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Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

Lefty Specialist Mar 16 2018 07:44 PM

Sadly, Toys 'R Us is finally knuckling under. Fond memories of cruising that place with a wide-eyed little boy who wanted us to buy absolutely everything. Amazon, Target and Walmart hurt them badly, but what really killed them was the leveraged buyout in 2005 that loaded them up with billions in debt that they could never get out from under. The LBO guys did fine, though. Look at the first chart in this article and it'll tell you all you need to know. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... aden-deals

Edgy MD Mar 16 2018 07:50 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I suspect the Burgermeister Meisterburger is somehow behind that.

Frayed Knot Mar 16 2018 08:56 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I suspect also what did them in was the whole toys part of their name. Do kids even play with physical toys these days? I was surprised to learn that the store was 70 years old. I don't remember them from my kid years (maybe they just weren't near me) and, aside from a handful of times toy shopping for a kid, I've rarely even been in one.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 16 2018 09:09 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

Sadly, Toys 'R Us is finally knuckling under. Fond memories of cruising that place with a wide-eyed little boy who wanted us to buy absolutely everything. Amazon, Target and Walmart hurt them badly, but what really killed them was the leveraged buyout in 2005 that loaded them up with billions in debt that they could never get out from under. The LBO guys did fine, though. Look at the first chart in this article and it'll tell you all you need to know. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... aden-deals Even worse examples in the Supermarket biz which PE loves because they generate a ton of cash and have taken a much smaller hit from the internet than have toys. Both Tops (Buffalo area) and the company that owns WinnDixie and BiLo in the South filed Chapter 11 this month. Both had impossible debt and getting outspent by hundreds of millions a year.

Ceetar Mar 16 2018 10:13 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I was a big fan of Toys R Us as a kid, but somwhere inthe late 90s early 2000s they changed. They had nice even neat aisles and you simply went into the aisle you wanted. But then they changed it to this crazy maze like structure where you wind through crowded shelves and displays and it's all so in your face. Like, it was toys, you don't really need to find ways to put as many toys in front of you as possible. Because, especially once you're not 3, you're looking for a _Section_ and bombarding and 8 year old who's looking for video games with plush toys from nickelodeon shows isn't really going to help you sell them .

Edgy MD Mar 16 2018 10:53 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I think you're right about that. And shit didn't seem to stocked on shelves so much as dumped there by a backhoe.

Ceetar Mar 17 2018 12:10 AM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I mean, grain of salt/child's memory and all that. but yeah, dumped by a backhoe feels apt. It's a little more organized currently I think. But it just feels so branded. "Here's the Frozen aisle" "Here's the Paw Patrol Aisle" "Here's the American Girl Doll section" of course the local toy store, which I guess I'll go to more now, is tiny and crammed shelves and feels like a NYC bodega.

Mets Willets Point Mar 17 2018 12:25 AM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

There weren't any Toys R Us in my area as a kid so I don't have any nostalgia. The first time I went to one of those stores was with my own kids and so my feelings are that it was a dump and that my kids got very obnoxious there.

Lefty Specialist Mar 17 2018 11:07 AM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I just remember being in an aisle with all kinds of dump trucks, and telling him he could pick one. He pondered that decision more intensely than some people ponder buying a new house. After about 15 minutes and a couple of false starts, he went with classic Tonka metal. It's still in our attic. awaiting the grandkids some day. Haven't been in a TRU for probably 8-10 years, but it's still sad.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 17 2018 12:52 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

We were in a TRU to get a birthday gift a few weeks back and the in-stock condition was awful, labor was way too light, the parking lot was deadly, assortment was all about the megabrands and little about fun. We left and went to a Modells instead, same deal, but we got a nice Mr Met sweatshirt. The mom-and-pops we have here in the Brooklyn high streets are kind of expensive but the toys and experience are way better. To the extent it helps these guys TRU's death is great. TRU sort of took the place of the Sears catalog, and Amazon inherited that from TRU. No loss afaic.

seawolf17 Mar 17 2018 01:44 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The mom-and-pops we have here in the Brooklyn high streets are kind of expensive but the toys and experience are way better. To the extent it helps these guys TRU's death is great. This, yes. Although both of the local toy stores (in the traditional sense) out by us have closed in the past few years too.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 17 2018 01:56 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

I'm so old I remember when Toys R Us was called "Bargaintown". I recall the store on Veterans Highway in Commack. It looks like Bargaintown had a carnival barker as their mascot, before Geoffrey the Giraffe came along, perhaps at the time of the name change. The "TOY-R-RIFIC" in the copy hints at what's to come. And look! Bob McAllister! H.R. Pufnstuf! The Banana Splits! The Flintstones! And, um, Dr. Blinky!

cooby Mar 17 2018 02:23 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

That personal message (Top Left) is hilarious

d'Kong76 Mar 17 2018 02:41 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

Hah! I didn't read that the first time. Hope the lil' guy got his life in order. And not for nothing, Oliver was one of my favorite movies back then.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 18 2018 05:41 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

We used to hit events like that-- Shake hands with He-Man! Give the Snorks a high-five!-- at our local TRU all the time. In fact, I remember waiting with my cousins in a freezing TRU parking lot in January 1987 for a two-hours-late Doc Gooden. ("He's stuck in traffic.") Stopped by a few weeks back for the last -minute-birthday-gift thing; it definitely had that stocked-by-backhoe feel. Honestly, I was a lot more bugged by FAO closing. I used to get haircuts there, man.

41Forever Mar 18 2018 07:25 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

The Banana Splits AND Bob Mcallister!!!!! I remember meeting Dave Kingman at an appearance at the store in Massapequa. Still have the 8by10 he was handing out. In later years I’d pop in looking for Startung Lineup figures. I’d visit stores in different cities while on road trips to see if they had different players.

Nymr83 Mar 18 2018 09:30 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

I loved it as a kid when there were all those long neat aisles of toys. The more recent maze structure I can do without. Some researcher probably thought it was great for driving sales. I think it is great for driving sales... Driving them straight to Amazon.

RealityChuck Mar 19 2018 02:04 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

We didn't go to Toy R Us often, except for once: It's Christmas Eve. We're putting our daughter to sleep and she happens to mention she expects Santa to bring her a Mousetrap game. This is the first we ever heard of it. But her reasoning was that she had told Santa and didn't need to tell anyone else. So I go running out. There are two toy stores neared to me, but neither had it. I finally drove out to Toy R Us and there, on a bottom shelf in the back of the store, was a single Mousetrap game. So she had Mousetrap on Christmas morning. Like everyone one else who ever had the game, she played it once, set up the mousetrap a couple of times just to watch it, and never looked at it again. But Santa had come through for her.

metsmarathon Mar 19 2018 02:31 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

TRU was always the best source for lego browsing - even better than the lego online shop. i'm going to miss it in a big way. i'm going to have to find some nearby local solutions, as i'm opposed to walmart on principle and in practice. target is fine, but falls way short of the backwards R in terms of toy shopping. there are some niche local retailers nearby, which i'll have to give more attention to... but like the mousetrap story above, i expect santa's going to have to work a lot harder now!

Lefty Specialist Mar 19 2018 06:10 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

Legos. I have like a pallet's worth of them. At one time we had the complete Hogwarts set. Now it's just a jumble of bricks in a plastic bin. (Although I have a Lego Harry Potter figurine on my office shelf).

batmagadanleadoff Mar 19 2018 07:31 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

And now Claire's Jewelry files for bankruptcy. The mom and pops are going extinct. Now, even the major national brands can't afford the rent. Pretty soon, all that'll be left are banks, cell phone stores and McDonald's.

Ceetar Mar 19 2018 07:44 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

and bars. you'll never replace bars.

Lefty Specialist Mar 19 2018 08:06 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

batmagadanleadoff wrote: And now Claire's Jewelry files for bankruptcy. The mom and pops are going extinct. Now, even the major national brands can't afford the rent. Pretty soon, all that'll be left are banks, cell phone stores and McDonald's. And hair/nail salons.

metsmarathon Mar 20 2018 03:58 AM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

Jeezus - the 80s are pissed off that we’re remaking all of their tv shows and movies, that they’re taking away of of their stores!

Nymr83 Mar 20 2018 01:27 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

metsmarathon wrote: Jeezus - the 80s are pissed off that we’re remaking all of their tv shows and movies, that they’re taking away of of their stores! KB Toys is now looking to make a comeback!

Lefty Specialist Mar 23 2018 07:00 PM Re: Toys R No Longer Us (Split from Small Things)

And in a final irony, Charles Lazarus, the founder of Toys 'r' Us, dies at 94. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/to ... in-n859236

cooby Mar 31 2018 08:47 PM Re: Apropos of Small Things and What Not 2018

Edgy MD wrote: I suspect the Burgermeister Meisterburger is somehow behind that. Hahaha!