R.I.P. Toys R Us

[dth1971]

The Toys R Us chain is going belly up following bankruptcy and closing its 800 remaining stores by Summer 2018.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

My local Toys R Us closed about 10 years ago, but this truely is the end of an era.

 

[jaylop97]

I live near one and it is a shame it will be empty when driving up around those parts.

 

[RandomMe]

We still have two stores in Braga. In Portugal, it's licensed to the Spanish branch. Though not all international brances will close. North America and possibly the UK are affected.

 

[Zeether]

Meanwhile, from the ashes...

http://www.toyhypeusa.com/2018/03/18/toys-r-us-may-be-gone-soon-but-kb-toys-just-may-have-come-back/

 

[Fone Bone]

Meanwhile, from the ashes...

http://www.toyhypeusa.com/2018/03/18/toys-r-us-may-be-gone-soon-but-kb-toys-just-may-have-come-back/

This would be a good consolation prize.

Anyone know which are the 200 Toys R Us locations the buyout is trying to save?

 

[Classic Speedy]

Y'know, to be honest I never went to Toys R Us much, even when I was the target audience. My local variety store had TMNT action figures, so that base was covered, and I usually shopped for video games at Wal-Mart/K-Mart or Funcoland when it was still operating.

I think I bought one video game there and I can't remember what it was. It was from the SNES era, I remember that much.

 

[RandomMe]

International operations will be sold off but I believe the name will be retained. The new Iberian license holder will be decided soon.

 

[Daikun]

The news just gets worse: The founder passed away.

 

[jaylop97]

That's pretty sad that the founder passed away around this time. May he rest in peace.

 

[TsWade2]

This is so sad. It's part of my childhood. I think the reason why it went downhill because they don't believe of the trend of the internet. That's what my brother told me, but I'm not sure.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

This is so sad. It's part of my childhood. I think the reason why it went downhill because they don't believe of the trend of the internet. That's what my brother told me, but I'm not sure.

Yeah probably. When my local Toys r Us closed about 10 years ago, my dad said he read in the newspaper that people would rather buy toys at places like Target and Wal Mart.

 

[TsWade2]

Yeah probably. When my local Toys r Us closed about 10 years ago, my dad said he read in the newspaper that people would rather buy toys at places like Target and Wal Mart.

That maybe possible as well.

 

[RandomMe]

Toys could become a viable option again if the tendency to use smartphones and tablets will reduced. That would be good for our health but at this rate it's irreversible.

 

[Nobodyman]

While Toys R Us was never one of my most frequent places to shop as a kid, I still do have fond memories of it. Mostly video game-related, actually.

I remember when I was kid that, in lieu of having a specialized video game section and/or having them all behind a locked glass case, Toys R Us would basically have an aisle that displayed pictures of all the available video games. And once you decided on one, you would take a matching slip for the game you wanted, bring it to a counter, and the cashier would fetch the game from the backroom. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it since.

Also, Toys R Us is where I bout my Wii and my PS3. But yeah, sad to see it go.

 

[Rabbitearsblog]

Even though I never shopped at Toys R Us when I was younger, it's still sad seeing one of the longest running department stores go out of business. I guess because we are living in a age now where video games and smartphones are dominating what kids are playing, Toys R Us just couldn't compete with that. Hopefully, toys will eventually come back in the future.

 

[Gatordragon]

It wasn't video games, smartphones, or online shopping that killed Toy's R Us. It was billions of dollars of debt from a leveraged buyout. Much of Toys R Us' resources were devoted to paying off that massive debt load rather than staying competitive. Thanks a lot, Bain Capital.

 

[Fone Bone]

It wasn't video games, smartphones, or online shopping that killed Toy's R Us. It was billions of dollars of debt from a leveraged buyout. Much of Toys R Us' resources were devoted to paying off that massive debt load rather than staying competitive. Thanks a lot, Bain Capital.

Mitt Romney's company also killed K-B Toys. That guy is a vulture.