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Toys R US shutting down


Art_de_Cat

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First K.B. Toys and now TRU. 😢 It really is the end of an era. It's gonna be weird taking with someone and saying "Hey remember toy stores?"

 

I gonna miss TRU I have very fond memories of hanging out in their gaming section playing all systems on their demo units. Man their gaming section was awesome back in the day. 

 

I remember my local TRU became a TRU Kids World (TRU, Kids R Us, & Babies R Us all in one store).  back in the day. IIRC, before it became a Kids World there was a KRU or BRU (I don't remember might have been both) right next next store. Must of been why they combined it all into one store. I remember when the Kids World first opened. It was huge and had so many awesome displays. It has since become just a regular TRU  (has baby stuff too) and is still using the expanded building they had when it was a kids world. I actually went to my local TRU earlier this week since I was near by, since it would most likely be the last time I'd ever be there. It's sad to see what's become of it. It's nothing like the amazing Kids World it used to be and it really saddens me to see how shitty their gaming section is compared to back in the day. While there I managed to grab these weird download codes for games you can already download for free on the 3DS eShop. I don't get the point of this and best part is, the codes have an expiration date. XD

 

 

Now that I think of it, if it weren't for TRU, I my not be as big of a gamer and Nintendo fan as I am today. Back in the day I had an NES and Game Boy At day care we had an SNES and a Genesis which I played the hell out of. For some reason I never asked my parents for either of these systems. I guess I was just content with my NES.

 

So, one day me and my parents went to TRU (was a Kids World at this time) to get some baby stuff for my little brother who was only a few months old at the time. While there my dad disappeared for a few minutes and came back with one of those tickets you got to buy games/systems and held it up and said let's get this. Me and my mom were like "OK?" as we were confused as to what he actually wanted to get. 

 

Then me and my dad head back to the gaming section while my mom was with my baby brother still looking at baby stuff. My dad says to me we need a game and proceeded to the N64 games. Right when I saw the selection of N64 games I knew what I was in for. There wasn't much to choose from, as I believe the N64 had only been out a few months at this time, so I chose Super Mario 64, since I had seen it in that N64 promo VHS that was sent out to Nintendo Power subscribers back in the day. For some reason I got that and the Star Fox 64 VHS in the mail and I never had a NP subscription.  I guess Nintendo knew the right person to send those to, because I also ended up getting SF64 cuz of that VHS?

 

Anyway...So we get up to the customer service counter and hand the employee the tickets for SM64 and the N64. When the employee put that N64 box up on the counter, I  stared in awe (looking for at that same box that I still have after all these years as I type this). The next morning I wake up and as I'm heading down stairs I hear the Bob-Omb Battlefield theme and see my dad plopped infrot of TV playing SM64. I sat down next to him and watch for a few mins and then he hands me the controller and the rest is history. I'm not sure why my dad randomly decided to get buy a N64. It wasn't my birthday or anything. Maybe he saw that VHS and thought it looked pretty neat. IDK, because that morning after we got the system was one of the few times he ever played the thing. 

 

Yeah, it's so sad to see TRU go. I'm going to have to go back when they start getting rid of all their stock. I remember when Circuit City went out of business and there were some ridiculous deals on games/accessories/systems.

 

Edited by alienboyva
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On 3/15/2018 at 2:18 AM, 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.

It's worth noting that Toys R Us wasn't put out of business by online shopping. Bain Capital bought a controlling share and installed a terrible CEO whose only purpose was to drain the company's money for top execs and shareholders, bankrupt it, and walk away.

 

Yes, the same tactic by the same Bain Capital that had co-founder Mitt Romney in some nasty headlines a few years back.

 

More reading: http://theweek.com/articles/761124/how-vulture-capitalists-ate-toys-r

 

(That said, last time I walked into Toys R Us they were selling products 25% above MSRP, so it's at least nice to see they won't be ripping anyone off anymore.)

Edited by Destiny Hero
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3 hours ago, Destiny Hero said:

It's worth noting that Toys R Us wasn't put out of business by online shopping. Bain Capital bought a controlling share and installed a terrible CEO whose only purpose was to drain the company's money for top execs and shareholders, bankrupt it, and walk away.

 

Yes, the same tactic by the same Bain Capital that had co-founder Mitt Romney in some nasty headlines a few years back.

 

More reading: http://theweek.com/articles/761124/how-vulture-capitalists-ate-toys-r

 

(That said, last time I walked into Toys R Us they were selling products 25% above MSRP, so it's at least nice to see they won't be ripping anyone off anymore.)

 

This. I believe if TRU never sold, or if these guys never had the debt they accumulated back in 2004, I believe Toys R Us would still be around, for many years to come. The stores would have been kept in better shape with some remodeling, there would probably be better deals with toys (they did keep their prices high, probably because of the debt), and many would still have their jobs. 

 

Yeah Amazon and other retailers would play a factor,  but I believe TRU would have been ahead of the game, especially in online and even if they had to close some stores in the coming years, I think they would be fine. It doesn't help that the rent and taxes a lot of these buildings are in are so incredibly high. I think you are going to see more and more places close over the years simply because they don't want to pay for rent and can just do business online. Which is scary because that will cost a lot of jobs, which is what the internet is doing. 

 

But as far as toy stores and TRU goes, this will suck and it will be interesting to see where most of the toy sales come from. Probably Amazon. To me, Walmart and Target don't really have much to offer and I think it will be harder getting some exclusive toys now. I also feel bad for other companies like mattel, and hasbro who put a lot of product in to TRU. They are probably panicing themselves now.

 

At least TRU is still in Canada, for now. I wish TRU could have just gotten new owners, started over, or something. Make Bain Capital and the ones responsible pay. But I guess that's not how the economy works unfortunately. With that being said, I wonder if we will ever see a new toy store company. 

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28 minutes ago, Eliwoodman12 said:

 

This. I believe if TRU never sold, or if these guys never had the debt they accumulated back in 2004, I believe Toys R Us would still be around, for many years to come. The stores would have been kept in better shape with some remodeling, there would probably be better deals with toys (they did keep their prices high, probably because of the debt), and many would still have their jobs. 

You're reading too much into the debt. I don't think this goes any deeper than executives destroying a beloved company to create a short-term profit for shareholders. That's what Bain Capital does, and that's what our culture encourages.

 

The only recourse I see would be to not sell a controlling share of your company to vultures. Even if consumers try to boycott Bain Capital, they own at least a hundred different companies to hide beyond, who are forced to eat all the risks and are left with all the debt.

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31 minutes ago, Destiny Hero said:

You're reading too much into the debt. I don't think this goes any deeper than executives destroying a beloved company to create a short-term profit for shareholders. That's what Bain Capital does, and that's what our culture encourages.

 

The only recourse I see would be to not sell a controlling share of your company to vultures. Even if consumers try to boycott Bain Capital, they own at least a hundred different companies to hide beyond, who are forced to eat all the risks and are left with all the debt.

 

Yeah, it's too bad they can't get what they deserve. Just seeing the list of other companies they own. I have a bad feeling Staples is going to be next. 

 

Wasn't Bain Capital part of the KB Toys demise as well? 

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3 hours ago, Eliwoodman12 said:

 

Yeah, it's too bad they can't get what they deserve. Just seeing the list of other companies they own. I have a bad feeling Staples is going to be next. 

 

Wasn't Bain Capital part of the KB Toys demise as well? 

Yep. And according to Wikipedia there are plenty of other brands you shouldn't get attached to:

 

"Since inception it has invested in or acquired hundreds of companies including AMC Theatres, Artisan Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Canada Goose, DIC Entertainment, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), iHeartMedia, Sealy, Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group, Fingerhut, The Weather Channel, and Apple Leisure Group, which includes AMResorts and Apple Vacations."

 

I have very foul wishes for people who make billions from leeching off of and destroying what others have worked so hard to create.

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I think it's appropriate to post this video, maybe to digest the info easier, though granted, it was published a few months ago. I'm rather ticked off at the concept of a "leveraged buyout"...and that it effectively killed off the brick and mortar toys business...barring Target and Walmart. I heard smaller toy stores are thriving, that's awesome, but it's also a bittersweet ending here.

3 hours ago, Destiny Hero said:

Yep. And according to Wikipedia there are plenty of other brands you shouldn't get attached to:

 

"Since inception it has invested in or acquired hundreds of companies including AMC Theatres, Artisan Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Canada Goose, DIC Entertainment, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), iHeartMedia, Sealy, Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group, Fingerhut, The Weather Channel, and Apple Leisure Group, which includes AMResorts and Apple Vacations."

 

I have very foul wishes for people who make billions from leeching off of and destroying what others have worked so hard to create.

Let's see...out of the companies they've got, Sports Authority's dead, very soon Toys R Us, and I think I recently heard iHeartMedia filed for bankruptcy. I think Brookstone's downsizing, since they closed down some stores (at least in my area).

Edited by avalonknight
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3 hours ago, Destiny Hero said:

Yep. And according to Wikipedia there are plenty of other brands you shouldn't get attached to:

 

"Since inception it has invested in or acquired hundreds of companies including AMC Theatres, Artisan Entertainment, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Canada Goose, DIC Entertainment, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), iHeartMedia, Sealy, Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group, Fingerhut, The Weather Channel, and Apple Leisure Group, which includes AMResorts and Apple Vacations."

 

I have very foul wishes for people who make billions from leeching off of and destroying what others have worked so hard to create.

Yeah I was looking at that list to earlier today. AMC Theaters are a bit pricey, and they are pretty good but as long as my local theater doesn't ever close, it doesn't matter who is there. BK is the Toysrus of fast food to me, one with so many memories, even though I don't eat much fast food anymore.  I drink Dunkin all the time but they make so much bank it would be impossible for those to close. I pretty much think fast food is safe, but who knows what these corporate dudes are capable of.

 

So let's say 20 years from now, someone wants to bring ToysRus back from the dead, would they have to pay Bain and would that debt still exist? I'm just curious how that would work even though it would never happen for so many reasons. Though ToysRus was bought out in Canada by another company so they still exist there.

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On 3/16/2018 at 11:08 PM, Doc Brown said:

No, unfortunately.  They were cloth and not plastic, and had intricate designs.  They were most definitely licensed too.  Now they're probably so rare that no one knows they're rare.  I'm having trouble finding their images online.

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Not altogether tied with this topic... or maybe it is, I dunno.  But for those planning on taking advantage of liquidation/clearance "sales" and the like, for the love of god please be courteous to the staff. The past few days alone have been filled with people acting like entitled jerks (to put it nicely) because the stores are soon to close and they're out looking for a deal.  I don't mean people coming in and asking when liquidation is starting because that's innocent and general enough, but people coming in with an attitude because we don't have a certain item in stock (for obvious reasons), twisting the knife with snide comments when they can't haggle their way down to a lower price (because we aren't in liquidation yet and so until that time it's still business as usual) or generally being nasty or rude for other reasons. Don't get me wrong, I'm always down to check out good deals too but just be considerate about it.  There is a lot that is still out of our hands and will be even moreso when the assets are no longer ours to control at which point any kind of haggling will need to be handled by the supervisor overseeing the liquidation process, not TRU/BRU staff.

 

For the most part people have been generally kind and understanding.  Most I've talked to about the situation would actually stop and chat about their memories and how unfair it is that things turned out this way.  One lady who was pregnant was almost at the point to tears because her children will be born after the store are gone and they will grow up in a world without Toys R Us.  But I know the closer we get to the closing date there will be less of those people and more of the "vultures" so to speak.  So yeah just, exercise some discretion.

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I'm sad to hear that. I did rely on them for my amiibo hunting and I got a good amount from them even if I had to pay a dollar extra for them. I used to remember lining up during the amiibo craze early in the morning along with other people. I did go other times to maybe buy a game that happened to be on sale or get a toy gift for one of my cousin's. Man I still feel sad as well when KB Toys left all them years ago as well. :(

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On 3/17/2018 at 2:37 AM, alienboyva said:

First K.B. Toys and now TRU. 😢 It really is the end of an era. It's gonna be weird taking with someone and saying "Hey remember toy stores?"

 

I gonna miss TRU I have very fond memories of hanging out in their gaming section playing all systems on their demo units. Man their gaming section was awesome back in the day. 

 

I remember my local TRU became a TRU Kids World (TRU, Kids R Us, & Babies R Us all in one store).  back in the day. IIRC, before it became a Kids World there was a KRU or BRU (I don't remember might have been both) right next next store. Must of been why they combined it all into one store. I remember when the Kids World first opened. It was huge and had so many awesome displays. It has since become just a regular TRU  (has baby stuff too) and is still using the expanded building they had when it was a kids world. I actually went to my local TRU earlier this week since I was near by, since it would most likely be the last time I'd ever be there. It's sad to see what's become of it. It's nothing like the amazing Kids World it used to be and it really saddens me to see how shitty their gaming section is compared to back in the day. While there I managed to grab these weird download codes for games you can already download for free on the 3DS eShop. I don't get the point of this and best part is, the codes have an expiration date. XD

 

 

Now that I think of it, if it weren't for TRU, I my not be as big of a gamer and Nintendo fan as I am today. Back in the day I had an NES and Game Boy At day care we had an SNES and a Genesis which I played the hell out of. For some reason I never asked my parents for either of these systems. I guess I was just content with my NES.

 

So, one day me and my parents went to TRU (was a Kids World at this time) to get some baby stuff for my little brother who was only a few months old at the time. While there my dad disappeared for a few minutes and came back with one of those tickets you got to buy games/systems and held it up and said let's get this. Me and my mom were like "OK?" as we were confused as to what he actually wanted to get. 

 

Then me and my dad head back to the gaming section while my mom was with my baby brother still looking at baby stuff. My dad says to me we need a game and proceeded to the N64 games. Right when I saw the selection of N64 games I knew what I was in for. There wasn't much to choose from, as I believe the N64 had only been out a few months at this time, so I chose Super Mario 64, since I had seen it in that N64 promo VHS that was sent out to Nintendo Power subscribers back in the day. For some reason I got that and the Star Fox 64 VHS in the mail and I never had a NP subscription.  I guess Nintendo knew the right person to send those to, because I also ended up getting SF64 cuz of that VHS?

 

Anyway...So we get up to the customer service counter and hand the employee the tickets for SM64 and the N64. When the employee put that N64 box up on the counter, I  stared in awe (looking for at that same box that I still have after all these years as I type this). The next morning I wake up and as I'm heading down stairs I hear the Bob-Omb Battlefield theme and see my dad plopped infrot of TV playing SM64. I sat down next to him and watch for a few mins and then he hands me the controller and the rest is history. I'm not sure why my dad randomly decided to get buy a N64. It wasn't my birthday or anything. Maybe he saw that VHS and thought it looked pretty neat. IDK, because that morning after we got the system was one of the few times he ever played the thing. 

 

Yeah, it's so sad to see TRU go. I'm going to have to go back when they start getting rid of all their stock. I remember when Circuit City went out of business and there were some ridiculous deals on games/accessories/systems.

 

I remember when KB shut down and when Circuit City went down. Soon after I got Pokemon Emerald and my NES Game Boy SP from it. Liked that store better than Best Buy. It was too bad when it closed.

 

Definitely. 

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On 3/17/2018 at 3:15 PM, Eliwoodman12 said:

 

Yeah, it's too bad they can't get what they deserve. Just seeing the list of other companies they own. I have a bad feeling Staples is going to be next. 

 

Wasn't Bain Capital part of the KB Toys demise as well? 

Yep. Fuck Bain Capital. They give new meaning to taking candy from a baby.

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17 hours ago, avalonknight said:

I think it's appropriate to post this video, maybe to digest the info easier, though granted, it was published a few months ago. I'm rather ticked off at the concept of a "leveraged buyout"...and that it effectively killed off the brick and mortar toys business...barring Target and Walmart. I heard smaller toy stores are thriving, that's awesome, but it's also a bittersweet ending here.

Let's see...out of the companies they've got, Sports Authority's dead, very soon Toys R Us, and I think I recently heard iHeartMedia filed for bankruptcy. I think Brookstone's downsizing, since they closed down some stores (at least in my area).

Damn. I like iHeartMedia. Swear Bain Capital just loves to drain the life out of companies and then leave them for dead.

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16 hours ago, The Ultimate Mario Fan said:

No, unfortunately.  They were cloth and not plastic, and had intricate designs.  They were most definitely licensed too.  Now they're probably so rare that no one knows they're rare.  I'm having trouble finding their images online.

That's too bad. Hope you can find them some day. Have you tried to check via ebay?

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I've had a lot of memories of getting various video game stuff from TRU once they opened here in my town.  I think my first game from their store was F Zero on the SNES.  Can't say 100% for sure if we ever got an NES games from them because I think they came to town as the NES was in its later years.

 

Kind of sad to see them go but my own company I have been with 20 years this month is kind of in the same boat financially speaking even if a lot of the work they are doing to "fix" the issues are slowly working to right the ship if you will.  Trust me, I have done some company trips to closing stores to either pick up not needed fixtures for my own store or taking slow moving freight to them for them to sell out via their own liquidation.  Its a somber experience if you ever have to do it.

 

My take on the online commerce killing brick and mortar is somewhat neutral.  I mean, Amazon pockets all those prime memberships up front, to cover costs in some cases for  ... shipping.... prime video ... ect... maybe even profit margins.  I personally never got why I would want to pay you up front for free shipping when I could do a $35 order and get free shipping but I digress.  Also, on a lot of things, Amazon used to be cheaper but now, they are almost always in-line or +/- $2 on things like games, movies, cds, ect....  In terms of my own company and in dealing mostly with the likes of Best Buy as far as buy online and in-store pick up.... a lot of times online us undercutting your instore pricing because they can cut out the middlemen, that being the employees running the store versus some guy in a warehouse pulling a box.  Then people see the online price and come in to buy it only to find out its online only for the price.  Customers come to your store expecting items to be in stock.  Some people ought to look up business practices of loss leaders and what not...  You can also get into profit margins and markups but then think about the chain that gets a product from the company offering it all the way to the retailer that sells it.... there's a lot of costs you don't see.  How about all those merchant fees for your credit cards?  Interest on carrying inventory?  Cash isn't always cheaper as you have to pay people to count and deposit it....

 

 

ANYWAY, onto a brighter note.....  TRU..... and memories....

 

I do remember the aisles of cards that you took up front for them to pull your game out from behind the warehouse/cage.

 

I remember getting F Zero there.

 

I remember blazing out of the house to get A Link to the Past.

 

I remember they got MK64 in a day earlier than Electronics Boutique and my brother and I decided we'd pay the premium to get there... I think they were $10 more.

 

Camped out and got my Wii there. Missed lots of PO opportunities with GS and so the night before release I had stopped by to see if they were having extras and the guy said they did get some stock over their PO allotment but if I wanted one I needed to get there early.  Got in the parking lot at 5am that morning.... and yeah, my brother and I got one each and were two if the first 3 in line.

 

Got somewhat hosed on their screw up wit the POs for TPCE with that Gold Zelda controller.  They did make it right in terms of getting whatever controller I wanted along with the game but the point was I did the PO for the whole package and luckily I found one ditched at the farthest back possible corner of a cabinet at my local Target at around 7pm that day and then got my copy from TRU with free random controller to give my brother as a Christmas present.

 

Got my WiiU there.

 

Got MK8 there with the B1G1 sale they had as I was getting a copy for myself and the other was going to be my brother's birthday present.

 

Many a Amiibogeddon was done there in terms of camping out early to score the figures I wanted.  Ohh the tales....

 

Got my NES Classic there on that fateful 2nd restock morning.  Ohh the tales of that one....

 

Got Mario Maker there along with Amiibos that released that day.

 

Got Yoshi's Woolly World and associated Amiibos there.

 

Did a lot of double dips on Amiibos there with some of their good buy multiple at  discount sales.

 

Scored a sweet Mario themed 3DS case for $2 that held more games than the original case I had bought.

 

Scored Mario Kart 7 early Sunday morning on release day.

 

 

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Found another list of what Bain Capital owns.

 

https://www.baincapitalventures.com/company-list/

 

A lot. Not even including the off line stuff they own.

 

Here's one that includes more of their off line stuff:  https://www.baincapitalprivateequity.com/portfolio

 

Here's the full one of both current and former companies: https://www.baincapitalprivateequity.com/portfolio/current-and-former-portfolio-companies

 

Shit. They own Michael's. I love that place.

Edited by Doc Brown
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