So many are sad to see Toys are us close all 800+ stores...guess Amazon HAS taken over. Thoughts?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2018 01:24AM by Irene_L.A..

I didn't know they have been around since the 1940s. I shopped there for myself as an adult (board games).

They've been open for 70 years...I remember buying my daughter toys and she had so much fun looking at dolls and trying to find a "cabbage patch doll" back in the day. Kind sad having everything online.

When I did a lot of merchandising for Premium Retail, I worked there a LOT!! Usually twice a month for over 4 years. I got to know everyone at my local TRU, and they were always glad to see me come in. I stopped the merch work back in 2013, so it's been a few years, but good memories of working there.

Toys r us was in a lot of debt for quite a while, so they did not have the money to invest in or update the stores, thus leading to a poor customer experience.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2018 08:16PM by DavePi.

I think the straw that broke the camel's back was around Christmas when there was a glitch with a coupon code. People took advantage of it, buying hundreds of dollars worth of items and paying nearly NOTHING for them. Most orders got canceled but some were not caught in time and the orders went through. Some people did the site-to-store options and made the store feel like they had to uphold the glitch. It was even on the news where people got mad their orders were canceled but never got a refund. Big mess.

Damn. Chapter 7 too. Amazon taking the presence as the major retailer isn't a good thing.... They're basically the next Wal-Mart. Without competition, we'll be forced to settle with the few retailers available, kind of what it's already like with cable, internet and phone providers.

That's what happens when you pay your people minimum wage, eventually it catches up. They also would not honor price matches. Walmart gets most of the toy business now, they will expand that area.

@spicy1 wrote:

That's what happens when you pay your people minimum wage, eventually it catches up. They also would not honor price matches. Walmart gets most of the toy business now, they will expand that area.

??

So basically the majority of retailers should expect to go bankrupt too? Retail, including Wal-Mart, pays their employees at or near minimum wage with terrible benefits....

No, no, Wal-Mart does not pay their employees at or near minimum wage and they have great benefits if you work there more than 3 months, which many people do not because the U.S. has many, many people who actually do not want to work. And yes, most companies that pay their employees at or near min. will go bankrupt, eventually.

And what's with the ?? Is that supposed to place emphasis on the fact that my statement is so damn ridiculous to you? I don't give a rats ass how it sounds to you. It just makes me respond so incredulously that then I can expect to get yet another hit from the mods. Thanks alot for the asshat thing ?? ?? ?? pfff

@spicy1 wrote:

No, no, Wal-Mart does not pay their employees at or near minimum wage and they have great benefits if you work there more than 3 months, which many people do not because the U.S. has many, many people who actually do not want to work. And yes, most companies that pay their employees at or near min. will go bankrupt, eventually.

And what's with the ?? Is that supposed to place emphasis on the fact that my statement is so damn ridiculous to you? I don't give a rats ass how it sounds to you. It just makes me respond so incredulously that then I can expect to get yet another hit from the mods. Thanks alot for the asshat thing ?? ?? ?? pfff

Lol is the Day Light Savings change getting to you or what? Calm down.... I'm stating a fact... In my state and even in the metro area like Denver, CO, the majority of Wal-Mart associates make $10-12 an hour, which is yes.... Near minimum wage and for many, would qualify you for government assistance if you have any dependents to take care of. I wouldn't call that 'great benefits' by any means...

Retail just doesn't pay... I "heard" Macy's pays 10.00/hr., their now just at the register, not much helping with clothes...that's the way it is. Toys r Us didn't close due to pay, but couldn't stay relevant due to many bad decisions and problems. They paid low for years and stayed open, Amazon and online are probably the main reasons...we all know retail is in trouble with stores closing left and right.

There was an article recently that said " Amazon didn't kill Toys R Us. They did that to themselves." The problems started cropping up way before Amazon.

Toys R Us used to be one of our "outings" when my kids were tots. The store was clean with helpful associates. It was loud and colorful and the kids loved it. As the years went by the store started to look a little dirty with fewer employees. I was sad to hear they are closing but was not surprised.

This also puts MANY Lego merchandisers out of work! Also a company that offered me $9 an hour and wanted up to 40 hours during the holidays. I told her I'm at, or over, $30 an hour during the holidays with merchandising and mystery shopping and would not give that up for 6-12 hours a week. She was insulted, angry and said so. Oh, &(*&(*) well!

Ultimately TRU could not adapt well to the marketplace, keep their brand relevant and give customers a better experience, which seems to be the emerging retail trend. But what really began the unraveling started back around....2005?? Not sure.
Anyone ever heard of Bain Capital?? (I say in jest).
Bain, KKR (Kravis, Kolberg?? & Roberts) and another firm, Vornado I think, bought TRU with some cash and a lot of debt. You know, the LBO, leveraged buyout approach to business. They took hundreds of millions in fees. TRU was saddled with debt payments. That hampered their ability to reinvest in the business remain profitable when controlling costs became all consuming and it caught up with them in the midst of the shifting retail winds and business models.
It's not just Walmart and Amazon's fault.
That is the cliff notes version.
Financiers primarily look for squeezing profits, and not necessarily investing in businesses long term to develop and grow. CEOs used to do that through capital improvements, product development, rebuilding businesses.
If you consider the plans of many surveyed CEOs since the last tax cut, I think I saw a table of responses for what companies planned on doing with their tax relief windfalls that indicated about 41% of those surveyed planned on using the tax relief to increase dividends for shareholders and institutional investors and anyone with a mutual fund IRA or 401k--and stock buybacks. That means the stock prices will go up with increased limited supply, and when some corporate officers exercise their options, their stock is worth more and they pocket more.
I think I saw about 13% planned on raising wages for employees.

"And another one's gone, and another one's gone, and another one bites the dust..."

Yes. Amazon is not the enemy. It poses a challenge to many business systems and models. Amazon is just one of several challengers for 21st century market success.

Shop-et-al
like the Martin Luther there, music touches the soul

Had we not had Amazon as an option, and TRU handeled business a bit better, they may still be in business. Having to close some stores, not all, like Macy's and Sears did. Online shopping plays a big part in retail closures. so, this becomes a failure for many reasons. Toys are not what they used to be. Computer games have taken over, example, do kids roller skate anymore, or play board games......computers, phones and such are the new toy!!!