https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-08/toys-r-us-said-to-be-prepping-liquidation-of-u-s-operations
Saw that the other day. Very sad.
A lot of things I love now I first saw in a Toys R Us store 😒
Wow
While that's a little crazy, think of the other retail icons that have died or are dying largely because they have failed to adapt to a digital age that values price and speed above everything else. If you can't compete on price and speed, you had better be delivering excellent service that justifies the additional cost. I don't think they were ever able to successfully pick one or the other
Knew this was coming.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of Toys 'R Us. I used to literally knock people down when rushing through the front door to see if the newest GI Joe figure was in stock.
^That was me...you haven't changed.
Gus was there for the latest My Little Pony.
Which JH punched me in my 8 year old balls for.
I loved GI Joe in the 80s!!! Had a great collection that Mom eventually threw away :/
That and Lego. I can never forgive her.
Quote from: Gusington on March 09, 2018, 10:04:48 AM
Which JH punched me in my 8 year old balls for.
I loved GI Joe in the 80s!!! Had a great collection that Mom eventually threw away :/
That and Lego. I can never forgive her.
Yup. Mom sold all my GI Joes at a garage sale...not to mention all of my Garbage Pail kids.
Is your mom...my mom??
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 09, 2018, 09:58:33 AM
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of Toys 'R Us. I used to literally knock people down when rushing through the front door to see if the newest GI Joe figure was in stock.
Wasn't that just last week. Oh, wait, your now in search of Barbie.
I will admit I don't know all the details but I took it as a bad sign when they handed out executive bonuses as they entered bankruptcy. I mean really WTF????
I think I used to be able to find AH games in Toys R Us. Not sure about the wargames, but probably other games like Outdoor Survival.
Kay Bee Toys stocked a few AH games back in the late 80s/early 90s.
Kay Bee was another favorite of mine.
Is Kay Bee still around? I think all the local stores here closed up a while ago.
I was just going to ask that. I personally haven't been in one for at least 20 years.
It went bankrupt and what was left (basically the name) was bought by Toys R Us.
Quote from: Gusington on March 09, 2018, 10:04:48 AM
Which JH punched me in my 8 year old balls for.
I loved GI Joe in the 80s!!! Had a great collection that Mom eventually threw away :/
That and Lego. I can never forgive her.
80s GI Joe pales in comparison to 60s & 70s GI Joe!
I wasn't alive in the 60s!
Just looked it up...KB out of business in 2009 :/
Punching someone in the balls to get G.I. Joe was exceptable behavior in my day, before or after purchase. ::) I remember buying many of my Amiga games at Toys-R-Us--- Red Storm Rising and Pool of Radiance to be sure.
Wow. The Toys R Us stores near me did not carry Amiga games. I had to go all the way in to Manhattan to J&R Music World to buy my Amiga games. What an awesome store that was. I would make a day out of it. They closed too 😥
Added note: sort of on topic, the guy who founded Tower Records died at age 92 this past week. They are also out of business 😥😥
Nearest Toys-R-Us to me was 45 miles away. Then we got a mall about 30 miles away. That was in the early 90's.
Quote from: mirth on March 09, 2018, 11:32:05 AM
Kay Bee Toys stocked a few AH games back in the late 80s/early 90s.
working there was my first real job at 15. a lot of stock went "missing". ::)
As a kid, I bought my Avalon Hill games at a hobby store. Recall that when Guadalcanal came out, a friend and I went over and they had only ordered one copy. We flipped a coin and he got the copy. A week later, they got in another copy.
Whenever Squad Leader came out, in that purplish box, we heard Toy R Us carried it.
There was literally two stacks of the game against one wall. My jaw dropped. Were there enough folks interested in wargames to carry that many copies?
Also, unlike the hobby shop, they were all discounted from $7.00 down to $4.95. What a deal!
Toys R Us, KB, Electronics Boutique, Babbages, B.Dalton, Waldenbooks...all of the weekend mall stops in the 80s. :smitten:
^Man I loved all those places. I guess I love Amazon the same way. Bu it doesn't have that new game smell.
^Ha!
I also forgot to add Camelot Music to that list. That's where I would buy those newfangled CDs. ^-^
Once upon a time the malls had shops that sold all kinds of stuff I liked, electronics, music, games, neat science-y chochkas like those living ecosystem paperweights, toys, fine art posters, furniture, and even artwork by local artists. I really looked forward to a mall trip and would drive a hour to brows the larger ones.
Now all they sell is trendy, crappy, overpriced clothes made by sweat shop slaves in military junta 'republics'.
I don't think I've set foot in a mall in the last 5 years.
Quote from: Staggerwing on March 10, 2018, 09:20:27 AM
I don't think I've set foot in a mall in the last 5 years.
Probably been closer to 10 years for me. Hard to think it was a regular weekend trip at one time in my life.
Yeah, I've got a 14-year-old with a girlfriend. I end up dropping them at the mall all too often...
Fortunately the local one here (1) isn't that far away, (2) has a Barnes & Noble, and (3) has a bunch of pretty nice "living rooms" set up around the mall as seating areas for folks like me to just chill out in...
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 10, 2018, 12:09:05 PM
Yeah, I've got a 14-year-old with a girlfriend. I end up dropping them at the mall all too often...
Fortunately the local one here (1) isn't that far away, (2) has a Barnes & Noble, and (3) has a bunch of pretty nice "living rooms" set up around the mall as seating areas for folks like me to just chill out in...
Where you proceed to drain your phone battery playing 7 Wonders. :-"
Quote from: bbmike on March 10, 2018, 01:20:48 PM
Where you proceed to drain your phone battery playing 7 Wonders. :-"
that or watching semi-professional steampunk fan-movies on my Kindle...
[yt]https://youtu.be/0RG0BO2P78E[/yt]
I used to love it when I was a teenager. Spent hours going from dork shop to dork shop, oggling girls along the way. Now I do that on the internet where I can be a creepy lech in private.
I always thought if a smart company could put hot girls in charge of selling video games, they could rule the world. And not just the Nerd World either.
Your avatar rules the nerd world.
I worked for about three days back in the 90s as an overnight worker at a local Toys-R-Us, doing re-stocking and such.
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 09, 2018, 03:55:13 PM
I remember buying many of my Amiga games at Toys-R-Us--- Red Storm Rising and Pool of Radiance to be sure.
I actually picked up RSR, and the first Madden Football, for C64 in the same shop I bought my tabletop wargames and RPGs as a kid in the '80s.
Would only go there once or twice a month while visiting. Something that always stuck with me was the car accidents I'd often witness when going in or out of that specific store. Never happened at other places I was dragged on shopping sprees, as a kid. Loud bang-up fender benders on the street out front. Dunno how many times that happened when I was walking in or out, but it was at least three. Screeeeech-BANG! :o
Always glad I didn't have to cross the street there. That place must've been like a Mad Max movie. Wasn't a bad neighborhood, though.
Wish I could remember the name of the hobby store. Was gone a long time ago, IIRC.
I bought Avalon Hill's Midway, my first wargame ever, at Toys 'R' US. After that fateful purchase, TRU was the first place I checked for wargames afterward, snagging Third Reich, Panzer Blitz and a helluva lot of my AH collection from there. When my boys were, well, boys, we were stationed in Wichita Falls, Texas when they opened their first TRU. Nothing would do but what we were there when the doors opened for the first time. The aisles were packed, and we learned afterwards that little store in little Wichita Falls had set an opening day sales record for the entire company.
Sadly, I'm as responsible as many for Toy's 'R' Us closing their doors. Online shopping is simply too easy for someone like me who doesn't really like to shop. I probably haven't been into a TRU more than twice over the last 4 years. I hate to see them go, and I would sincerely promise to be a better customer if they kept their doors open....but I probably wouldn't :P
Same here, bought my first wargame at a TRU, too - Luftwaffe.
https://www-washingtonpost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/opinions/toys-r-us-still-sells-lots-of-toys-heres-why-its-going-under/2018/03/11/ab4721b8-2538-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-stores/index.html
https://twitter.com/DPRK_News/status/974542834962391040
https://twitter.com/AlexisGirlNovak/status/974447225311907840
No worries- he'll just move on to Build-a-bear.
I wonder if they'll do some massive sell-off of inventory. That would be a good time. :)
On the positive side, now kids everywhere are going to have to learn to write 'R's the correct way.
^Such an optimist!
In my world, the Bourbon bottle is always half-full.
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 16, 2018, 10:21:37 PM
In my world, the Bourbon bottle is always half-full.
I don't know if that makes me sad or happy. But bourbon is involved so I'll go with happy.
https://nerdist.com/kb-toys-return-replace-toys-r-us/
Woohoo!
I really hope it works out. I think kids really appreciate their toys (and hobby stuff) more if there is some effort, with the whole process of going to the toy/hobby store, spending time looking at all the wares and making a final decision, then having to endure the ride home before finally being allowed to open stuff and getting to play with it. Even more appreciation results from picking out stuff at the store but then having to wait until a birthday or holiday to actually get it.
Nowadays it's just turn on the computer, browse for a few minutes, click, buy, go to the mailbox. Rinse-repeat.
WHAT WHAT WHAT
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/12/05/bankruptcy-judge-approves-14-m-toys-r-us-executive-bonus-payout/925447001/
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 19, 2018, 08:02:56 PM
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/12/05/bankruptcy-judge-approves-14-m-toys-r-us-executive-bonus-payout/925447001/
So Toys 'R' US is giving $14 million in incentive bonuses to its 17 top executives? It looks to me like the judge is on the take.
If they are written into their contracts, and the incentives were in fact met, then not paying those bonuses would be grounds for those execs to sue the company for breach of contract
but yeah, it looks really bad.
Went to my local Toys R Us Sunday and it was as crowded as I've ever seen it, and there were definitely gaps on the shelves but there didn't appear to be an actual sale going on. I asked an employee and they said they hadn't started discounting yet. Not a whole lot I was interest in anyway but would definitely grab any copies of X-Wing, Axis and Allies or the Classic Risk (I use the wooden cubes from the old Risk sets as markers in a bunch of other board and miniatures games).
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/20/news/companies/kb-toys-toys-r-us/index.html
Never minds the thousands of people losing their jobs. Never mind that in past bankruptcy cases, the judges have voided gift cards, and will most likely do the same here.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/toys-r-us-owes-pregnant-women-a-ton-of-money-—-and-its-refusing-to-pay-up/ar-BBKu2LF?ocid=spartanntp
A Business Insider story.
QuoteToys R Us owes expectant mother Sarah Maiellano more than $340 in Babies R Us store credit as part of its gift-registry loyalty program called "endless earnings."
But Maiellano — like thousands of other women with Babies R Us registries — won't ever see that money.
Toys R Us pays out endless earnings in the form of a gift card 12 weeks after parents' expected due dates. Maiellano's due date is in May, and Toys R Us said it will stop accepting gift cards in a month as a result of a liquidation.
"I'm incredibly disappointed that Babies R Us has chosen to not honor its promise to registry customers," Maiellano told Business Insider. "I chose Babies R Us — not Amazon or other online retailers which are being blamed for the closure — exclusively for this cashback program."
Toys R Us, which is preparing to close or sell all its US stores, said Tuesday in a court filing that it would stop accepting gift cards on April 19. The company declined to comment further.
That means that any expectant mothers who don't receive — and then spend — their endless earnings gift cards within the next 30 days will lose the value on those cards.
Endless earnings are rewarded based on baby registry spending. Customers earn 5% cash back on the first $300 spent and 10% back on everything over that amount.
Maiellano said she called Toys R Us' customer service — and waited on hold for two hours — to urge the company to pay out her endless earnings immediately. A customer service representative declined her request.
Toys R Us refuses to pay out endless earnings immediately
She said she was shocked by the company's response.
"I expect a major company to communicate with its customers, yet registrants haven't been notified of this disgraceful decision in any way," she said.
Natalia Kane, who is expecting a baby on May 6, says she is also owed money through the endless earnings program. Kane said she called Toys R Us customer service three times — and waited more than 90 minutes on hold each time — to find out whether she will be paid the $215 that Toys R Us owes her.
Like Maiellano, she was told she would not be reimbursed.
"The company made a very generic statement out of the bankruptcy filing that is completely non transparent and leaves many customers in hopes to be reimbursed," Kane said.
Toys R Us is planning to close more than 700 stores as part of a liquidation after disappointing holiday sales thwarted efforts to restructure its business. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
Quote from: Greybriar on March 19, 2018, 08:21:25 PM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on March 19, 2018, 08:02:56 PM
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/12/05/bankruptcy-judge-approves-14-m-toys-r-us-executive-bonus-payout/925447001/
So Toys 'R' US is giving $14 million in incentive bonuses to its 17 top executives? It looks to me like the judge is on the take.
I've seen companies give bonus's to all levels of employees to get them to stay until the door are locked for the last time.
Quote from: OJsDad on March 21, 2018, 08:04:23 AM
I've seen companies give bonus's to all levels of employees to get them to stay until the door are locked for the last time.
Yes, those 'completion bonuses' are pretty normal for a lot of companies closing up. My cousin's husband got $2500 for staying until the last day at his Sharon Luggage store when they were closing it up. He spent the last 2 days just kicking a soccer ball around an empty store b/c they'd already cleared out all the inventory, and then sold the fixtures to a store down the street.
https://kotaku.com/toys-r-us-founder-has-died-1824003155
It's amazing how many customers are whining. Some guy on the news this morning upset about the sales not having started yet and wants to know why. He feels like he's being deceived. Because, you know, it's all about them. To hell with everyone losing their jobs. They don't matter. It's all about them getting their stuff cheap. The guy whining probably hadn't stepped in a Toys R Us in years.
The ones that have a legit beef are the ones that signed up with the Babies R Us rewards registries and are not going to get their reward payouts until after Toys R Us set a cut-off date for using the gift cards.
Yeah, there are some customers who are legit getting shafted.
https://www.gofundme.com/helpsavetoysrus
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/retail-feature-1.4577670