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Toys R US shutting down


Art_de_Cat

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http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-stores/index.html?sr=fbCNN031418companies0635PMStory

 

It looks like Toys R Us is closing down.  Even though we didnt have one in my earliest years, still have memories when it finally did arrive during the snes years.  Sad to see it go, suprised it is happening in a way.  What are your thoughts?  Will you be a TrU kid for life?  Favorite memory?  Share and discuss

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Must have been all the Palutena amiibo they overstocked. Damn you NIntendo! 

 

in all seriousness, sad to see them go. I loved that store as a kid--I'd remember spending my allowance on a new Lego set every few weeks as a kid and they had like E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. I probably would have bought stuff there regularly--like their amiibo--if I happened to live close to one as an adult. I also am thinking about how I'll never see my niece old enough to go into a store and have their eyes light up at the sight of all the toys--like, idk, amazon won't have the same effect being pictures.

 

This is the new era of online stores I suppose, and specialized retail may be a thing of the past. RIP TRU, you'll be missed. 

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Not only will it be missed for the memories it left us, but there’ll be another group of people without work, which sucks for the thousands that’ll be out of a job with retail’s days being numbered, or at least losing the presence it once had. I have a cousin whose worked at Toys R Us for years because he liked being there, but now....

 

Technology evolving is wonderful but at the same time sucks.

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Two months ago, my local/childhood one was announced for closure as part of the 180 stores stated for closure to help TRU get out of financial trouble. It was actually a pretty rough patch for me, accepting that my childhood store was closing, where there were so many memories with Pokemon, Yugioh, campouts, midnight releases, etc with friends and family and the fact I won't be able to go back to that store and make new memories while still having nostalgia from the old ones still bothers me. I accepted that if closing down a few stores such as my local one, could potentially result in saving other stores and the franchise, then I would be ok in the long run.

 

But two months later, everything is going just like Blockbuster (something I still miss to this day) and I am honestly shocked that this came so soon. I thought that the company would try and rebrand itself, shutting down stores, becoming more prominent online, lowering prices in aspects, etc. What was the point of announcing 180 store closures to help their brand if all they would do is just have the white flag and give up all of their US and UK stores two months later? Makes no sense to me. I guess they figured they would be screwed no matter what.

 

What's even more annoying about this is that 33,000 people are losing their jobs because of this. That's so many and I feel so badly for those people. I also feel badly for the  collectors and casual ToysRus customers who don't have this store to turn to anymore. I think what's shocking the most was that this was really the only toy store left. Now we have Walmart and Amazon, which I hate both. People did complain about the high prices about TRU, but they price matched. They also had great exclusives for many franchises. I have no idea what this means for the toy industry now. Hasbro and Mattel are struggling and I really want to know where and how companies will distribute their products without TRU. 

 

Times are changing. Like I said it is like Blockbuster. No one wants to go out and physically get things anymore. It's just online now and it's making people lazier. Though digital movies imo is a great thing, though I wish we had the stores like Blockbuster still to rent from. Also parents are giving kids tablets now with games at such an earlier age. It's like they are gonna have cell phones at 6 years old. I think what kind of bugs me the most at the moment, is that if I do have kids, they won't be able to cherish, let alone walk in a toy store ever. 

 

Based on nostalgia, Blockbuster and TRU are my two favorite stores and they will always be held dearly to me. It sucks personally that my two favorite stores had to go. I really wonder if Gamestop will be next, but that's a different topic for a different thread. For now, just gotta say thank you to TRU, to all the employees and to all the people who supported it through the years. Hopefully a smaller toy store chain will emerge out of this. I read that a different buyer was looking to purchase the Canadian locations along with 200 US stores so I'll hold out hope for that. But we will see.

 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Ridley Prime said:

Not only will it be missed for the memories it left us, but there’ll be another group of people without work, which sucks for the thousands that’ll be out of a job with retail’s days being numbered, or at least losing the presence it once had. I have a cousin whose worked at Toys R Us for years because he liked being there, but now....

 

Technology evolving is wonderful but at the same time sucks.

 

The way I look at it is the population is growing and so should jobs, places where people can work and businesses grow. That was really the blueprint to society. But with the internet now, the population is at a all time high and the job market is dwindling, being sucked up like the last sips of an apple juice box. It's scary to think what can happen if this continues to happen down the road. My local mall looks like it's about ready to close down. 

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Grew up with my local one since I was young. Bought my last 3ds from it (original one not 3ds XL). Have had far too many memories at it.

Went to more than my share of Pokemon events there. Got a legit Mew from it and got a complement about my Game Boy SP NES edition from one of the managers who worked there.

It's one of the good Toys R' Us's and I hope to try to make one last purchase there. It's the least I can do.
 

I feel horrible for all of the people who are losing their jobs thanks to this closing. All due to Bain Capital. The very one and the same company that caused KB Toys to close down.

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First year I started working there was the year Wii came out.  I started working in September and managed to save up enough cash by launch date to go completely HAM with software and accessories alongside the console.  It was one of my first major purchases and my bro and I even lined up at around 4am just to preorder the thing when they went live and I'll never forget that we got the second to last preorder so we got there just in time.  I was pretty proud of myself for being able to manage that since the timing with being hired was perfect.

 

Since then it has been an adventure learning and moving my way around and up in the store and making friends of coworkers that I will remember for a lifetime.  Never expected to be there as long as I have and I'm really disappointed that this is how things have to end.  I fear more for the people who have created careers and had their lives centered around the company to support themselves and now they're gonna be back on the job hunt.  Some of these people have been with the company for 25+ years, starting their work when I was still in elementary school.  Back when buying games required you to take tickets up to a booth to get a copy because they didn't yet establish a dedicated electronics department (RZone).

 

it's rough and I'm not looking forward to the reactions my fellow coworkers and customers alike will have over the next few months as the reality of things slowly start to settle in as the shelves empty out and the building slowly becomes little more than an open warehouse.

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@KefkaFFVIWell said.

 

As for me my fondest memories as kid with TRU up here in the true north is playing SM64 at the kiosk in the video game section. What I didn't know then that same Christmas, I would get N64 and I think it was at the TRU and same day I played SM64 too. Just didn't get SM64, I bought my first game at local rental video and video game store similar to blockbuster (we had blockbuster up here in Canada) but called Rogers Videos. I end up getting Mischief Maker, thought it was dumb game by the box art but its a hidden gem of game.

 

I have other memories but that is the one memory that stand out and where I also bought my Wii from. (not from the same location where I got the N64) I have quite story behind that waiting in the cold of  March 31, 2007 .(a day before April fool)

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I mentioned the yellow ticket procedure to getting a game? Well I did that multiple times. I remember getting the Gameboy Pocket, my first Game Boy, at this TRU. My first game was Batman Forever. I was really into Batman at that point, but my mom warned me that this maybe too hard of a game. I wanted to get it anyways and she was right. I couldn’t figure out how to get past the first level and neither could she! I remember going back some time later to pick up Kirby’s Dreamland 2. I was a big Kirby fan and this game was much easier for the 7 year old me. 

 

Then the Pokemon craze happened. ToysRUs and Pokemon went hand in hand and still do to this day. Pokemon Red, my very first Pokemon game was purchased at ToysRus along with a strategy guide, and I never looked back. I was hooked. I remember we happened to be there one Sunday and was lucky to find out a new Pokemon TCG series was released. Seeing as how quick Pokemon cards came and went, we quickly jumped on a lot of packs. It was the fossil expansion. I remember returning to TRU to get Pokemon Yellow. I believe it was right before my Grandparents come over to dinner. They were from Italy, and my parents wanted me to be focused on them, but all I wanted to do was play the game. I was able to do both!


Pokemon continued throughout the years. I got my favorite games, Gold and Silver there with my brother in October 2000. We would go to TRU usually every Sunday and I believe that’s when this game came out, or when we were able to pick it up. We would go to our family’s restaurant up the street following or before a TRU adventure. Sunday’s were for me, my brother and my mom. I really do miss those days going with the two of them. I hope we can go a few more times before they officially close this one. 

 

Then there was Yugioh tournaments every Saturday for a certain point of time. I really loved it. It brought people together, we got cool prizes and it was something fun for me and my brother to do. My mom really enjoyed it to. Seeing us have so much fun. Why does that place have to go? 

I could go on and on with memories. I seem to make new ones every year still there. Though this will apparently be the last one. The last few years have had Nintendo amiibo releases that we camped out for, I got my NES classic at this ToyRus. Star Wars has had their Force Friday events here where they open the store at midnight to see the first looks at the new waves of Star Wars toys, along with some freebees. 

 

I think one of my best memories came in 2010 though. It was the release of Pokemon Heart Gold and Should Silver, remakes of the games me and my brother got ten years ago at the same TRU. It has always been a tradition to get the Pokemon games at TRU and that year was no different. Nintendo and TRU would team up and give away so many cool things. I took a lot of pictures that day, because I was so excited and happy. It was as if TRU was honoring us as customers who shopped there, with all of those free stuff they gave out. If I can find those pictures I’ll post them. I remember buying my brother a copy and being so excited to give it to him. I woke up early for this release and when I got back, he was still sleeping. I left it next to him for him to wake up to.

 

But one moment stands out that day. I saw this younger kid, maybe a preteen, early teen, come out of the store with maybe his father? Maybe he was going in? I can’t remember, it cant be either one. He came out really happy and jumping for joy that he got this game, smiling with excitement and it’s all because his father loved him and wanted to make him happy. I remember seeing how cute that moment was and I smiled, wanting to cry.  It really represents what this store, well TRU in general has done for so many years. 

Edited by Eliwoodman12
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Sweet stories guys!

 

I just remembered a TRU dream I had one Christmas. It was a bad year, wasn't going to get anything for Christmas. I went to bed and fell asleep and had a dream that I was at Toys R' Us, surrounded by a ton of gifts. And just as I was about to unwrap one of them, I woke up. Needless to say, the dream was so realistic that I thought it was real. :P  So I guess, TRU was a big enough part of my own life that it even showed up in my dreams.

Edited by Doc Brown
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32 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Sweet stories guys!

 

I just remembered a TRU dream I had one Christmas. It was a bad year, wasn't going to get anything for Christmas. I went to bed and fell asleep and had a dream that I was at Toys R' Us, surrounded by a ton of gifts. And just as I was about to unwrap one of them, I woke up. Needless to say, the dream was so realistic that I thought it was real. :P  So I guess, TRU was a big enough part of my own life that it even showed up in my dreams.

 

I feel like majority of my Christmas items came from TRU growing up. I got the gold N64 which was amazing.

 

I remember those kids shows on Nick where they had to stuff everything in their cart in a certain time limit and reach the end and they got to keep whatever they put in their cart. I wish I could have done that. That was the dream right there.

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Eliwoodman12 said:

 

I feel like majority of my Christmas items came from TRU growing up. I got the gold N64 which was amazing.

 

I remember those kids shows on Nick where they had to stuff everything in their cart in a certain time limit and reach the end and they got to keep whatever they put in their cart. I wish I could have done that. That was the dream right there.

 

 

Same here in part! Awesome.

 

I do too. I remember signing up for that! Didn't win though. Heck yea it was.

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I'm going to miss all the exclusives Toys Я Us used to have.  I remember they had Mario wristbands for sale online but I thought I would buy them later, then they went out of stock, and then I never saw them again.  Never.  Not with collectors, not on eBay, but I do know they existed.  Oh well. 

 

But yeah, TЯU had some pretty great Mario exclusives.  RIP.

Edited by The Ultimate Mario Fan
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11 hours ago, The Ultimate Mario Fan said:

I'm going to miss all the exclusives Toys Я Us used to have.  I remember they had Mario wristbands for sale online but I thought I would buy them later, then they went out of stock, and then I never saw them again.  Never.  Not with collectors, not on eBay, but I do know they existed.  Oh well. 

 

But yeah, TЯU had some pretty great Mario exclusives.  RIP.

They had great exclusives even to this day for a lot of franchises.

 

How old are those Mario wristbands. May take a peak around for you.

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Far as toys, mostly remember being psyched for getting the Luke and Vader lightsabers when the original trilogy was getting its 1997 re-release. Got the Darth Maul one from there too iirc, but it didn’t make those lightsaber sound effects that the others did and thus felt cheaper. Was still good material for Halloween though.

 

Since it was brought up, I had Batman Forever but on SNES. No matter the platform, the game was mostly hard because of how oddly designed it was. AVGN easily showed its faults in his shitty Batman games montage. lol

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7 hours ago, Ridley Prime said:

Far as toys, mostly remember being psyched for getting the Luke and Vader lightsabers when the original trilogy was getting its 1997 re-release. Got the Darth Maul one from there too iirc, but it didn’t make those lightsaber sound effects that the others did and thus felt cheaper. Was still good material for Halloween though.

 

Since it was brought up, I had Batman Forever but on SNES. No matter the platform, the game was mostly hard because of how oddly designed it was. AVGN easily showed its faults in his shitty Batman games montage. lol

Awesome. Always wanted one of those! :) 

 

Holy cow!

 

Just found some Toy Run commercials!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last one reminds me of the one I signed up for! 

Edited by Doc Brown
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8 hours ago, Eliwoodman12 said:

They had great exclusives even to this day for a lot of franchises.

 

How old are those Mario wristbands. May take a peak around for you.

Hey thanks paisano!  But those wristbands are probably almost ten years old at this point..  I know some were Frog Suit Mario, Raccoon Mario, and Victory-Pose Mario, among others.  I haven't seen them since, and only saw them at TЯU.  As soon as I was ready to buy them, they disappeared.

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7 hours ago, Ridley Prime said:

Far as toys, mostly remember being psyched for getting the Luke and Vader lightsabers when the original trilogy was getting its 1997 re-release. Got the Darth Maul one from there too iirc, but it didn’t make those lightsaber sound effects that the others did and thus felt cheaper. Was still good material for Halloween though.

 

Since it was brought up, I had Batman Forever but on SNES. No matter the platform, the game was mostly hard because of how oddly designed it was. AVGN easily showed its faults in his shitty Batman games montage. lol

 

I got the Luke one from the power of the force line. Not sure if it was from Toys R Us but it probably was. I think I had the same Maul. It just lit up but didn't make any sound effects. I appreciated it though cause the lightsaber slid all the way down compared to the 1997 lightsabers. 

 

As I mentioned above my first Gameboy game was Batman Forever. My mom was trying to convince me not to get it because she knew it would probably be too hard for the 7 year old me. I loved Batman though so I got it. My mom turned out to be right and we couldn't figure out how to get past the first level trying to get up the flights of floors. 

 

 

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