Toys R Us

[legios]

Smyths have very much been gunning quite aggressively for TRU since they came into the UK. They seem to have made a policy of opening pretty much in TRU's pockets when they opened in the same town and proceeding to leach away a lot of its customer base. They also made moves into towns that TRU had never gone near - like Falkirk and sowed those up before TRU managed to even try and change its strategy. It will be interesting to see how it pans out now that it is really a straight shot between The Entertainer and Smyths.

Sad for the employees of the chain, but given the extremely glum faces I saw when I was in there last weekend I kind of suspect that they had an inkling this was in the wind.

(May need to get down to my local TRU before it closes though, rehome that plush siberian tiger I keep thinking about adopting...)

Karl

[Jim]

Feb 28, 2018 18:18:27 GMT Benn said:

Toys R Us has never really been a part of my life, I don't drive, and as a kid our folks never seemed interested in travelling the half hour plus to get to the nearest (can't think why!), so I won't really miss it.

Similarly, I've never been to a Smythes.

It's not so much of a wrench for me, really. Nothing much will change.

The few times I've been to the one in Derby it's always seemed cold, overpriced and despite being overflowing, never having anything actually you want to buy. There are times when I've been surprised TRU has lasted as long as it has.

Derby was my local growing up! I remember it opening, even, though we went rarely. The first toy (and maybe last?) I got there was Action Force (or maybe it had become GI Joe: The Action Force by then) Shockwave. Otherwise we used to get budget Atari ST games on our occasional trips there.

I have pretty much the same feelings as you, I never much enjoyed shopping at them, but I have a twinge of sadness thinking back on toy hunts past.

It isn't clear what's happening over here yet. The Berlin ones still seem to be going, as is their website. The stores are very much like English branches inside, but they tend more to be on high streets in shopping centres - there's a bit more space for that kind of thing here.

[The Doctor]

I never liked their shops and used them out of necessity but when other options came along (more toys in supermarkets, Smyths, broadband making online shopping easier, mates on here helping me get stuff) I went less and less. I stopped going other than once in a blue moon due to two things:

-The switch to products in baskets rather than proper shelving. Made the shops feel cheap and nasty.
-The local stores never actually sold advertised TRU Transformer exclusives! Items I could only get from TRU weren't, er, sold by TRU.

Not the staff's fault. Nick of this parish worked for them for years. Just a badly mismanaged and complacent company that failed to move with the times.

I rarely went to TRU as a kid due to the 'we want you to hand your bags to us before we allow you to shop in our store' policy.

I honestly won't miss TRU though hope the staff aren't screwed over and are properly supported financially.

[Pinwig]

This is all very sad of course, it's nice to have toy shops to go and look round, but I think when it comes to TRU my gut feeling is always one of disappointment. Maybe it's because the Portsmouth one is apparently so popular, but whenever I go in there I always know that they won't have what I'm after, or have seen other stores have from online reports. I gave up going there really because I just knew the chances of finding something I was after were zero. I assumed that was because it was just a useless shop, but seeing it listed in the top tier of the six levels when the shops were all rated for closure recently made me think perhaps it's just a popular shop and always sells out quickly. Or is frequented by regular scalpers. There must be some working round here because of the way those seven Sky Shadows vanished out of B&M.

[Fortmax2020]

The first time I went to a TRU they had everything I had gone their on purpose to find (a bit of an adventure to get there) so it was worthwhile. Came away with the newly advertised Autorollers, a Laser Bike and some G2 Gobots. The next time I went a month later I was barely able to find a lonesome Cyberjet. Looking back after many visits I can see how I was just incredibly lucky on that first visit.

Low stock, demotivated staff and hard to get to locations. Little wonder time is being called.

[Philip Ayres]

brickset.com/article/34616/toys-r-us-uk-goes-into-administration

Other key debtors included Lego and Hasbro, both owed more than £5 million, and Mattel which was owed £3.5 million.

[Fortmax2020]

Ouch.

[Bogatan]

I sometime wonder if TRU is screwed over by the likes of Hasbro, its all well and good getting all those exclusives but do they come with strings attached like needing to order large volumes of wave 1 stock. Because that would kind of screw them. Supermarkets and Argos, anyone not 100% toys can afford to reduce excess stock as loss leaders? (or whatever the term is) The othe toys shops dont get exclusives so maybe can order only what they think they'll need.

Having said that TRU refusal to clearance stock in a sensible time frame has always baffled me. Who thinks its a good idea to keep stock on the shelves so long that by the time they do finally disappear people are already starting to get nostalgic for them? Its not long since mine still had FOC data discs. They just seemed to bounce from too much of the latest items to half the shelves filed with obsolete ones.

[legios]

Mar 1, 2018 8:14:20 GMT The Doctor said:

I rarely went to TRU as a kid due to the 'we want you to hand your bags to us before we allow you to shop in our store' policy.

I remember them trying that one on me a couple of times.(I never saw a TRU until I was an adult) The first time I asked pointedly whether they were assuming financial responsibility for my property, and then said that unless they were then I wasn't surrendering it to their keeping. Which seemed to settle the matter. The second time someone told me that "you have to give me your bag", and I said "no I don't" and gave them a look that said "feel free to try and make me". Also ended the matter.

The one here has a sign at the exit (not the entrance) saying "we reserve the right to search all bags". No-one has ever tried though. It would be interesting to see what happened if they tried to enforce that, given that they have no legal powers of search or seizure - would they actually be willing to attempt a Citizen's Arrest, and where would that conversation go once the prospect of a suit for false arrest got mentioned...

Karl

[Philip Ayres]

Just had a "closing down sale in all stores" email from TRU

[Pinwig]

Dare I brave the snow to see what's left TF wise...

Actually, not because I'm looking for a deal, more that £47 for the PotP leaders felt like a worthy purchase.

[legios]

I would have been in past anyway when I was in town today - except that a lack of public transport, combined with cold weather being contra-indicated for my asthma has convinced me to stay put. S'only toys - I can wait until the weather improves.

Karl

[Baron B of Triple B]

Kids had cabin fever so took them out and happened to go into TRU Govan.

It's upto 25% off, only stuff I could see at 25% off were soft toys. Majority was 20% off including TFs. Lego, Trolls and Little Live Pets were 10% off.

Most of the stock was rotten as always though and even with discount could be got much cheaper elsewhere. It was all TLK Allspark tech, deluxes, 1-steps and Legions at full price and RiD Warriors and Legions at full price. Sadly no TLK Primus.

Did pick up a couple of older RiD toys that don't seem to show up in other stores for Murray's birthday. Bisk, the orange version of Drift, 1-step Strongarm.

Did pick up the Optimus Prime and Bumblebee fidget cubes and Marvel Evolution of Groot for myself.

[The Doctor]

If time and weather allows I may swing by on Sunday at the Craigleith store to see if they still have TR Cosmos whether it is reduced or not.

Remember be super polite when making purchases. Folk working there may not have new jobs to go to.

-Ralph

[primenova]

But do the £10 off £20 spend at Hull vouchers I have still valid?

[Philip Ayres]

Almost certainly not

[Baron B of Triple B]

Mar 3, 2018 8:00:42 GMT primenova said:

But do the £10 off £20 spend at Hull vouchers I have still valid?

The first thing they will do in Administration is suspend gift cards and promotional vouchers because they need to maximise income for the creditors.

[Pinwig]

Popped down on my way to the supermarket. Well I say popped, traffic mayhem due to the fact no one's been anywhere for a couple of days. Nothing left to buy really. The shelves are already half empty, but even 20% off an RiD Thermidor didn't seem a good deal when it's £18 to start with. Besides, buying madness has gripped Portsmouth. The queue for the tills was up and down the aisles. Almost went for a £4 Missy figure, the colour I don't have of the two moulds, but it wouldn't have been worth the wait to get out.

Made me wonder if people were buying things just so they could say they got a deal or whether they actually wanted what they were clutching, given 20% off TRU prices is still pretty expensive for most things.

[KnightBeat]

I visited Toys R Us in Hemel Hampstead earlier today - one of the small town centre shops opened 2-3 years ago - in the hope of finding some bargains. It's completely empty and doesn't even have a sign on or above the door to show it had been a TRU.

[reilly2040]

I'm hoping to chance the Forge next weekend to see if any of those Primus exclusives are left. Like everyone else I would've made it this weekend except for the weather.

[Nigel]

Cardiff was one of those stores that were first to go, and I broke my self-imposed embargo on anything to do with The Last Knight to get some bargains. Plus a few Generations - Seaspray, Cosmos and Roadburn. At this point, half the store was cordoned off, those shelves empty, but there was still a near-full endcap of Transformers, mainly TLK with some RID combiners and a few of the expensive, exclusive Generations box sets. (The one TFTM set with Ultra Magnus and friends still sadly a bit steep for me at the time even with the discounts.)

[Philip Ayres]

I'm hearing reports of some stores all but cleared out!

[Bogatan]

Which is insane, because almost nothing was cheaper than it has been available eleswhere in the last few months.

Hell the transformers were far better value during the BOGO50% 2 months ago. And most of the TRU TLK exclusves have since been put back up to full price too.

[browny87]

yeah York TRU is barren which is a joke as its all still more expensive than anywhere else even with closing down discount!

[Nigel]

When Cardiff was winding down, Transformers were 40% off (some of those on top of previous reductions). Other brands varied: I remember seeing some 25% off, others 30%.

[Philip Ayres]

Toys ‘R’ Us Is Prepping to Liquidate Its U.S. Operations

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-08/toys-r-us-said-to-be-prepping-liquidation-of-u-s-operations

[Philip Ayres]

Cardiff Bay Toys R Us store site 'to become beach'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-43336493

[Philip Ayres]

Toys R Us seeks bidders ahead of Friday deadline

toyworldmag.co.uk/news/toys-r-us-seeks-bidders-ahead-of-friday-deadline/

[Jim]

Still no word on what's going on here in Germany. I even got the first catalogue I've seen since the Christmas one last Autumn through the post on Wednesday, and the stores are still going.

The most interesting thing I saw by clicking that link is an advert for some newly launching Voltron combinable toys that look pretty nice!

EDIT: unless they're not new and it's just an old advert, seems they've been out for a while despite what the ad says: www.flairplc.co.uk/All_Products/BlackLion/

[Philip Ayres]

TRU Business timeline

www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/03/09/toys-r-us-timeline-history-nations-top-toy-chain/409230002/

Apparently their previous logo was Dr G Raffe!