right up to the end, as they were one of the best performing stores in our area. Alas, no buyer came forward to rescue them, and now they're gone, leaving a big hole. The same situation seems to be recurring at our TRU, as the associates I've spoken to have seemed optimistic, as again, theirs is a really well performing store (considering they get business from the eastern WA area, northern Idaho, and Canada). At one point, about a month ago, they told us not only are they hanging around, but they were slated to get a makeover. Guess not. It'd be great if they were able to save a select few stores, just to keep the franchise alive. We're losing too many of our American institutions- TRU is an iconic name globally, and it'll leave an unfillable void if it disappears completely. I still enjoy walking into the store, as it remains an experience that none of the other big box dept stores can match, and never will.

However, if it comes down to losing our store, I'll snap up what I can in the LEGO dept, esp since they carry a number of themes and sets that no one else outside of LEGO themselves do. They had two copies of the Saturn V last weekend- I should have picked up another one. Gonna miss their selection (maybe not their markups) if they close. Unlike Tangled Thorns, I'll be collecting 'til I fall over dead.

[Mommar]

I didn’t know Hastings existed in the North West...

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Mommar said:

I didn’t know Hastings existed in the North West...

We had at least three stores here in the Spokane area, that I'm aware of and have visited. My wife and I live about 10 miles from the nearest one, so our visits were occasional, but we liked the vibe of the place. Moreover, it was one of the last bastions of the video rental, esp anime. It was popular amongst the college crowd- nice chill place to study, get a coffee, browse for a book, get some vinyl, buy a cool tee, etc. Just a neat place- similar to Barnes & Noble, but not as stuffy.  My wife and I miss it. Borders, too, while we're on the subject. 

Perhaps it's because I grew up in the 80's before everything was available online (Amazon and Ebay would have been good sci-fi filler to my younger self), but I still enjoy the visceral experience of walking into a store, checking the shelves, hoping for that pleasant thrill when something you want, and even better, some cool new thing unbeknownst to you, is discovered. I have bought things, which I picked up and handled, that I otherwise would have overlooked or ignored based on online browsing. I didn't grow up near a TRU; I was in my early to mid-twenties before venturing into a 'Toys Be We', as I jokingly call it, and was amazed. That initial 'wow' moment has passed, but I still like browsing the stuff I don't collect, as TRU are one of the last places to find all manner of collectible figures and toys- sometimes, I even look at the preschool stuff, as it's amazing how toys for little kids have evolved. I have none of my own, but my friends' kids keep me browsing the younger aged toys when birthdays arise. I'm pretty bummed that the situation has become this dire; I expected TRU would outlive me for future generations of kids. It's extremely disheartening to see all these stores that seemed like solid fixtures falling away one by one into oblivion. It's even moreso when there are guys like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, etc ad nauseum, who have the finances to not only buy the company but a whole team of folks to put it on a profitable road and keep it sustainable for future generations. If I had the money, I wouldn't think twice.

[Mommar]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

We had at least three stores here in the Spokane area, that I'm aware of and have visited. My wife and I live about 10 miles from the nearest one, so our visits were occasional, but we liked the vibe of the place. Moreover, it was one of the last bastions of the video rental, esp anime. It was popular amongst the college crowd- nice chill place to study, get a coffee, browse for a book, get some vinyl, buy a cool tee, etc. Just a neat place- similar to Barnes & Noble, but not as stuffy.  My wife and I miss it. Borders, too, while we're on the subject. 

Perhaps it's because I grew up in the 80's before everything was available online (Amazon and Ebay would have been good sci-fi filler to my younger self), but I still enjoy the visceral experience of walking into a store, checking the shelves, hoping for that pleasant thrill when something you want, and even better, some cool new thing unbeknownst to you, is discovered. I have bought things, which I picked up and handled, that I otherwise would have overlooked or ignored based on online browsing. I didn't grow up near a TRU; I was in my early to mid-twenties before venturing into a 'Toys Be We', as I jokingly call it, and was amazed. That initial 'wow' moment has passed, but I still like browsing the stuff I don't collect, as TRU are one of the last places to find all manner of collectible figures and toys- sometimes, I even look at the preschool stuff, as it's amazing how toys for little kids have evolved. I have none of my own, but my friends' kids keep me browsing the younger aged toys when birthdays arise. I'm pretty bummed that the situation has become this dire; I expected TRU would outlive me for future generations of kids. It's extremely disheartening to see all these stores that seemed like solid fixtures falling away one by one into oblivion. It's even moreso when there are guys like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, etc ad nauseum, who have the finances to not only buy the company but a whole team of folks to put it on a profitable road and keep it sustainable for future generations. If I had the money, I wouldn't think twice.

Interesting to hear they were up north too.  I was always under the impression it was a Texas/New Mexico operation, and only the really small towns.  Apparently Albuquerque was the largest city/market that picked them up.  We had six stores in total.  That was real sad having them go.  Every Friday evening was some combination of rent movie, rent video game, buy comic books, buy D&D guides, buy CD’s, buy random sci-fi/fantasy book.  Speaking of CD’s, good lord was their electronic music section good for a backwater desert town in ‘94.  As a matter of fact, if I ever get the time/help to put them together, the giant glass cases I bought for my Macross collection were from their going out of business sale.

TRU I’m not as fond of.  They didn’t come around until I was older.  All I know is shopping at TRU became more trouble than it was worth when they switched from the two sets of monolithically long corridor shelves to the endless sea of right angles in the early 2000’s.  For a few bucks more a giant warehouse of product you could easily search was convenient.  Once it became a labrynth to navigate Walmart and Target were suddenly more convenient.  All I will say is it sucks people will lose work and thst it will be even harder to track down Marvel Legends for myself.

I don’t think a rich guy with zero interest in toys should invest just because but an Amazon Toys R Us outlet wouldn’t be a horrible idea.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Mommar