[twitchyzero]

who's lining up for super nintendo again? :troll:

they plan to continue operating

Toys 'R' Us files for bankruptcy protection in U.S.; plans to do same in Canada | CTV News (http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/toys-r-us-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-in-u-s-plans-to-do-same-in-canada-1.3595722)

[nsx042003]

oh man, i want ALL THE TOYS!

What's with kids these days, don't like toys anymore?

[320icar]

The problem is that kids don't fuckin play outdoors anymore. Largely due to not having a backyard. Shit when I grew up my brother and I lived outdoors for riding bikes and playing with super soakers etc

[Manic!]

oh man, i want ALL THE TOYS!

What's with kids these days, don't like toys anymore?

Amazon/Walmart

[ilovebacon]

does that mean that ps4 is going to be on clearance?

[GS8]

https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/2291275053_424a2915d7_b.jpg


So what will the next overlay be?

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

someone should just open a shop up called BOWMAC and turn the lights back on that sign.

[68style]

This is the part where the guy who started the CAMWOB store throws his newspaper down in frustration and storms off

[Tr1ll]

Time to buy ALL the Lego

[Vansterdam]

shit need to get that toys r us edition ken/ryu funko pop

[Mr.HappySilp]

The problem is that kids don't fuckin play outdoors anymore. Largely due to not having a backyard. Shit when I grew up my brother and I lived outdoors for riding bikes and playing with super soakers etc

That's only part of the reason. They are just too expensive where you can get almost the same thing online/Walmart/night market/dollar store. Also the face that they have such large store doesn't help. Rent is really expensive and this really drive up cost when you compare it too online shopping. Also the staff there isn't that useful/helpful and the design/layout and the declorations just seems really old fashion.

Amazon/Walmart
That too. Also there is no need for a specality store. I mean you can get general toys from Walmart/Sportscheck for sports accessories/dollar store.

[IMASA]

They just can't compete with Amazon.

I was looking to buy several large items for my kid (baby seats, strollers, play pens, etc) Same price on TRU and Amazon, but Amazon offered shipping while TRU wanted $40 for shipping. FTS!

The only thing TRU is good for is instant gratification for kids. Kids don't want to wait 1-2 days for shipping from Amazon. They still want to wander around a store and pick out something when you offer to buy them a gift and open it right after you pay for it.

[Bouncing Bettys]

Shrinking middle class plays a part. People have less money to spend and are more willing to seek out deals rather than pay for the convenience of having everything in one specialized store.

Good series. The difference between the video game section in 1991 to now is pretty interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8mwn1RW9fY

[Gumby]

Don't go to TRU Lansdowne on the weekend; it's a frickin' zoo with kids running around, messed up shelves and toys on the floor. Most of the parents don't care. I feel bad for the workers there.

If you only speak English, you'll have a hard time communicating with your customers. :lol

[6o4__boi]

Time to buy ALL the Lego

probably the only reason they've stayed in business this long

[ZN6]

oh man, i want ALL THE TOYS!

What's with kids these days, don't like toys anymore?

fuck no, they want ipads and instagram and snapchat and chicks showing their tits. Well, one kid's trash is another man's treasure I guess.

[blkgsr]

oh i'm gonna go buy some lego's for old times sake

when's the sale start??

[twitchyzero]

didn't even know bowmac was a thing :(
figured it had some historic significance but didn't know it was a major landmark

[underscore]

The problem is that kids don't fuckin play outdoors anymore. Largely due to not having a backyard. Shit when I grew up my brother and I lived outdoors for riding bikes and playing with super soakers etc

:rukidding: the majority of the stuff sold at Toys R Us isn't used outdoors.

[lowside67]

fuck no, they want ipads and instagram and snapchat and chicks showing their tits.
Forget kids, that sounds great to me...

-Mark

[Qmx323]

oh man, i want ALL THE TOYS!

What's with kids these days, don't like toys anymore?

Busy getting their followers up

[Tapioca]

Amazon and dollar stores are killing TRU. Also downloadable gaming apps are more affordable than dedicated gaming systems.

The second hand market for toys is pretty big too - Facebook and Craigslist have made it easy for parents to buy and sell their toys.

[N.V.M.]

Never been to one, never will. Couldnt give a damn about any big box store.

[FerrariEnzo]

Im not surprised with Amazon leading the charge.. free shipping for prime members and you can buy almost everything without leaving your place.. and now with Whole Foods, dayum

[Spoon]

So many reasons why it's not a sensible business anymore. Parents don't want to deal with whiny kids making a scene in the toy stores. So the supermarkets caught on and placed them in their stores. Then there's Amazon who doesn't even care if they make money and killing margins for everybody.

[hchang]

Never been to one, never will. Couldnt give a damn about any big box store.

Motto for hipsters worldwide

[twitchyzero]

haven't set foot in one in years. And even back in the early 2000s it started to feel dated like Zellers did.

but growing up in asia, McDonalds and TRU is the first American brick & mortars I can remember and I associated it with walking in and being able to grab toys as gifts from family

Never been to one, never will. Couldnt give a damn about any big box store.

started noticing a trend with this poster
got bored and looked through his other posts...pretty much just replies like this adding absolutely no value to the discussion
wasting bandwidth...save the RS hamsters okay PJSalt

[Vansterdam]

anyone seen these at a toysrus please let me know which location!

http://www.funkopopnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/street_fighter_attack_ken_toys_r_us_funko_pop_193. jpg

http://www.funkopopnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/street_fighter_attack_ryu_toys_r_us_funko_pop_192. jpg

[Traum]

I was looking to buy several large items for my kid (baby seats, strollers, play pens, etc) Same price on TRU and Amazon, but Amazon offered shipping while TRU wanted $40 for shipping. FTS!

A lot of stuff you can pick up from their store for free. In general, they are a tad more expensive though.

As far as a regular consumer is concerned, do you guys think there will be any changes / negative impacts? Say you are someone that buys stuff from them at least once a year. Since they are only going through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, they're still gonna be around afterwards.

[keifun]

I always thought the prices at Toys R Us were always a bit higher than compared to other stores like WalMart or even Superstore. Of course Toys R Us has a better and bigger selection but for the same product, the other stores would sell it for less.

[twitchyzero]

Since they are only going through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, they're still gonna be around afterwards.

from what i've read, things have not gone well for them since going private.

it's safe to assume they're in no better position than Sears...if you have gift cards/services or exclusive stuff there use it/buy it now as they could still fold months from now

[Hehe]

Retail sector is going down the trash because they lack innovation, not because people aren't spending.

For crying out loud, they have operated in the exact same way than hundreds of years ago if not thousands.

It was viable when internet wasn't around and transfer of information was slow if not downright impossible.

But with LTE and Wi-Fi everywhere, plus all the sites that provide abundant of information for free, sales people were the first to go as you can see the case of Future Shop, Wal Mart... etc. Wally basically only has staff to fill the shelves and ran on a minimum HR model.

TRU is not the first and neither it's going to be the last. Physical retail as we know it is going to change. Either they innovate the shit out of it, or they die.

[westopher]

Rent is expensive. A website is not.
Toys R us didn't adapt, just like best buy isn't.
I loved TRU when I was la kid though. My grandparents would get me to count and bag up all the bottles and cans when I was little. We'd take the bottles back and my grandpa would split the bottle refund with me and take me to toys r us for helping. I'd usually spend the 3 or 4 bucks on a G.I. Joe. It's a great time, and I think was a huge part in learning about the value of money. Definitely very fond memories.

[winson604]

anyone seen these at a toysrus please let me know which location!

http://www.funkopopnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/street_fighter_attack_ken_toys_r_us_funko_pop_193. jpg

http://www.funkopopnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/street_fighter_attack_ryu_toys_r_us_funko_pop_192. jpg

This probably doesn't even help but I went to TRU Metrotown 2 night ago to clear out my store credits and noticed these there. They only had 1 Ken left and the box was damaged otherwise I would have bought it.

Aside from that you can buy online through their site. Those 2 in particular are on sale now for $11.98 down from $14.99

http://www.toysrus.ca/search/index.jsp?fv=2510384&f=Taxonomy&fd=&fg=&keywords=street+fighter&x=-971&y=-170

[Acuracura]

Haven't been to a TRU store in years. Back in the day it used to be the go to toy store but as others mentioned, the store now feels dated and the access to information makes their prices seem high in comparison and their staff obsolete.

We had a gift card that my wife wanted to use before they permanently close. Her report: Store was a mess and the product, which showed in stock online, wasn't in the right section. Finally found it. Staff weren't young but still didn't seem knowledgable. I'm not talking about researching reviews for products, I mean basics like the min-max width of a baby gate. Prices were higher and they would not price match, period. Whatever, better to spend funny money than real money. She finally checks out and since she has a baby, baby bag, other purchases, she requested a carry out for the large item. Nope, they don't do that, despite their clientelle. They offered her use of the loading bay where she can pull her car up to and load it in herself. Finally on her way home she gets stuck in rush hour traffic.

Some factors were within TRU's control and some not. Nonetheless the total shopping experience wasn't pleasant. Perhaps it would've been better to let the gift card lapse and spend 5 minutes buying the item online (for less) with free shipping to our door in 2 days.

[twitchyzero]

if you knew job loss is imminent as a worker you probably wouldn't give 2 shits either
rush-hour traffic was definitely on them though :nyan:

[Obsideon]

I found that Baby's R Us, when they have sales is pretty good deal to pick up some stuff for my baby girl. 50% off car seats and other smaller miscellaneous items.
Compared to places like Westcoast Kids that are so freakin' expensive.

[Hehe]

I found that Baby's R Us, when they have sales is pretty good deal to pick up some stuff for my baby girl. 50% off car seats and other smaller miscellaneous items.
Compared to places like Westcoast Kids that are so freakin' expensive.

But a business like TRU/BRU can't survive if all people do is to buy their sale items.

Many of those are sold at loss/break-even in order to get people into the store.

[ae101]

I remember making friends at toys r us back when I was hk and Taiwan

We were all fans of mini 4wd and they always have a track there for us to use, we just bring our cars over to race (for free)

Seriously it's like a track meet where we show off our cars, race them, exchange tips/teach ppl and help fix cars

After that died down, it was beyblades with a stadium (still same results)

Those were good times

[Mr.HappySilp]

The thing what people don't realize is that the more online shopping they do, the faster these stores will shut down(malls will then disappear). So they can't really complain when on a sunny hot day/winter snowing days that they have nowhere to go hang out and do window shopping coz they are the ones who caused it.

Yes you do save by shopping online but at the same time is also killing traditional shopping centers. Just don't cry and complain when less and less malls are out there and no place for people to hang out.

[twitchyzero]

poor mall rats

[Traum]

The thing what people don't realize is that the more online shopping they do, the faster these stores will shut down(malls will then disappear). So they can't really complain when on a sunny hot day/winter snowing days that they have nowhere to go hang out and do window shopping coz they are the ones who caused it.

Yes you do save by shopping online but at the same time is also killing traditional shopping centers. Just don't cry and complain when less and less malls are out there and no place for people to hang out.
With TRU still being a rather large major retailer, I find it difficult to have any sympathy for the corporation itself. It's like back when Future Shop or Target went kaput, did you really feel sorry for the company at all? It is really just a matter and direct consequence of the changing tastes and habits of consumers.

What I do feel sympathetic towards is the slow but steady demise of small, independent shops. Nearly all good independent shops offer superior service one way or another compared to big box stores or large corporations. However, they absolutely cannot compete on price, and both people's mindset nowadays as well as the ever-rising costs of living are pushing people to only shop or spend money at the big stores, leaving these small businesses to die a slow death.

(It also doesn't help that JT and his cronies are now trying to hike taxes on these small businesses and professionals in the name "fairness", when that sorry excuse is really nothing more than a cheap facade. I'm actually kind of surprised that the topic hasn't come up in RS since I thought we had quite a number of business owners here.)

[TouringTeg]

We had $31 in TRU gift cards and decided to use them right away. They say it is business as usual but that could change anytime.

We didn't even go to the store. Ordered the Lego Classic medium size for Xmas for my daughter. Free shipping and a few dollars less than Walmart.

I was going to use the gift cards on Sept 29th for SNES Classic but who knows if gift cards will still be accepted.