Author Topic: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)  (Read 104156 times)

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #105 on: January 25, 2018, 03:36 AM »
Check those addresses closely.  I was initially surprised to see the number of stores that were closing in New Jersey.  But when I googled the addresses, it turned out that most of them were Babies R Us locations.

Unfortunately - this one 137 Route 35, Eatontown NJ is a straight-up Toys R Us and has been my go-to for finding Toys R Us Exclusives for the past 18 years as it's just a stone's throw from where I work.

Best find there? The Legacy Build-a-Droid wave that was exclusive to Toys R Us - the Build-a-Droid was BG-J38 and the wave featured K'Kruhk, Phase 1 Dark Trooper, Spacetrooper, Jaina, Jacen, Force Unleashed Shaak Ti and the Bespin Guard Variant - they got in something close to 20 cases and they were all out on the pegs AND thanks to some weird BOGO promotion that they were running at the same time, each figure came to less than $3 each.

I'm shocked that this store is the one that's closing and the Babies R Us that's around the corner is the one staying open.

Another major store that's closing Nick is that one in Elizabeth that's across the parking lot from the Ikea - for the AOTC Midnight Madness event, I'm pretty sure that was the ONLY store in NJ that opened at midnight.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2018, 03:36 AM by Pete_Fett »
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #106 on: January 25, 2018, 11:44 AM »
Yeah, I was aware of those two locations closing.  But out of about 10 closings across the state, half of them seemed to be Babies R Us locations.

The whole situation has been building for some time.  The shift to online retail is hurting brick and mortar stores, without a doubt.  Combine that with other factors and clearly, TRU has problems.  A recent report cited the fact that a good number of TRU stores were located within a 15 minute drive of another TRU store.  And that same report stated that many TRU locations are also located very close to their chief competitors:  Target and WalMart. 

TRU also does not manage their inventory anywhere near as efficiently as those competitors, notably Target.  Target can almost be characterized as ruthless in the way they manage their inventory.  Will the reorganization help TRU?  They'd better hope so.  And they also better modernize so that they can compete.  Otherwise we're going to be looking at a long goodbye to this chain.
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Offline Qui-Gon Jim

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #107 on: January 27, 2018, 07:25 PM »
Retail is gasping its last breaths.

Our generation will be the last where kids grew up without online shopping as a primary vehicle for getting things. We really are the delineation; I see the “I shop online” crowd reducing with those older than we are, and increasing as the kids get younger. My children will never know a world where Amazon is not a huge thing.

If those rumors about Amazon acquiring Target come true?  Hoo boy.

Offline Rob

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #108 on: January 27, 2018, 11:53 PM »
Retail isn’t going anywhere.  There are stores everywhere, but some business models won’t survive and a giant toy-only model might be one of those. 

Amazon is moving INTO retail.

Offline Qui-Gon Jim

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #109 on: January 29, 2018, 02:14 PM »
Retail as we have known it all our lives is going away.  Every year it seems like another major retailer is biting the dust.  The only ones that seem impervious are the bargain outlets and very specialized stores.  Brands that set themselves apart from what Amazon offers.

Offline JediJman

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #110 on: January 29, 2018, 03:35 PM »
Retail as we have known it all our lives is going away.  Every year it seems like another major retailer is biting the dust.  The only ones that seem impervious are the bargain outlets and very specialized stores.  Brands that set themselves apart from what Amazon offers.

The retailer mix always undergoes some big changes from one decade to the next.  But retail stores aren't going anywhere.  Walmart added a hundred new stores in 2017, upping their count to 4,670.  Target has over 1,800 stores and has been adding about a dozen per year for the last several years.  There's a new German brick and mortar grocer called Lidl planning to open 150 stores in the U.S.  We're definitely seeing a shift in a sales towards more online, but its hardly taking over.  I believe the US GDP was like 7.5% E-commerce in 2016 vs. 9% in 2017. 
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Offline Dave

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #111 on: January 29, 2018, 04:23 PM »
I think what Amazon is doing is just hastening the collapse of poorly run companies - e.g. TRU.  If you're well run and have a clear value to your customers you'll likely be just fine.

Offline Muftak

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #112 on: January 29, 2018, 04:37 PM »
Retail as we have known it all our lives is going away.  Every year it seems like another major retailer is biting the dust.

That may be and I for one am okay with it. Two of my favorite shopping experiences anymore (Costco and IKEA) are retail as I never knew it could be.

Make the shopping an experience that a family can enjoy as a day trip (seriously, we drive a couple hours to spend a day at IKEA. It's always worth it.) and you don't have to worry about shutting down.

TRU tried to do it with their "Geoffrey" stores, but it was not enough.

Offline Nicklab

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #113 on: January 29, 2018, 05:51 PM »
Amazon is even doing brick & mortar retail now.  They've launched some mall based bookstores recently.  I've been to one near me.  Will it have legs?  We'll see.  And in the past week or so Amazon launched their Amazon Go grocery store in Seattle.  Even Amazon recognizes that need to be physically available to customers.

Brick and mortar retail is in the midst of a continual state of evolution.  They're still getting with the whole web and data revolution that's changing the nature of many businesses.  And physical stores will always have a place as long as people need things quickly, or if they offer an experience that cannot be had online.
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Offline Qui-Gon Jim

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #114 on: January 31, 2018, 11:11 AM »
I think what Amazon is doing is just hastening the collapse of poorly run companies - e.g. TRU.  If you're well run and have a clear value to your customers you'll likely be just fine.

This is the point I was trying to make, put much more succinctly.

Offline Nicklab

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #115 on: March 8, 2018, 08:41 PM »
It looks like TRU might be in even more trouble than previous reports let on. 

Toys ‘R’ Us Is Prepping to Liquidate Its U.S. Operations
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Offline Diddly

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #116 on: March 8, 2018, 09:57 PM »
Dave Brandon does it again!
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Offline McMetal

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #117 on: March 9, 2018, 09:43 AM »
I don't think the aholes who did the leveraged buy out back in 2005 and saddled the company with huge debts are getting nearly enough blame here.

Everyone wants to point a finger at Amazon, but it was this debt that pulled them under ultimately.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #118 on: March 9, 2018, 10:24 AM »
That debt service has to be crushing TRU's business.

This is going to hurt a lot of people in my area.  There are loads of TRU stores, sure.  But the corporate HQ is a few miles from my house.  I know people who have worked for corporate.  And I really feel for them and what they may soon be going through.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Toys R Us (Or: Die, Dinosaur, Die!)
« Reply #119 on: March 9, 2018, 06:41 PM »
What!?  How dare you not make this about you and what toys you can’t get now.  :-X

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