Toys R Us files Chapter 11

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ESauce
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby ESauce » March 9th, 2018, 12:54 pm

I’m totally part of the problem. I buy everything on Amazon thanks to the low, low prices! (sorry)

I don’t know how much difference it would have made, but Toys R Us essentially put itself years behind in online by essentially saying to Amazon, “Hey let’s not compete. You be our online store.” and then having Amazon screw them over.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 9th, 2018, 6:14 pm

Yeah I'm starting to think Amazon is doing harm by putting all these stores out of business. Toys R Us was the last toy store left! As a kid going to Toys R Us on my birthday was like a dream come true. It's a shame kids today will miss out on that magic feeling.

GTS
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby GTS » March 10th, 2018, 10:30 am

Remember it's these big stores like Toys R Us that once put a lot of mom and pop stores out of business. One day, something will put Amazon out of business.

I was reading about the major reasons why Toys R Us is having a hard time. Obviously online retailers are a huge factor, but also the nature of the toy industry has changed. From CNN Money:
"The softness in the toy industry is partly due to the rise of video games and other high-tech toys that kids are increasingly playing with instead of action figures, dolls and board games."

That makes sense. When I see my nieces and nephews playing, they are often doing it on a tablet. It's just more entertaining to them than a physical toy. Those handheld devices are so powerful they can play just about anything. I would argue that gamemakers know more about how to make their games addicting too.

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scotland
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby scotland » March 10th, 2018, 2:36 pm

GTS wrote:Remember it's these big stores like Toys R Us that once put a lot of mom and pop stores out of business. One day, something will put Amazon out of business.

I was reading about the major reasons why Toys R Us is having a hard time. Obviously online retailers are a huge factor, but also the nature of the toy industry has changed. From CNN Money:
"The softness in the toy industry is partly due to the rise of video games and other high-tech toys that kids are increasingly playing with instead of action figures, dolls and board games."

That makes sense. When I see my nieces and nephews playing, they are often doing it on a tablet. It's just more entertaining to them than a physical toy. Those handheld devices are so powerful they can play just about anything. I would argue that gamemakers know more about how to make their games addicting too.


Yes, good points. Big box stores put all sorts of mom and pops out of business, not just toy stores. They could retail products cheaper than mom and pops could buy them wholesale. I had a great local toy store growing up that stocked all sorts of unusual stuff.

I have heatd people saying ipafs and video games are a part of the problem. May,, but kids still love toys too.I would think the pain of video gaming is probably shared all around - sporting goods, automotive stuff, etc.

Will something replace Amazon? You ae probably right, but I don't know what might be next. Catalog, Five and Dimes, Big Box, and more - retail keeps changing every generation or two.

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Atarifever
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby Atarifever » March 10th, 2018, 3:19 pm

scotland wrote:
Will something replace Amazon? You ae probably right, but I don't know what might be next. Catalog, Five and Dimes, Big Box, and more - retail keeps changing every generation or two.


I heard an old radio show from the 60s once where one of the topics was about "drugstore culture" ruining everything. The guy talking about it was talking about cheap novels and things being available at drugstores was lowering quality and making everything kind of a one-stop shop. Now, to my understanding, the community pharmacy is slowly losing ground to big retailers like Wal-Mart and big grocery chains having pharmacy sections in their stores.

What I find funny is that the Mom and Pop shop is kind of trending up in a lot of ways (especially in large cities, and especially for restaurants and food markets), while the big box stores are now struggling. I think it's because the big box stores competed on price, while local stuffs often competed on client knowledge or community integration, etc. Once Amazon wins on price, what do the box stores have? Meanwhile, the local store has the advantages it maintained all along, except now with (near as I can tell) 70% of people in the world being hipsters. :) That aside, it still sucks when a local store closes that you really liked:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundl ... -1.4364175

GTS
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby GTS » March 10th, 2018, 7:41 pm

scotland wrote:I have heatd people saying ipafs and video games are a part of the problem. May,, but kids still love toys too.I would think the pain of video gaming is probably shared all around - sporting goods, automotive stuff, etc.


I would also add the sports culture has expanded quite a bit in recent years, with kids being put into serious sports at younger and younger ages. Even flag football has morphed into tackle football. That likely cuts into free time and "play" time, making them less likely to own a bunch of toys. At least not as many as they used to.

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scotland
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby scotland » March 10th, 2018, 11:30 pm

GTS wrote:
scotland wrote:I have heatd people saying ipafs and video games are a part of the problem. May,, but kids still love toys too.I would think the pain of video gaming is probably shared all around - sporting goods, automotive stuff, etc.


I would also add the sports culture has expanded quite a bit in recent years, with kids being put into serious sports at younger and younger ages. Even flag football has morphed into tackle football. That likely cuts into free time and "play" time, making them less likely to own a bunch of toys. At least not as many as they used to.


I agree with that. Add in more home work and parenting being more concerned with supervision and safety than in previous generations leading to more scheduled activities.

djc
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby djc » March 11th, 2018, 12:57 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:Toys R Us jumped the shark when they got rid of the glass booth up front lined with wall-to-wall video games.
It was the place of dreams! Only head honcho store managers had the magic key to enter it.
If I managed to get into one of those booths back in the day I would still be there.


+This. I used to love going into my local Toys R Us as a kid/teen and seeing all the video game systems (and other cool electronics e.g. PXL 2000 camera) on display in the glass enclosed shelves. It's probably why my display at home is similar to that minus the glass :)

Of course, when I read the story yesterday about Toys R Us preparing to close their US stores after failing to secure a buyer, the immediate cynic in me said "Oh no - now where am I am not going to go to shop?"

crimefighter
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby crimefighter » March 11th, 2018, 1:55 am

This song seems appropriate --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEREtfRnwxM

GTS
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Re: Toys R Us files Chapter 11

Postby GTS » March 11th, 2018, 1:14 pm

Video of an Toys R Us video game aisle in 1990.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_96wWKzkp4s


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