Toys R Us RIP

[Shinchu]

after announcing 200 stores closing a few months ago, to additional 180+ stores closing, now just closing ALL stores in the US.

so many memories... I've gone to toys R us my whole life.
from the hay-days of the 80's when TRU actually had competition (Toy City, Kay-Bee, etc.) all the way until the big guys (target, Walmart, amazon) started to take over.
i still have stuff i remember buying there when you had to take the ticket to the booth behind the registers... video games, RC CARS!, high dollar items (japan TRU still does this with high end collectable action figures/statues).

I've been with TRU all the way from the golden era to the dark times of 2005 when they started getting in real financial trouble (that's when i noticed they started having real problems keeping new stock on shelves).

kids aren't going to have the incredible experience of walking in to a store that is FILLED WITH JUST TOYS wall to wall. it kills me to think of a world where that isn't possible. what other place can you think of that had their own theme song and mascot? i practically live by those words...
"I don't wanna grow up, i'm a Toys R us KID!"

please share your thoughts, stories, and feelings. i cant be the only one who feels this way.

[wings_of_fire]

[STANG KILLA SS]

online will soon kill all stores. malls, big box stores, etc.

[cartronicshn]

I got to know the lionel stores, before there was toyrus, and almost every toystore in miami and new orleans when i travelled with my parents as a kid on summer vacation, i will surely miss them toystores

[TooOldForThis]

The R/C isle! When I went as a little kid they would always have a bunch of unpackaged R/C's in a display case. I still remember being really impressed by this guy. It seemed HUGE back then.

[skinnyj]

What torques me about the whole "Amazon is sooo much better" mentality is that's fine buying a book or a DVD, but I'm not buying high-dollar stuff without looking at it in person. And, when making those large purchases, I want a local resourse to deal with if there is an issue. Best Buy lost a sale from me when I wanted to look at a freezer they had online. My local had one in the stock room but not on display. If I can't see it, I'm not buying it. Lowes got my business on that one. I cringe for the day I have to buy a dishwasher or TV sight unseen.

[svt923]

Amazon didn't cause Toys R Us to rack up $5 billion in debt from buying back their own stock in a botched private equity takeover. TRU would have 1 year of a net loss in the past 5 if it wasn't saddled with paying $400-500 million in interest on that debt each year since 2004.

[59sled]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

online will soon kill all stores. malls, big box stores, etc.

Last year they said 25% of malls will close in the next 5 years.
Sad times.
All the other store closures stink, And even though I haven't been in a toys r us in about 5 years. This one makes me the saddest. My kids grew up in there.
It was a place a kid could dream.

[BJoe]

I worked for one in the late 90's and grew up going to other ones, needless to say, I'm sad to see this happen. I was there when they tried their own first sales site, only to have it fail miserably and then (which I thought was a mistake 20 years ago) they partnered with some upstart e-tailer known as Amazon. I left in '01 just a couple months after 9/11 happened for a local HTU (no longer there, now working in a lawn co. call center) and missed out on that Baine Capital buyout, fortunately. My old store closed in '11 when it and the other small local store were condensed into a larger, single location that wasn't particularly close to the old locations but near a recent, new money shopping strip. Never been to that one, may have to stop at the one we did go to quite a bit growing up before it goes away.

If any of my old managers that stayed with them are still there, I wish them well and hope they find something quick.

[BJoe]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

What torques me about the whole "Amazon is sooo much better" mentality is that's fine buying a book or a DVD, but I'm not buying high-dollar stuff without looking at it in person. And, when making those large purchases, I want a local resourse to deal with if there is an issue. Best Buy lost a sale from me when I wanted to look at a freezer they had online. My local had one in the stock room but not on display. If I can't see it, I'm not buying it. Lowes got my business on that one. I cringe for the day I have to buy a dishwasher or TV sight unseen.

Best Buy was having an issue with something called "Showrooming", where consumers would go into a store to get all touchie-feelie with an expensive product, then go online and buy it. Ran into that at the HTU I worked at too. I too prefer to look and see as well as talk to people familiar with the products before huying them, and if the experience go well with those I've talked with personally, I'd rather buy there instead of online. Granted, that attitude could be that I've spent what will be 26 years in service industry jobs too.

[Gula]

I don't really go to toy stores anymore. That's because somewhere in 06 or so the scale bodies started to disappear of of the cheaper rc cars. I occasionally stop in if I'm close, but wont go just to buy something there. Will stop at our TRU to see if they have sales on LEGO though, have always wanted a few sets.

[59sled]

Not a nascar fan but heard Lowes is pulling out of Nascar after 18 years.
Report said there is only 1 full time car sponsor left in nascar. All other teams are sponsored an a race to race basis.
Times are changing in America. Sounds like nascar might be the next big thing going away soon.

[BadWagon]

This has nothing to do with online stores Vs brick and mortar. Toys R Us as a company got hoodwinked.

The Corp that bought them did the equity buy back through TRU, then transferred the money out of TRU, to the Corp who pocketed it, and left Toys R Us out to dry.

It’s totally FUBAR.

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by BadWagon

This has nothing to do with online stores Vs brick and mortar. Toys R Us as a company got hoodwinked.

The Corp that bought them did the equity buy back through TRU, then transferred the money out of TRU, to the Corp who pocketed it, and left Toys R Us out to dry.

It’s totally FUBAR.

Amazon and Wally-world certainly did not help T-R-U, but the company that bought them hard a giant amount of debt they dumped on T-R-U, making it impossible for the company to stay afloat.

[Levi]

Growing up I never had a toys r us close enough to worry about stepping foot into one. But with my first kid she loves toys r us and we have spent a lot of time and money in there. Now that money goes to her passion and the reason I work a second job, lol. I guess I'm getting old, I personally like stepping into a store and see and touch what I'm buying. I buy online as a last resort. It's sad to see the brick and mortar stores disappearing. I'm one for customer service, one of the main reasons why I shop at my lhs, they always treat me good with parts and service.

[hpiguy]

^^Same here, always lived in the country and never saw one until I was probably almost a teen. I have taken my nieces and nephew there a lot, and have a lot of fond memories there. Really sucks, and is a sign of the times for sure. Won't be long now, maybe in my lifetime, before a very few (and I mean a handful) companies hold all the wealth in the US.

[BJoe]

I stopped by the one we went to alot when I was a kid today, it was almost like walking in during Christmas, lot was full, people everywhere in side and the store was just TRASHED. Looked like they were understaffed for a weekday during school hours let alone a saturday evening. Feel sorry for any of the staff that has to try and straighten that store tonight

[Itali83]

Same here. They had signs up saying they were hiring for temporary jobs lol. The place was mobbed with zombie like parents and screaming kids. Lots of empty shelves. Of course the two things I wanted and did buy, weren't on sale.

Ben

[BJoe]

My Sister went to the same store the day before around the same time (only being Friday, it was after school) and it was the same.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by BadWagon

This has nothing to do with online stores Vs brick and mortar. Toys R Us as a company got hoodwinked.

The Corp that bought them did the equity buy back through TRU, then transferred the money out of TRU, to the Corp who pocketed it, and left Toys R Us out to dry.

It’s totally FUBAR.

Toys R Us screwed themselves, but to say online stores had nothing to do with it is oversimplifying the situation.

RIP Toys R Us. Kids these days don't have Saturday morning cartoons or toy stores. Sad.