So... Toys R Us may come back to life???!!!
https://www.cbsnews....ction-canceled/
Like a zombie rising from the grave at Halloween I guess.
Posted 04 October 2018 - 03:56 AM
So... Toys R Us may come back to life???!!!
https://www.cbsnews....ction-canceled/
Like a zombie rising from the grave at Halloween I guess.
Posted 04 October 2018 - 04:04 AM
Posted 04 October 2018 - 04:31 AM
I guess these days I need to ask "How much is the tariff"
Did the stores in Canada close too? I think some of the international operations continued as they were structured as a separate companies... it seems the ca website is still active!
Posted 04 October 2018 - 09:15 AM
Posted 04 October 2018 - 03:38 PM
Any deal would need to get them out of the debt that caused the bankruptcy. Normally what happens is the brand basically has to go unused for 7 years to be free and clear... then it can be reused... usually if its a brand with any value its purchased under the bankruptcy agreement by a holding company that then licenses its use to make their money back. This is exactly what happened with Westinghouse after it went under.
This sounds like some investors are trying to accelerate when they can re-use the brand. Personally I think it sounds like a pipe dream... a better play would be for the brand rights to default to the international versions... and for them to build up a war chest to be able to come back with a new plan in 7 years.
Posted 05 October 2018 - 08:46 AM
I was expecting something to happen and I figured that TRU ultimately had a high chance of coming back. They had a profitable business model and very little competition from other toy only stores. So with an iconic brand it only makes sense for someone to carry on with it. I had heard talk of concern with the auction being pushed back that whoever acquired it wouldn't have time to organize fast enough for this holiday season and concern that might impact the auction. So although surprising I guess it makes sense for them to find another way and it seems they are fast tracking this to take advantage of the holidays this year. I suppose this is also better than if Wal-Mart or Target or someone like that had bought the brand just to sit on it and eliminate competition. I'm not sure what you're getting at with the 7 year thing, but there's no reason anyone wouldn't be able to use the brand immediately I don't think that was ever in question.
http://www.charlotte...ffreys-toy-box/
Posted 05 October 2018 - 02:12 PM
Posted 05 October 2018 - 04:30 PM
Posted 05 October 2018 - 06:54 PM
I agree its a bit different from the Westinghouse example I gave... who actually was a manufacturer... so your probably right in this case there is no liability and thus whomever purchases the brand may do as they please when they please.
Posted 30 November 2018 - 07:34 AM
Toys R Us is still alive here in Canada but I don't think they're selling any DST or McFarlane Star Trek stuff.
Posted 30 November 2018 - 08:07 PM
Toys R Us is still alive here in Canada but I don't think they're selling any DST or McFarlane Star Trek stuff.
It's so weird that McFarlane and DST are that niche that they don't even appear in big box toy stores anymore with some of their lines. I guess with the interwebs it's pretty much direct-to-buyer these days.
Posted 01 December 2018 - 02:58 AM
It's so weird that McFarlane and DST are that niche that they don't even appear in big box toy stores anymore with some of their lines. I guess with the interwebs it's pretty much direct-to-buyer these days.
Posted 20 February 2019 - 01:45 AM
Posted 20 February 2019 - 05:56 AM
Posted 20 February 2019 - 06:21 PM
According to the article they will be about 10000 sqft stores vs the 40000 sqft store they had previously.
The baby stuff sells, as do the bikes and other true kiddie stuff, so I'd expect that they would sell that again... but if they bring back a nice action figure Isle and pickup some of the niche lines it would make a go for collectors too.
Posted 23 February 2019 - 06:13 PM
The most revealing thing about the TRU liquidation is that the demand, instead of going to mom-and-pop stores and other small competitors, didn't even go anywhere. The NYT mentions the buffett effect: If stuff is in front of people, like TRU was, people will go there. But if it's not then they won't seek out other offerings. So those small retailers didn't get a stampede of buyers they were hoping for. Instead, the TRU liquidations with fire-sale prices actually undercut them for a few months.
It's a different world out there, one in which people either buy toys on Amazon, or they buy them in Target/Walmart.
The days of stores (that aren't named Amazon) relying on the holiday season as a sure thing are also over, especially those that in the '90s used to mail out big, fat, Xmas catalogs.
If TRU comes back in Kay-Bee size or something just a bit larger it could work in some markets, but the days of these big box TRUs have been over for a while.
Posted 24 February 2019 - 09:00 AM
I think it makes sense for TRU to use a smaller store to get things going again, but I don't think there's anything wrong with big box model. In fact I think the smaller stores are ultimately going to be more challenging. The thing that sets TRU apart from just a trip to Walmart or Target is the large selection and variety. Certainly they can still do this with smaller stores but not to the same degree and not as easily. I would like to see them build maybe one big store for each region and then have smaller stores to fill in the gaps. It's important to remember that TRU's business model was working fine, they were turning profit. They only went out of business due to the debt issues from the prior buyout. Now was it a booming business obviously not, but some simple refinements and it certainly could be.
Also I know I mentioned it somewhere else, but Target removed their book sections and created an expanded toy section for Christmas, this has remained and seems to be permanent now. This is going to make it a little more challenging for TRU to get this business back since other retailers have already started to pick up a little of what they left behind.
Posted 24 February 2019 - 10:25 AM
Posted 25 February 2019 - 06:15 AM
The most revealing thing about the TRU liquidation is that the demand, instead of going to mom-and-pop stores and other small competitors, didn't even go anywhere. The NYT mentions the buffett effect: If stuff is in front of people, like TRU was, people will go there. But if it's not then they won't seek out other offerings.
Could this also be a function of the fact that toys, as a product, aren't generally sought out by parents? That is to say the demand is created by advertising to children and putting the product in front of them. Because in general Toys aren't a necessity in any way.
It's a different world out there, one in which people either buy toys on Amazon, or they buy them in Target/Walmart.
The days of stores (that aren't named Amazon) relying on the holiday season as a sure thing are also over, especially those that in the '90s used to mail out big, fat, Xmas catalogs.
It is a different world... especially for action figures... One huge change we've seen is the replacement of the "Chase" Figure with outright exclusives.
The idea of both of those was to generate foot traffic... but going to a website to see if a variant is suddenly available doesn't work... so its been replaced with outright exclusives.
We've also seen pretty much the extinction of most niche action figures with the decline of speciality shops... that was one of the things that TRU did a decedent job of showcasing and and providing retail space for, but as you point out... Amazon can fill that function fine.
Posted 25 February 2019 - 08:26 AM
Could this also be a function of the fact that toys, as a product, aren't generally sought out by parents? That is to say the demand is created by advertising to children and putting the product in front of them. Because in general Toys aren't a necessity in any way.
I think to some degree toys are sought out by parents. That is to say not all parents are into it as much as others. Some will simply buy toys occasionally and don't really care about them other than to keep their child marginally entertained and occupied. Others, and I've found myself in this category, will to some degree get into the toys. I've found that when my son shows an interest in a particular IP and starts looking at the toys I will help guide him into a toy line best suited to him and that fits that franchise. I'm then aware of what he has, needs and look into what's coming out. I never thought I would find myself searching through Toy Fair photos and videos looking for the Fisher Price booth, haha. Just this morning I stopped at Target to take my photos as my locals store's NECA ambassador and double checked the die cast Cars, Blaze, and some Lego Movie 2 sets. We play with toys together and while i would never just on my own buy the toy lines I look for for him, I do still get that excitement I used to get when toy hunting for myself when I find that new Paw Patrol figure we've been looking for or whatever the case may be.
One thing that's really surprised me as far as how kids are introduced to toys is YouTube. For most of us it was pretty much ads during cartoons and trips to toy stores was the only exposure. Now kids watch all these YouTube reviews of toys so it seems easier for them to actually be made aware of a broader variety of toys. It's even crossed over to the point where toys are being made of these YouTube shows, Ryans World being a new example of this.
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