If Toys R Us weren't debt murdered, do you think they'd still be around? Is there room for a big box toy store?
They're still around in some towns in Canada.
Probably, Disney Star Wars flooding their inventory didn't help either. I thought it was cool they sold figurearts.
>>11140358toys r us turned really ghetto and nasty after 2010 or so
>>11140358Hard to say, but they would have been able to hold on longer for sure
>>11140358Those leases during covid wouldve done them in. But i could easily see them in a smaller store size, maybe branch out with clothes and baby stuff kinda like a wal mart but focused on kids. Games going digital has gutted gamestop (among other things) so i just dont think a specialized store would make it. Especially the huge stores i saw as a kid. Id love to have a toy store though, i may just collect figures but i like to look at more play focused and gimmick toys and stuff.
my local TRU turned into some shitty flooring store. I miss it though, it sucks that all kids have these days are Wal Mart and Target toy sections and some bespoke overpriced small business toyshops. They don't get the same experience we had as kids getting to go to toys r us. Especially the NYC one. I lived in PA but we would drive up to NYC from Allentown all the time when I was a kid, it was about an hour and a half drive and every time we went to manhattan we would go to FAO Schwartz or the Toys R Us in Times Square. So many memories of going there, it was like an experience not just going to a toy store.
>>11140358>>11140368>>11140372Disney killed toys r us you fucking retard.
>>11140401Mitt Romney did.
>>11140389Games going digital isn't killing GameStop, the problem is people do not like going to GameStop. Go to any video game specialty store in your town and you'll see twice as many customers as you will in a local GameStop. The physical game market decreased but if GameStop were a good retailer that would mean closing some stores, not disappearing. They're ghost towns. People hate it
>>11140407I love going to my local CEX because the employees mind their own business, let me roam, there's minimal noggery and most of their games are pretty cheap.I did go to a gamestop TWICE in one vacation while I was in the states, both in florida, and both times I was asked "Hi, is there anything I can help you with" and "Would you like to join our rewards program?" like, just leave me alone, wagie, I'm just browsing used games.
>>11140421What makes it worse is their managers make them ask that. Even though they know they're being annoying it's a rule that they need to annoy you.
>>11140404Both
>>11140395>I don't want to grow up! I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid!>Toys 'R' Us diesStill not growing up.
>>11140358The only thing they really had to change was easier attainment of toys in general. Damn the bad locations and price hikes. Gamestop is still around in this digital-forward age because you can pre-order toys. Anyway, on to the REAL topic. Toys To Life is what killed TRU. They couldn't rid themselves of the first Skylander series' outdated toys, Lego was already expensive enough, and Disney Infinity ended up being the worst of them all because of how limited use their own toys were. Seriously, these were the toys that remained all the way into the last seconds of every store closing. One time, I nearly walked out of one and the PA announced 90% off everything and had to buy something. So it was Lightcore Hex for like 2 bits
>>11140389I'm in Canada and there's one near me inside a mall, they kinda do a lot of the stuff you brought up. Half the floor is like non toy stuff. There's a large kids book section, a newly added manga section, baby stuff, outdoor play stuff, party supplies and large plush. Of the toys the Lego section seems to be the most well stocked compared to the other toy lines.
>>11140395I only know ONE TRU that turned out great, and now it's a City Target, where one of the first sections is for toys. Someone there knew what they were doing
>>11140358They have their little pop in stores around here in the Macy's at one of my local malls. If Mitt Romney didn't use the company for debt fodder, it probably would still be around in some larger capacity than it is now. Covid may or may not have been a big hit though since all brick and mortar stores took a big hit during that time, but then the collection community was growing faster than it had been in past and subsequent years because of people's copious amounts of free time to buy things as well as several government stimmies that helped fund their hobbies.
TRU photo thread?
>>11140473
>>11140473https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53sXsy0CIz8Here's a vid from 3 months ago
>>11140483Funny how Americans keep selling ugly woke crap, maybe that's why toys r us went broke.
>>11140482>nothing held back>up to 60% offlmao
>>11140358Toys R Us was to happy and innocent a place to continue to exist in America. It would have been destroyed in some other manner if the debt scandal didn't occur.
>>11140421>>11140435One time I was at a gamestop and the same employee asked me twice within a five minute span if there was anything he could help me out with or if there was anything in particular i was looking for. Twice in five minutes.>>11140454
>>11140555Last time I was at one I bought an old copy of Morrowind and the employee asked me if I was sure my computer could ‘handle it’. I laughed cause I thought he was just joking but he got kinda mad at me.
>>11140454>DisneyI'm sensing a theme here.
>>11140555I went into a GameStop years and years ago to buy a used copy of Assassin's Creed 1 and the guy asked me if I wanted to pre-order Assassin's Creed 2. Brother, I haven't even played the first one yet.
>>11140567Shoulda jumped on that. Second one is way better.
>>11140568I still haven't played it since I hated the first one. A friend let me borrow Black Flag but I found that equally as uninteresting. Don't think the series is for me.
Kids don't buy toys anymore. Walmarts and Targets don't even stock shelves properly. Feels like if they get stock it's one time and then gone forever to the scalpers online. I collect small stuff like Tech Decks and finding those around where I live is near impossible. I've resorted to shopping the toy section at my local grocery stores. They get stock and put it out, plus they don't get a lot of theft. I miss having just a toy store to go to. I hope they come back.
>>11140568>>11140572Theyre ALL the same game anyway. Ubisoft somehow lived making one game with a different story. It's parkour this, and "follow this guy into a private area to kill him" that.
>>11140586>Kids don't buy toys anymore.Skibid toilet has toys, children do want toys it's just not the stuff that dumb fuck American boomers think it is
>>11140591This. The Roblox games toys sell really well at both of my local Wal-farts. Blox Fruits, Rainbow Friends, Lankybox, that daycare sim game sets, etc. Meanwhile, Rise of the TMNT/Mutant Mayhem shit has been peg-warming for years it seems.
>>11140591Kids still love toys, I always see kids getting toys or hanging round the toy aisle begging their parents for something. They get fun stuff like the Treasure X kits and kinda interactive blind box toys like we used to have. There’s very little difference between stuff like Crazy Bones/Littlest Pet Shop/etc and the current Minecraft/LOLOMG surprise shit. I really like the ones where you can make something, they’re like souped up Kinder Eggs.
>>11140604I hate those toys. Rainbow Friends and Garten of Banban are a step in the right direction, though
>>11140604Mutant Mayhem stuff was super hot. Then the movie came out.
>>11140607>They get fun stuff like the Treasure X kitsLast christmas that is what my boys wanted (6 and 7). So I got these giant bugs you could dissect and pull toys out of. Those were fairly cool I thought.
>>11140358They might embrace that "I don't want to grow up" thing and have separate aisles for collectibles and model kits and what-not. Imagine if they had their own modeling supply line on par with Citadel or Tamiya. They could have even capitalized on IKEA discontinuing Detolf with their own line of display cabinets
>>11140615Yeah, I get my nephews things like that. I think there was a set last year that was like a mummy or a monster that you can dissect and pull out his brains and guts and shit. And lately I found them these play sets with hidden keys inside that they had to find by breaking fake wax walls or opening trapdoors to unlock more figures to go inside it and mini weapons and stuff. Modern toys are pretty neat.
>>11140407>the problem is people do not like going to GameStopThis. I feel like this anytime they ask me if I need help or want to preorder something there.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEhHEOIYgMYIt isn't entirely their fault though- I know they have to ask or else they get in trouble. I just buy my games online.
>>11140407I'm sure the digital.subscription garbage is hurting them, but I still buy physical and loathe going to GameStop. I hate that they open new games, even if they weren't loaning them out to employees. Add to the fact that even though some of them apparently have a bountiful selection of toys, all of the ones in my area have only garbage like Funko Pops. I would rather order games from Target or BestBuy to avoid GameStop's abject stupidity and failure.
>>11140395One of ours turned into a kitchen store. The other is a big lots (which is also going out of business).
>>11140358As someone who worked at one for half a decade during the late 00s, no. They were a middle management nightmare where C-Suite was comprised entirely of people who had no reason running a company.We would get quarterly in-house magazines where they would profile the C-Suite and they were all people who majored in English Lit or other non-business related study.
>>11140539I have fond memories of Kay Bee too.I feel like Romney just really had it in for American children on account of being a robot that never had a childhood itself. The one and only time I have ever voted for a nigger was to keep that pile of scrap metal out of the White House. When it powers down for the last time I will take such a dump on its grave that even Pajeets will be jealous.
>>11140358yes. they were making more than enough money to stay profitable if they weren't blowing money paying back the debt used to purchase them.the industry is worse off without toys r us
the toys r us closest to me, filled with so many happy memories turned into the most depressing furniture factory outlet store u can imagine
>>11140951>When it powers down for the last time I will take such a dump on its grave that even Pajeets will be jealous.5 star post
>>11140358I miss the bogo sales, only target does it on the shit i like a handful of times a year
>>11141050
>>11141053Battle Claw failed the day it existed. Was that ever worth blaming too?
Here are some plants I found in a empty Toys R Us.I don't like them.
>>11141064They had a big Lego Hulk made of Lego
>>11140368They never closed their stores in any country except the US. And then after they closed all their US stores, they opened a bunch of US popup stores or something.
>>11140462>If Mitt Romney didn't use the company for debt fodder, it probably would still be around in some larger capacity than it is now. Covid may or may not have been a big hit though since all brick and mortar stores took a big hit during that time,Nah.TRU still exists in the US because all the assholes who own TRU and its debt know it's a money maker. They didn't accept any bids from multiple companies wanting to pay a billion dollars for it when they closed up shop.It's why TRU still exists in other parts of the world, because it STILL makes money, despite not having the US TRU's buying power.Whatever decline TRU would have experienced due to COVID is NOTHING compared to what Bane did to TRU. TRU itself was hugely profitable. Check out these financial records.Revenue was over 10 billion dollars every year. Gross profits were in the billions. Even after paying off their normal debt (relating to their business, such as real estate, loans, etc) their actual profits was still nearly half a billion.Bane's fuckyou to TRU ensured they never made a profit for years though and even in their last reported year they made a whole 5 million dollars, because someone was feeling generous (they wanted to make it seem TRU wasn't Bane's bitch and any potential buyers would overlook also becoming Bane's bitch by buying TRU's debt)If TRU had survived, the toy industry as a whole would be healthier, because TRU was a gigantic boon for toy companies, because that's 1000+ locations to sell toys at that is DEDICATED to selling toys. TRU's decline is likely why 1:18 fell out of favor, because the surviving toy companies had to cut production and focus on what sold the most. It's basically why there are no more dedicated movie toylines anymore, where even Hasbro's Marvel Legends has waves dedicated specifically to whatever movie is coming out that month, instead of having a dedicated movie line (that lasts 6 months) and the Marvel Legends being its own thing all year round.
>>11141159If TRU was profitable, then why isnt there a new big box retailer created to replace it? Gamestop hardly replaces it even
will americans ever get over it?
>>11141168Disney stops them by forcing them to carry toys from movies they purposely make flop so they toys don't sell and the retailers are stuck with all this shit that won't sell.
Still alive and kicking in South Africa too
>>11141168A new retailer requires a shit ton of capital to start up and to pop up suddenly as a no-name chain store, it would likely take a decade for it to turn a profit.If a company took over TRU, along with some of its assets (such as locations), it would have an INSTANT consumer base. So they'd take a loss for a couple of years, setting up buyers, supply chain, etc, but having those day 0 customers means they'd have way more revenue at the start and could possibly start expanding their business in 5 years.Is there even an example of a chain store that started off as a chain store? Is it even possible? Most businesses come from a single store or two in a single city at first, and start building from there over decades.All those companies who wanted to buy TRU, like every other smart company who would like to enter a market, would need to buy a pre-existing chain in order for it to make any business sense. There are no toy stores in the US like that anymore. All other chain stores were either bought out or closed down during the last financial crisis in 2008. There's plenty of indie toy stores, but none of them have the capital to expand to being multi-state chain stores, and they don't even have the capacity to even compete against Walmarts and Amazon like TRU did. Most of them can't even price their Marvel Legends at MSRP, hence dealing mainly with collector toys where the MSRP is heavily padded.
>>11140942Before finishing the post I was just about to suggest you go to Target or Best Buy instead. I never spend money at GameStop unless they're the only place doing a midnight release
>>11141168Creating a big box chain is extremely difficult compared to just putting money in the S&P 500Just because something makes financial sense doesn't mean there are people who will put the effort in
>>11141199>>11141289This. The only shot we had at having a national toy retailer was for somebody to take over TRU's existing assets and infrastructure. Even these pop-ups and store-in-a-stores (that they're on their second attempt at) have a vanishingly small success rate. Most fizzle before even getting off the ground, like the KB revival that never went anywhere.
The store in a store idea is so stupidNo kid wants to go to Macy's
>>11140454kid is pogchamping
When my local TRU died, I went in during it's last week and managed to snag a Nerf Vendetta. It'd been sitting in the back for who knows how long, and I couldn't just not grab it.
>>11141159I know subjectanon, that's why I said it would still exist in A LARGER CAPACITY than it does now. Meaning, it would probably have stores beyond the pop up stores that exist now. Why do you feel the need to argue with someone when you agree with them?
>>11140358So, there's a lot being thrown around in this thread so I'll put my 2 cents in as someone that works with kids.They love toys. They really do. But parents have become the laziest or shittiest people in the past 12 years that I've worked with children.Had one family that, because the mom wanted to keep up her Tennis shit, had a nanny take care of the kids while dad worked overseas. When I asked her kid, 12, where he got his action figure he said he got it online with mom's credit card. Both parents gave him a monthly allowance of $50 or so to spend.Another family's daughter had a ton of Pokemon cards. She was 13 and would buy them off TCGplayer with her parent's money.I have not see a single parent in the past few years go out to a brick and mortar store for their kids. Its all amazon or online because, for some reason, they can't find it in their schedules to stop for 45 minutes and browse. Its all on their phones. These families also get their groceries online and delivered as well. This allows them to squeeze more out of their day.The minority kids we work with do have toys. A lot of black kids with Spiderman toys which they get while at CVS or Wal Mart. I highly doubt these parents would go out of their way to get these kids toys from a toy store, or even Amazon in some cases.Not saying this was the final nail, but I truly believe lazy parents and online shopping helped kill off Toys R Us.
>>11141331That's why I hope the TRU in Mall of America that Go Calendars started actually leads to something.
>>11140482Did they also sell the Inventory (shelves)?
>>11141594Wait a minute, they put a TRU in the MoA? I live not far from there, but didn't even realize they put one in there.
>>11140358It really depends.>already in trouble when they got bought by Bain Capital>every bad toy line like Ghostbusters 2016 or Disney Star Wars hurts them>not a fun place to shop in, basically a warehouse>questionable marketing like pic related>anyone that worked there has horror stories of management and the shit decisions they made>COVID and other stuff would be difficult to work through>retail since 9/11 and especially post-2009 has been an absolute bloodbath
>>11141643Yeah, opened last fall. Looking it up, American Dream in New Jersey has one too.
>>11141680Instead of getting into new departments like detergent and paper they should have expanded their baby department, parents will always need to buy diapers, wipes and new clothes, obviously thats what babysRus was but expanding in the regular stores would have helped.
>>11140401Disney held it under water, but Ol' Mitt was taking pot shots at it from close range.
>>11140454My local tru didn't restock any of the t2l shit after the first sets flopped. I'd argue that the sequel trilogy and transformers 3-5 shelfwarmed way harder, especially for shit nobody wanted. Tru really went out due to the perfect storm of bullshit.It's like in metal gear solid 4 when snake gets out the microwave tunnel, but instead of surviving Mitt Romney was standing there with a missile launcher.
>>11140586Kids still love plenty of toys, the problem is parents letting the kids be parented by phone screens. They'll absolutely go crazy for some Legos, but after a few minutes their crying for the phone back. Another aspect is parents without any individuality not seeing any purpose in toys, but that's a different rant.
>>11141081Just in time for Corona virus to kill them.
>>11141168Regulation put in place keeps small companies from prospering without the approval of big investment firms. All to prop up existing chains like Walmart or target. When you see those companies complain about how a regulation is going to hurt them think about what it does to a business a quarter their size.
>>11140358I feel like they can survive in a city. You need a lot of people with disposable income.
>>11141444I think the sad reality is that online shopping really just cratered shopping in-person. It isn't just toy stores, but sites like Amazon just killed shit like Malls and stuff too.For people like us as kids, going out to the toy store, or the mall, or whatever wasn't just an opportunity to buy something and then hurry back home. It was an actual outing. Like, when we would go to TRU, we'd be there for an hour or two, just looking at all the cool new shit. It wasn't just buy a toy and leave, it was marveling over all of the new things you'd see, and new figures in some of your favorite toylines, and new things you'd never even seen or heard of.The world has just become too fast-paced, and for many people, its just way easier to order shit online and just have it dropped off in a couple days. Often times, you can actually buy shit and have it shipped for cheaper than you can find it in stores anyway. What's more, the toy selection in stores these days is honestly pretty fucking depressing, so half the shit you can't even get unless you buy it online to begin with.That's kind of why for a lot of collectors "The Hunt" is part of the fun of toy collecting. Its that thrill of finally finding something you've been searching for for a month or two, or coming across something strange at a comic shop, or finding a weird little independent toy shop that you never even knew about nestled away somewhere.
>>11140555I wonder into a GS about 50% of the time I am near one, since it's never that frequent that I am near one, now that they closed all the locations near me (nearest one is the next small city over, and I'm in an urban area where the cities are all essentially one big collection of strip malls with no real borders or gaps).Some have been that empty depending on time of day, whereas others I had to wait for gamers to do their shit (which is often SELLING) before I could ask if they had this toy or that toy. Or ask if they could look up (since the website sucks for in store searching) a toy. >>11140421>>11140435Blame business school case studies of MickeyD's "success"
>>11140358TRU would of closed anyway with all the shoplifting. It's a real shame that its come to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS3s0xDL8A8
>>11141839Just the city locations. Most places still have laws
>>11140947As someone who works in PE and around C-Suite execs, I can tell you it honestly doesn’t matter what someone studied in school as long as they get results, and in the business results are defined as huge multiples on fund returns. A lot of firms lose all perspective in pursuit of this and tend to see human beings as spreadsheet numbers and act accordingly. It can be very sad.>>11141159This is a common strategy. Bain basically loaded them up with debt and was charging them for the privilege of being acquired via the debt they then transferred to TRU.>>11141790This is partly true, though anyone who shops for toys online (for children, not talking collectors here) knows it’s a shit experience. Part of the appeal with physical toy sales is kids get the tactile experience. It’s the same reason so many clothiers continue to do well despite the surfeit of online options—unless you know your fit in every brand, it’s less of a hassle to go someplace and try things on versus buying, trying, and doing returns. Kids may get “educated” on the toys they want by media, but actually being in the store, seeing the displays, and possible handling the toys/boxes is the so-called “first moment of truth” for selling. Everything before that is just marketing.
>>11141874>>11141876>This is a common strategy. Bain basically loaded them up with debtOh wow... how is that even legal?
>>11141887>Part of the appeal with physical toy sales is kids get the tactile experience.That's how I still feel to this day. I want to look at stuff. Touch it with my own hands. Explore around. Physically see the items. Even if I don't want assistance I want to be greeted by employees and talked to about the products or similar products I'm looking for. I wanna be wined and dined.
>>11141891Carried interest is a big part of it. Read up on that and how PE firms operate.>>11141898I feel the same way. I’m happy to buy oats and cleaning products on Amazon, but for things like toys and books, browsing is part of finding things you didn’t even know you were interested in. For example, there’s a new Barnes and Noble in my area to go along with the half-price books store—I’m over there a lot because I love the physical bookstore experience and don’t want either of them to leave again.
>>11141898>That's how I still feel to this day. I want to look at stuff. Touch it with my own hands. Explore around. Physically see the items. Even if I don't want assistance I want to be greeted by employees and talked to about the products or similar products I'm looking for. I wanna be wined and dined.It's too bad Service Merchandise isn't around anymore, it basically operated like IKEA, there was a showroom with all their stuff (appliances, assembled toys, jewelry, sporting goods) all arranged in the store, and you wrote the numbers down, took it to the front, and they'd pull it for you out of the warehouse side of the store.
>>11141820>Blame business school case studies of MickeyD's "success"The reason McDonald's did well financially was because the resident Jew on the team figured out that they could make a ton of money legally if they bought the land underneath the store and leased it to the franchise, making tons of money on rent while using that as a cudgel to reign in rogue franchisees. Their burger business is all secondary.
>>11141915>For example, there’s a new Barnes and Noble in my areaBlessedI'm so happy they turned things around
>>11140586>Kids don't buy toys anymoreI always feel it's so out of touch when people say this. Any time I'm in any store like Wal Mart or Target there's always kids in the toy aisles.A large percentage of kids' Youtube content? Videos of toys, people playing with toys, or toys being opened up and advertised. This notion that kids "only want video games and technology now" has been outdated even since the 80s when video games were first introduced. I haven't known or seen a kid in my life who didn't also want toys to play with or engage in imaginative play. I feel people just want something to blame when really the problem with toys not selling is that they don't make them interesting or fun anymore. Looking back at 90s toys, for things I am not even nostalgic for, is so much fun because there was a ton more effort put into toys back then.
>>11141417Holy fucking illiteracy.Words convey meaning, you retard. You don't say "some larger capacity" when comparing a barely existing store-inside-a-store entity to one of the largest nation wide chains in the entire world, and then saying COVID would have affected it in a "big" way.It completely undermines what a giant of a store TRU was and what a disasterous fuck up Bane was to the chain.If you didn't notice, giant companies actually benefitted from COVID, because it killed off the smaller stores. Online sales would have been bigger for TRU, because Bain's debt took money AWAY from improving their website (and improving their physical stores) for over a decade, and people were itching to spend their stimulus checks on frivolous shit like toys.A giant chain like TRU would have had better logistics to adapt to the modern retail world, unlike waiting an entire week to get something from BBTS or any other toy website. Want to get something sameday? Just pick it up at their parking lot after buying it online.>>11141680Neither KB nor TRU were in financial trouble in the traditional sense. They were losing market share but were still making money hand over fist. Bain capitalized (hue) on these companies wanting to IMPROVE, since they were seeking ways and money to expand on their business model. Ironically, the leveraged buy out actually took money away from them improving anything.Stores were left to rot (literally) and websites were bare minimum efforts, because they had little to no cash to fix their infrastructure. This made customers turn away from TRU, because places like walmart and amazon were nicer places to shop. So their marketshare declined even more.Fuck Bain.
>>11140358everyone buys shit online theyd have to have some sort of attraction to get people to want to go out of their way to leave their houses
>>11141887Here's the thing though. When I was working there TRU intended to go public. They viewed places like Chuck E Cheese as their competitors not online market places or other stores.In an effort to go public they bought FAO Schwarz to pad out their portfolio. It was such a huge money sink that for that entire year no staff saw a raise so they essentially scraped pennies out of their employees pockets to acquire a dog shit brand name.TRU was also incompetent when it came to the online marketplace since TRU and TRU's website operated independently of one another. Stores to refused to price match the online site. It was baffling
>>11141940This is how the majority of store worked before the 1930s(?)Even grocery stores (dry goods) had a desk you walked up to with your grocery list and one of a dozen workers would go into the back to bring you all your shit.I mean, fucking Sears and JC Pennys were operating as a mail order company for close to century. It was a large chunk of their business all the way into the 80s and 90s. Traditional stores like we know them didn't actually become popular until the 60s. Before, the physical shopping we enjoyed (until the 2010s) were all small mom and pop shops, custom tailoring, and bazaars. Even then, it was a pretty limited experience and full of employees telling you not to touch anything.Yes, asshole employees telling you not to touch anything is a hold over from how retail used to work in ye olde days, because some of those workers still remember when everything was kept behind the counter.... is anyone here even old enough to remember asshole employees doing this? >>11142180>FAO SchwarzOne of the first stores to give shoppers that physical experience we used to know before the internet made us shut ins.A lot of luxury stores were that way too. Peasants weren't allowed in though. The 60s (maybe 50s) showed how profitable it was to offer that same experience.Will this tradition become popular again? Probably not.
>>11142178>arguing with someone who agrees with you.Stop being such a confrontational faggot subjectanon. This is why you're in your mid 40s and still alone.
>>11142220>faggot gets indigent because someone expounds on his shady view>faggot gets super angry when someone responds in kind to himIf you get this angry at someone online over such a mild correction, i bet you're a raging lesbian IRL and are just projecting about how lonely you are.but please, let thread about TRU's alternate timeline be more about yourself.
>>11142179TRU was the attraction though. It's a big fun toy store.
>>11140946Mine also turned into a Big Lots. It was so depressing to into that place, knowing what it once was.
>>11140587Hey, if it worked for Traveler's Tales.
>>11140395Mine is a huge golf store now. A fucking golf store. TRU shut down about a year after I moved right across the street from one and now I have to drive by this goddamn PGA store every single day as a reminder.
Not Toys R Us, but I just found out my local Barnes and Nobel closed. They had some toy related stuff like Lego, and I guess some anime stuff next to the manga. Boarders use to be right next to it, so you didn't have to go far.
The TRU of my childhood is an Ollie's, ironically enough.
>>11141064>some plantsfuggen weirdan abandoned building isnt the first place i would keep my plants personally
>>11142547Id take that. Mines a big thrift store.
>>11142525>they kept the TRU entrance and exit font>they kept the rainbow tiles
>>11142547havent near where mine used to be in years so i looked it up they even kept the same trash cansjust spraypainted em the brand's color leli remember it felt like such a gargantuan place to walk through when i was a kidhard not to feel old lately on top of that too, recently came back to my home town and it still surprises me when i go out and see how many things i remember that are changed if not straight up vaporized from existence
>>11142179This is what people thought in 2014 but it turns out an insane amount of people enjoy going outside, the people that like staying in just aren't the ones retail is competing for anymore
>>11140454Don’t amiibo still print shittons of money?My local Toys R Us couldn’t keep them on shelves for long before it closed. During liquidation, they were the first things to sell out
It’s just not sustainable to have a massive retail-sized dedicated toy store when there’s an oversaturation of outlet stores at shopping malls and and most retail stores already selling toys to begin with.What’s the point of going out of your way to Toys R Us when you can buy what you’re looking for at Target along with other essentials?It’s the same thing that happened to RadioShack and Sears when Best Buy is more convenient
>>11140358Yeah they definitely would still be around. They were actually doing fine before they were sold to that private equity firm, they had a 15% market share and they were always turning a profit.If they kept up with having the collector stuff as well as the usual kid stuff they would be doing fine.Toys R Us is thriving in other countries especially Asian ones..
>>11142679Yeah, they do. Ironically, they're actually the most useless of all the TTL's. The only reason they sell at all is because they're "thuh only wun"
>>11142424Yeah but it's always a different Lego theme every other year, and of course kids are too hyped to tell the difference. On the other hand, I am hooked by AC's "simulation" B story. I thought the entire series took place in the olden days til I played it
>>11142547Serendipity. Also an ice cream place taught me that word.
>>Be TRU employee>>District is doing a sales competition for the holidays>>Winning store gets to meet Shaq as he does Toys For Toys>>Store Wins>>They send him to a combo TRU/BRU because it's "better optics"I've never been so glad a store went out of business in my life
>>11142308I'm not the one arguing with someone I agree with. I'm just telling to stop being overly confrontational. It comes off as childish.
Anyone remember Kids R Us? That shamelessly sucked so much
>>11142525>>11142547I love it when new stores use the old motifs of the previous owner.>>11142612this is trash and should just be demolished.>>11141680>not a fun place to shop in, basically a warehouseI never got this argument. A regional toy store used to mock TRU for that too, way back in the 80s, but kids obviously loved that giant warehouse aspect.Back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, it was even more warehouse like and i actually missed that set up. Just traight up and down rows like a library. I hated that track design they started using in the 00s, because it actually made it harder to find stuff and shortened the aisles. Pretty wasteful.>>11142690More products. More stock. It's why i always went to TRU instead of Target for a toy, especially since somelines Target/Walmart didn't even carry it. Best Buy and Gamestops barely carried anything, and were shitty replacements for TRU. I haven't been to either of them in years and I have no reason to even go to Best Buy now that they stopped carrying movies.>>11142756>overly confrontational>expanding on what you said, clarifying on the details>confrontationalNow i am, because you've acted like an uppity bitch, but what's wrong with you? Did the "nah" trigger you that badly?You're like those chicks who get upset because someone you introduced to a band starts recommending them to other people and corrected you on where they actually started.
>>11142803Geez. Sorry that I hurt your feelings buddy.
>>11140368Just went yesterday first time in a long time because i prefer gamestop and when I got close to the Lego section, I saw a paper saying there was certain % off all star wars lego. i wanted to pick up the n1 starfighter microfighter (its 19.99 on amazon.ca for example) but it was 24.99 at Tru, with the discount it came down to 21.50 or some shit. I was like, well that shit doesn't make sense? So I went to look at other toys and notice that all the prices are actually gouged. So I don't even know how they are still afloat up here. In fact, I don't think I ever want to step into TRU again. There's no point, prices are too high.Vintage collection is 22.99 or 23.99 at walmart, at gamestop with the edge card its 21 something, but at TRU shit was OVER 30 fucking bucks my niggayeah fuck that
>>11142214...There are 90 year olds on 4chan?
>>11143032He's in his mid 40s so he's halfway there.
>>11142864lmao, mousecucks lose again
TRU was cool and had such a big selection, but i bet with the funko explosion they'd have dedicated whole aisles to that shit. Hell they'd probably still have Skylanders kicking around.Gamestop had prime opportunity to do so, and probably have had multiple chances now that more and more companies are dwindling their physical game productions to turn into Mini TRU stores with collectibles and harder to find/import stuff. But it seems like they want to get in on the TCG market now
>>11141887>Bain basically loaded them up with debt and was charging them for the privilege of being acquired via the debt they then transferred to TRU.So Bain takes out a loan. Uses it to help acquire TRU. Then once they own TRU, they transfer the debt over to them directly? What was the point in buying TRU then if they were just going to see to its demise?
>>11143195From my limited understanding, Bain already had a debt before all that, so all the things you stated were just steps to lump that debt in, in an effort to rid themselves of it.But hell if I know if that's how any of that works.
>>11143100bestbuy has the best collectable section I've seen of the non comic/hobby stores.
>>11140358There’s two in my Canadian city but they’re pretty sad just baby toys Barbie and hasbro not worth the gas money
>>11142180Sounds like they were run incompetently for a long time. Makes sense, those kinds of companies are always PE targets.>>11143195>>11143208There’s many ways but this is one: basically, you take out loans to buy the company, then force the company to take out of bunch of loans to pay off your original loans, then you charge the company hefty management fees for getting acquired by you. Then you either make it more profitable, take it public, sell it to someone else, or you raid the company for cash. I’m not sure exactly what process Bain was using, but it’s probably somewhere in that spectrum.
>>11142525Ive gone into this one, the actual sales section is surprisingly small for the building size. The leftover rainbow tiles always crack me up.
The middle class is barely a thing anymore. So that’s the real reasons stores dedicated to a single thing (I.e. a toy store) are dead.
>>11143341Yeah the ones they've tried to do in the States are also just Funko pops and garbage modern LEGO
>>11140358Yeah people have to buy birthday presents and Christmas presents. It was pure corporate greed and mismanagement to shut them down. Like when someone sees a company is doing poorly and they become CEO and purposely tank it
>>11142735I would’ve sued
>>11140555It means you are looking out of place or acting suspiciously and they let you know in a cryptic way that you are being watched so don't try to steal.
>>11143770Aside from ruling the planet, you silly turd worlder?
>>11143770Yup. Thats literally what all Americans do. Every single one of us. Still better than being a third world fag.
>>11143032I grew up during the time when old people who had worked at full service shops were aging out of the work place. So despite the modern era of shopping being 20 years old, there were 50-70 year olds still working, using their age old training and hated that customers were touching all the products. They had risen in status to become managers, using their age old wisdom to chide the younger workers for allowing customers to touch the product that was stocked freely throughout the store.They were working against corporate too, since stores were more lax about needing every single store being exactly the same from town to town, state to state. So I remember some toy stores keeping product BEHIND the counters, like Star Wars figures or even keeping them in glass cases. So you couldn't touch the child friendly packaging that toy companies had invented a decade ago to increase sales, with the clear plastic bubble so a kid could inspect the toy without ever opening the box.It wasn't regional either, since i traveled with my parents to other states and outside of the US. It was when visiting other countries that i thought it was fancy seeing employees doing everything for you, not knowing this was a dead business model. Going online in the 90s, i talked older people across the US who complained about their dinosaur bosses and found out it wasn't just me who got screamed at for touching a product on the shelf.That screaming at not touching the product was more common at regional stores, since they would have been established by dinosaurs, who grudgingly accepted and sought more profits from having open layout stores.speaking of which, do shoe stores still have employees who measure your feet, help you slip a shoe onto your foot and even tie them for you at the stores? It's been over a decade since i physically bought shoes but even at Nordstroms they just gave me a box and looked proud about their excellent service.
>>11140358the culture is too different. if parents bought kids more toys and encouraged them to play with their siblings and friends things would be better for TRU, that bird has flown the coop though and today it's about the tablet and youtube paired with social media
>>11143792I’m not so sure about that. Yeah technology has certainly become a larger part of the day to day lives of children, especially seeing as many parents use a screen as a baby sitter, but having recently spent a little over a year in retail I can say for sure that there are toys that kids absolutely do want. Granted they do tie into the whole tablet/youtube thing. Among Us toys, Roblox play sets, YouTuber lines like Mr Beast and Lankybox, etc. There were these Minecraft treasure X cross over containers and they were really hot sellers. They might not be wanting TMNT and Transformers like many of us did back in the day, but there are certainly toys they do want (not that I understand half of what the stuff is).
>>11143502Kill yourself :)
>>11143791Nomome cares subjectanon
>>11143792Not every parent is walking human garbage. Do you even know anybody who has kids? Back in the day parents who just gave their kid an iPad would have given them "hand me downs" (Shit they found or stole)The parents you're describing were never a part of the market to begin with
>>11143499The middle class only exists sometimes but no one wants to talk about itIt existed in the twenties, fifties, and nineties. It did not exist in the thirties, seventies, and tens The economy goes in waves and how good things are going for people who are just doing their jobs goes with it
>>11142321This is what sucks the most is knowing that the next generations won’t get to experience this. Taking your kids to the toy isles of a Walmart or Target isn’t the same as going into a TRU or KBT. I see some people saying that kids don’t care these days, but that’s half because there’s nothing left to care about. These stores, these experiences, are gone.
>>11140358>Is there room for a big box toy store?Big Box, no. An entertainment/pop culture store that ranges from kid toys to adult collectibles, and also sells tees, plush toys, LEGOs, puzzles, etc. and is not much bigger than a strip mall CVS or Walgreens, SURE.>>11141199>>11141680>>11141887>>1114217899 Cent Only store closing is a perfect example of what happened to TRU. It was a profitable company that got larded with debt, that ALSO was poorly managed and run.Red Lobster is a even worse example, since it was POORLY MANAGED and RUN in classical Don't-Do-This business school case studies, PLUS larding the stores with debt by selling off the real estate and then forcing the restaurants into onerous leases. >>11142690>oversaturation of outlet stores at shopping malls and and most retail stores already selling toys to begin with.This is nonsense.I just had to waste several hours of time on Wednesday hitting three different Targets on nearly the other side of the large county where I lived to chase down an adult collectible, which was particularly annoying because Target A claimed Target B had 3 of the figure I was looking for and it didn't have any. I'm about to travel to San Diego and I thought, since I have a few free hours in the afternoon while my friend is in his training, and it's not enough time to do anything more than watch a movie, which I can do in my own home town, I'd go hit a Walmart Super Center since there's nothing more than those neighborhood markets in my area. I would waste an hour driving to it and another back, which makes it a waste of time. I just randomly checked several other large cities on mapquest and the same thing is true.
>>11144354>I just had to waste several hours of time on Wednesday hitting three different Targets on nearly the other side of the large county where I lived to chase down an adult collectibleI just bought it on Amazon.
>>11144384And that’s fine. But you didn’t get to touch it or see it when you purchased it. For many of us we prefer that physical, tactile experience. I know many don’t care about that, but what if it’s broken when you get it and then you have to deal with sending it back or whatever policy the seller you got it from has? Isn’t that far easier to deal with when you can just drive back to your local toy store?
>>11144434>he thinks there’s a difference between political parties in AmericaThe only new thing under the sun is rfk jr potentially being in a second Trump admin, but even he’s a leftoid.>>11144236There’s going to be a swing back. The online buying experience for lots of products is absolutely horrendous, and tech has proven incapable of solving it anytime in the near-to-medium-term future. More and more people don’t want to buy clothing, cars, toys, books, beds, and furniture online. Even those 3D AR apps that will show you how a piece of furniture looks in your living room don’t do it well.
>>11140439>Mitt Romney and venture Capital killing TRU>ass loads of factual evidence to support and prove this claim>Disney Star Wars Killed TRU>Source: retards online
>>11144354>Red Lobster is a even worse example,Funny. All my Red Lobsters are still open...apparently.
>>11144434Hahahahahahahaha. Dude, your country already is and has been a haven for immigrants for a long time.
>>11144467> >he thinks there’s a difference between political parties in AmericaThe only new thing under the sun is rfk jr potentially being in a second Trump admin, but even he’s a leftoid.Brainwashed doomer trumper opinion you’re being duped by republicans bought out by Russians because you’re scared of women
>>11144507>toys and other things are created for cheap in foreign nations due to shitty human rights conditions and bad economies>governments of rich countries fund the wars and third world slave labour conditions that drive people out of these countries in the first place >immigrants come to these rich foreign countries that are profiting off their crappy oneWe live in a society etc
kids these days are tablet babbies, they are on tik tok, or streaming video games or some shit.What needs to be made is a store for the only people who buy toys left, the ultra nerds
>>11144579Nah. There are multiple whole lines of youtuber toys that sell quite well. Plus Roblox, Minecraft, etc. toys. I don't think the issue is kids don't care about toys, its just that the toys they want aren't what we wanted as kids.
>>11144585No shit? Confused boomers always seem confused why children don't want the same 80s crap again and again.
>>11144585Kids still love Marvel and Batman too. Notice how I say Batman instead of DC, because no one else in DC is a "meme"
>>11144479>retards onlineIf you’re Disney and you sell huge quantities of product to retailers like TRU, force them to accept bundles that include a lot of product they can’t sell, and then slow-walk reimbursements, yes, they could’ve contributed to the business’s demise by depleting their working capital, which they already need to pay loads of debt incurred by their owners. The fact that Ollie’s can’t sell a lot of this stuff is proof enough for me—and that’s been happening for years now.>>11144509>string of buzzwords + “Russia”Please…
>>11144643>The fact that Ollie’s can’t sell a lot of this stuff is proof enough for me—and that’s been happening for years nowThat's actually a fair point. All three of my "local" Ollie's have been sitting on the same Lando's and Black Panther shit for a long time now. And Eternals eternally peg warming.
>>11144643Okay suit yourself both American parties are the same and you’re just helpless
>>11144509>bugbot gets updated with new talking point
really underappreciated how bad toys r us closing has been for the toy industry. the cushion of 800 stores carrying your product, essentially guaranteed, allowed for so much more license to do different lines.
>>11144585the jakks wolfman and axel sold through in a couple of weeks at all my local places. that quality at 5in and $10 works, parents will pick them up.
any of you have a dad that used to bring you to TRU? did they talk to you about them getting shut down? my dad passed earlier this year and ive been thinking about those tru days. when they closed them down around 2017 or so he seemed really bummed out.just bugs me that the last 10 years of my dads life was everything getting shittier. he also didnt like it when kb toys went under, and fao schwartz in san fran sisco. but thats going back 20 years.
>>11144579See>>11143955
>>11145785>TRU>cushionIt was a fucking pillar.TRU's disappearance also lead to the disappearance of many toylines and the consolidation of others. It's less apparent to /toy/ since we don't buy shitty shit toyline no one but kids care about, but they existed thanks to TRU.For /toy/, pic related.
>>11141700Mitt Romney left Bain before they bought TRU. You retards have no clue what you're talking about and never have.
>>11140358>Mitt Romney killed TRU>Definitely not the total lack of selection and everything being $10 more than Walmart
>>11144645This is good on-the-ground substantiation of what I’ve been reading in analyst reports about Ollie’s. They do well but there’s junk even they can’t sell for a dollar.>>11144896lol this>>11145826He still has an ownership interest in the firm, despite not being involved actively. He also negotiated a retirement provision that allows him to partake in the firm’s profits. And I’m sure he still passes useful information along. That’s the thing with these businesses: you’re never really gone.
>>11140358They would have at least made it to 2021 when everyone started doing really badly.
>>11140389Toy R Us already did both of these things going back to the 90s. They had stores that were half baby things like clothes, cribs, and accessories, and they had very small Mall stores that were Kay Bee sized. >>11140395I feel like kids don't have a lot of stuff anymore that was common in past decades. McDonalds is a boring coffee shop looking place. A far cry from the playground, toy filled place that was around that every kid loved going to in the 90s and 00s. Factor in the other fastfood restaurants do not even bother competing for kids attention either so no Burger King playgrounds or toys there or in Wendys.Comics are not really much of a thing anymore, and only really cater to adult collectors now. They are just 100% not accessible to kids at all now.And channels playing cartoons used to try really hard and go that extra mile to keep kids attention, with things like contests, tie-ins, kids clubs, they did a lot more than simply play shows.
>>11140454Walking down a stacked aisle like this was just an amazing experience for a small kid.
>>11140586Kids totally want toys, but they now have to look elsewhere for them.The issue now is that there are few places that have and stock toys in the first place. Most of which are completely scoured through by scalpers who still have some delusion of eventually becoming rich and retiring by selling action figures somehow. And no mainstream media really making much in the way of toys at all. Indy games are doing a much MUCH better job of making merch driven media with kids buying up Huggy Wuggy and Rambly Raccoon while no major studio has made a single show or movie with a toy tie-in in years.
>>11141331Of course not, but it's good entertainment for kids when parents are shopping for furniture or something else even more boring. Just wander over to the toy section like anytime they go to Target. Macy's used to have an electronics section with kids playing the display consoles for the exact same reason.
>>11144467It will swing back but largely based on how the next generation coming up never really wants to do the same thing as their parents. They always long for whatever they never had much of growing up. Right now it's everythign is bought online. But eventually you will have people who specifically want to go to a store because they never really got to experience that growing up, they always had to remain shit in and looking at screens. They will want what they did not have a lot of and want to shun what they did do a lot of.
>>11144384I hate bald billionaires. I loathe on-line shopping in general and prefer to shop in person no matter what it is.But you're probably someone who doesn't tip his Uber Eats driver even though your lazy ass orders a daily crawler and coffee from Dunkin Donuts to be delivered to the basement entrance of your Mom's home.>>11144485Yes, but are the paying through the nose on leases when their parent company used to own those buildings and the land they are sitting on? Did that jack up the prices on the endless shrimp?
>>11146039the big problem with this is that buying online is as much a practical necessity as it is a choice of our modern asocial culture. If you're the type who has any interest in researching the smartest, bang for your buck purchase your only option in most cases is online. until brick and mortar loses its kitschy overpriced stigma online will continue to dominate.
>>11144643>>11144509
>>11145946>I feel like kids don't have a lot of stuff anymore that was common in past decades. McDonalds is a boring coffee shop looking place. A far cry from the playground, toy filled place that was around that every kid loved going to in the 90s and 00s.Personal theory (with no evidence): Apple poisoned the design sensibilities of corporate America. Ever since they started making their products minimalist, monochrome, and metallics in the mid-2000s, the entire world seems to have slavishly followed that Bauhaus style they made mainstream. I’m sure it helps costs to have a minimal footprint and fewer areas to maintenance as well. But overall I believe they all got this idea that Americans want this aesthetic everywhere.>>11146054If a true commercial real estate collapse ever materializes, that would help greatly. Property costs are absolutely insane, leases are also punishing for many businesses and their prices reflect that. I know this isn’t /pol/, but the breakneck pace at which we’re packing people into this country is really driving up the cost of land and it’s not good.
>>11146054>>11146108The other side of that is brick and mortar retail is the general goto employment for low wage and unskilled labor that otherwise would have an incredibly hard time finding other work. If there is a collapse of the storefront then that puts a lot of people out of work. It really ruins options for teens, students, and twenty somethings having a source of income.
>>11146174>puts a lot of people out of work. It really ruins options for teens, students, and twenty somethings having a source of income.How is this a bad thing?
>>11146176the most deliberately obtuse shitpost i've seen in my 17 years on 4chan.
>>11140572I never got the appeal. I played the one in Boston for a little bit and it was neat-ish as a city of Boston historical walking simulator. Uninteresting otherwise.
>>11146217No, explain this if you even can commie.
>>11145826Romney might have left, but he still set up the company to work the way it did for the rest of its life. The guy could have died before TRU was even taken over, but its poisonous business model will continue for decades and maybe centuries if no one fixes the bullshit they do, because Romney is still to blame. He was one of Bain's founders and we already saw them ruin Kay Bee Toys too.
Meanwhile Toys R Us is absolutely THRIVING in China. Friend bought some Genshin merch from here.
>>11146806>and we already saw them ruin Kay Bee Toys too.no shit? how many chains have they killed?
>acting like TRU isn't coming back in the statesFucking MoA got one last year. It's not nearly as extravagant as others, but they forced out one toy shop and another left soon after.
>>11147041toysrus has mall locations in the us.
>>11147164it's funny how things change. in the 90s a toysrus stand-in would have been the villain in a movie driving a poor mom and pop novelty store out of business. specialty chains seem quaint now.
>>11146174I think it would really help all of that. There would be pain at first, of course, but a collapse in commercial real estate would mean cheaper land and cheaper rents/leases. More businesses could expand or be started, which means more employment for those groups, not to mention a better cost of living that would result from the deflation a real estate downturn would imply (general economic downturn).
>>11142690>when you can buy what you’re looking for at Target along with other essentials?Huh, sounds a lot more convenient when you put it that way, let's just stop over and
>>11143100>Gamestop had prime opportunity to do so,and they did, take note how you didn't mention or know their worst acquisition and endeavor. The Gamestop short really made people forget just how awful that chain and its management are.
>>11147187
>>11147740I've only ever been to one Thinkgeek. It was in Manhattan and I thought it was a subway station because of the signs. I ran in there to catch a train. How embarrassing. But yeah, it felt like another LCS because there wasnt much of interest at the time
>>11141643If you went in the past few years it's in the location that used to be the "Joy Toy Store" or something and it's almost the same thing, all the employees are indian and they sell everything at a markup and a lot of it is outdated, they have a shelf full of the jyn erso bionicle lego figures for ABOVE msrp 8 years after rogue one came out. If you know go calenders I believe it's ran by them just with a Toys R Us coat of paint. I have a feeling it'll be gone within a year or two because they have crap stock, rude employees, and marked up prices. It's nothing like the feeling of an actual TRU.
>>11147397tons of real estate is already laying around empty for 5+years and their owners are saying it's a good thing.They're making more money off the businesses that can afford the higher fees, while half their properties are barren. If they lowered the fees for those empty places, they'd have to lower the fees for the current tenants, because that's just how the market works.It's a huge problem and most property owners are fighting tooth and nail to make sure most people don't even hear about this. They even use computer programs (an app) to bypass collusion laws, so owners never have to speak to each other to keep rent artificially high. So if the government steps in, it'll be at least a decade from now. This is going on in so many states, including ones that people consider to be cheap.I mean, go look at California right now and how they basically outlawed new single family homes from being built. It's why so many silicon valley employees live in vans and RVs along the road to Google's headquarters, because despite high pay, they can't afford a house (or find one) and don't even want to think about apartments with super inflated rent. So California is building more homes now, but they're almost all apartments that are for rent/lease, because it makes more profit for established land owners and the cities who'll net more taxes that way.tl;dr: the economic collapses in 2008 and 2021 didn't do shit, except make landed folk even richer. You need government intervention, and not local government, because most of these assholes are just helping their friends make more money.
>>11148384It's some sick shit. I live a few minutes away from the town TRU is headquartered in, while it's not close by where the retail store in the area was it's still notable- It's just lying there, years later, unused except for the tiny corner in the back that's owned by some finance firm. They built a new supermarket on the dead mall grounds, but it was after other supermarkets in the area were on their way out or moved. The K-mart around it is abandonedThe mall across the street is mostly abandoned except a supermarket, killed by Covid lockdownsThe stripmall a few blocks lower is deadIt's insane. All this property just sitting there, in an upper middle class town surrounded by even higher income suburban areas. A retail graveyard that exists as a way to generate money. And yes, local officials are corrupt as fuck.
>>11148403Most local politicians (it doesn't matter if this is California we're talking about or Florida, Texas, Alabama - this is true everywhere) - but most local pols make the most of their contributions from landlords, property owners, RE management companies, etc. Sure, there will be corrupt motherfuckers like the senator and his wife taking gold bars to be a foreign agent, but almost every other politician is taking money from someone who controls, owns or has something to do with real estate.
>>11148403what does a theoretical non corrupt government do to prevent this?
>>11144600WTF do you mean by Batman & Marvel are, "memes?"
>>11142715I only ever bought one amiibo, on eBay, to transfer my Mii from my Wii U to my Switch, so I got the Mii Fighter amiibo.
>>11148384>>11148403>They even use computer programs (an app) to bypass collusion laws, so owners never have to speak to each other to keep rent artificially highWow, I was not aware of that. That is awful and probably illegal. As someone who just bought a property a few years back, now I’m wondering how the hell much I overpaid due to collusion like this…>>11148531Yeah, my local govt cares more about giving variances so their friends can build McMansions on 1/3 acre lots than they do about making the area thrive for businesses. But they’re always prompt with tax collection, always…
>>11147164Fun part is that KB was suffering from the same issues TRU was: market share decline.Both companies were making hundreds of millions of dollars in profits every year, but needed guidance to improve. Why TRU thought Bane could offer that guidance after what they did to KB, who knows why. Maybe they thought Bane was on their side for killing KB for them....
>>11146232>swarms of unemployed young adults is a good thingIt's how you make more commies, you inbred retardIn what world is a generation of the unemployed a net positive? Holy shit, saw off your foot to spite your leg, nobody is this stupidGod I can't believe I took the bait, don't give me the (you), I won't be back to see it
>>11148361Oh, damn. That's sad to hear...I know what you're talking about as far as the Go Calendar stores.Yeah, they always seemed to have old, outdated stuff too, so it sounds about the same.
>>11142864Yeah their prices were high, then for the a couple years they were in line with MSRP, now they've gone high again
>>11145805>>11143955the old joke YOUR MAMA SO POOR SHE GAVE YOU A VIDEO OF KIDS PLAYING WITH TOYS FOR XMAS.Nowadays that is true as hell, sad.
This what consolidation looks like though.Mitt Romney killed KB Toys And ToysRUSAmazon, Walmart, and Target killed every other retailer and mall.Walmart and Target are now killing the super market industry even though they shouldnt be allowed to even deal foods.Walgreens and CVS Killed in person drug companies
>>11141444>checkedThe fabled double trips ying yang digits>witnessed
>>11149181I don't disagree about Bain. Or Amazon and WalMart (and Target) hurting small mom and pop retailers especially. Walgreens and CVS are both closing places so people who want to buy anything you can only get from them will be like toy buyers who want TRU today but have to order on line or pay scalpers. CVS and Walgreens will close more locations in the next three years than they opened in the last five.>>11147740>>11148353I agree that GS has shitty management and practices, I mean they hire some really scummy managers and sellers, who even though they don't make commission, are really taught to be used car salesmen level dicks to the people selling used vidya (and even don't do much other than offer the bare minimum when it's some crackhead clearly selling swiped cartridges or the like). BUT a few stores are actually adding more collectibles. Two stores I went two in the past month have been turning over entire walls, so instead of cartridges or other crap that is peg warming, they have collectibles that are going to peg warm.Not as cool as an actual decent Think Geek but what can you do.
>>11147714>>11142690>>11142803Big Lots is about to declare bankruptcy.And, just like TRU, they are being forced into bankruptcy so that they can be bought by their own version of Bain: Nexus Capital.https://www.marketwatch.com/story/big-lots-files-for-bankruptcy-as-part-of-deal-to-be-acquired-by-nexus-capital-management-1efa1e7f
>>11149255I can't imagine Big Lots being anywhere near profitable as TRU was before it's acquisition.
>>11140358NO
>>11148815i get that these are privately owned multinational mega corps and all but it makes me feel like there should be some anti trust law or something like that in place to prevent some mr moneybags like that from rolling through every board room he wants with a contract and a wad of cash toanalogously buying up a ship all the while drilling holes in the hull to send it out to sea
>>11149260>>11149255The last time I remember Big Lots meaning anything was during the Mattycollector days, where they apparently had some of those. I also remember them having the unreleased wave of Dragons Universe. After that, something changed and they just became like a convenience supermarket unlike Aldi's or Fresh n Easy
>>11140358i, admittedly, am a tourist here on toy from my home board and would have never known about any of this stuff involving Bain if op hadnt made this thread thanks i guess
>>11149565Why would they need protection when they want to be bought up? see >>11149255In Big Lot's case, Big Lots is actually in trouble from either expanding too much and/or thought COVID lockdowns would last forever. TRU and KB were highly profitable companies, not even a hint of fear of going bankrupt.You have to remember that companies like Bane actually offer a service. That service comes in the form of $$$ and having amazingly super smart guys who can totally aid your company in making better decisions. In KB's case, they were as great as pre-1900 doctors who stick their unwashed fingers into wounds. They knew little about the toy market and fucked up the company where it kept losing marketshare.But did KB know that at the time they allowed Bane to take over? No, they thought they were going to change things around, because KB themselves has super smart amazing lawyers and financial officers. An outsider's perspective could have changed things around.TRU was a little different, in that they mostly needed $$$. They planned to pay everything back in 5-10 years or however long loans like that take. Unfortunately, the 2008-2011 recession hit everyone super fucking hard and TRU couldn't pay off the massive amount of interest that was growing every year. The fact that TRU lasted as long as it did before bankruptcy is a testament toward how profitable their business actually was.
>>11147740Then covid killed it
>>11149053No that's how you get more entrepreneurs. Lack of work and lack of competition means you have a market ripe for new businesses.
I always liked the stores that were more experience oriented like FAO Shwarz, Build a Bear or to a lesser extent the Disney Store. There is no meaningful difference in going to Toys R Us or browsing a catalog with how toys are packaged nowadays. I'd definitely take my kids if we still had one in my area though, just because I remember it being fun going to a place under the context of getting to pick something out that I could enjoy immediately
I miss Toy and Hobby (regional chain in the north of England in the 80s and possibly early 90s)https://youtu.be/2WH_syskj1ghttps://youtu.be/NYW1ZbhoLsw
>>11142715Even just getting a generic item drop from a random non-Zelda Amiibo in Wild/Tears makes them more useful then Skylanders/Disney Infinity figures that just work within that game ecosystem.
>>11150634>He paid $15 just to get a readily available in-game item
>>11150334Toys R Us was no less an experience, but I didn't realize that til we lost it. One thing I'll never get to see is Robot Galaxy. I don't know any other place where you can build your own toy
>>11149255kek Big Lots took over the location of my TRU
>>11150968Similar story, my old TRU became a Fallas, then it permanently got replaced by Target
>>11150934>he spent muh knee on something that is going to collect dust
>>11150514>all we have now is The Entertainer and SmythsHurts
>>11140358We have another store just like them in Germany, can't remember the bloody name. But it's in the same place the old Toys'r'us was with the same inventory. And they're doing fine.
>>11142214>Yes, asshole employees telling you not to touch anything is a hold over from how retail used to work in ye olde days, because some of those workers still remember when everything was kept behind the counter.>asshole employeesTell me you've never run a retail operation without telling me.Maybe if you didn't squeeze boxes like you have clamps for hands, or point so hard you put a fucking hole through them, or put them back on the shelf (wherever you feel like it) turned backwards and upside down, before crying for a discount because the packing is damaged (by you), "asshole" shopkeepers would treat you like a human being.
>>11151620>all we have is two toy storesdon't take them for granted like we murricans did
>>11152790yeah, no.Like i said here, >>11143791 it was a common experience.You have no idea how many "talking tos" I had been given by old hags about who knows what when I didn't do shit. They just thought every kid was messing shit up.Fast forward a decade and retail had become increasingly full of teenagers who don't give a shit. Even "key holders" are teenagers nowadays, when it was almost always just old farts back in the day. Obviously, chain stores were more likely to hire young people, while indie/local shops were filled with aging workers who had been there for decades.If you didn't have opinion about nirvana while kurt cobain was still alive, you have no memories of how retail was like when the Silent Generation (and maybe older) was still working the counters and desks
>>11141159The reason TRU was making money wasn't because they were selling toys. Babies r us was keeping the company afloat. The toys part of toys r us was basically an afterthought
>>11151761Was it Smyth's? I saw it at a mall and it looked like TRU. or was it BR?
>>11154217Big NOPE.If Babies R Us was that important to TRU, more of the store would have been dedicated to baby shit. There would have been more BRUs too.Anyway, since TRU was a public company, we did know how shit broke down by their own reports.
>>11140455My local store now has records, adult books (aside from comics and manga), and home goods. It's kind of sad that it's like this -- the Transformers section went from half an aisle to just one small shelf -- but I'm happy they're around still. >>11140616They're kind of doing that already; they're kind of rebranding themselves as an "entertainment store". Just imagine if they invested more in Gunpla; that would be a boon for any collector.
its interesting..my life started getting a lot worse a year or so after toysrus by me closed. i didnt go there super often but maybe it isnt a coincidence that the economy and world started getting shitty rapidly in the years following that.almost as if in the past everything was just more cohesive and better and people wee happier.
>>11156111Sounds like the same direction Gamestop is taking. All around general geek media and decor type of store with loads of figures, shirts, and statues. Along with Mario and Sonic themed home decor everywhere.
