Toys 'R' Us to file bankruptcy

[abefroman329]

My local Toys R Us is advertising "At least 50 percent off "everything, but most items are 20-30 percent off, except Legos which are still full price.

That was the case with our local Babies R Us that's closing.  I didn't see a single thing that was more than 30% off, and they wouldn't further discount floor models. 

We might have been able to save a bundle of money by stockpiling discounted diapers, but those were also full price.

[Rothman]

Liquidation sales are notorious for discounting raised prices.

[jeffandnicole]

The early store-closing sales are rarely good deals.  Yet, people flock to them. 

[formulanone]

The early store-closing sales are rarely good deals.  Yet, people flock to them. 

Yeah, but do you really think the desirable stuff is going to be 50-90% off? YMMV.

[jeffandnicole]

The early store-closing sales are rarely good deals.  Yet, people flock to them. 

Yeah, but do you really think the desirable stuff is going to be 50-90% off? YMMV.

That's what you take the chance on. If retail is $10, 10% is $9, but Amazon/Wal-Mart sells is for $7, you take the chance you can grab it at the 30% off mark or better. If it's not there then, you still didn't lose anything.

[US71]

The early store-closing sales are rarely good deals.  Yet, people flock to them. 

Yeah, but do you really think the desirable stuff is going to be 50-90% off? YMMV.

It will be gone early. When they truly get to 50 percent storewide, the premium stuff is gone (even after it's been marked up). 90 percent, you get the dregs no one wants or someone missed.

[gilpdawg]

When I was a kid we had the much better Child World in New England, and that went bankrupt in the 90's. I think, down the road, the only toy stores that will survive are small mom and pop specialty places, with the bigger retailers left in the dust due to the internet.

I remember Child World.  Although they survived until the 1990s, they started going downhill in the late 1970s and had far fewer stores than either Toys R Us or KB.

We didn't have Child World but we had Children's Palace, which I think was the same thing. They didn't have nearly as good of a video game selection as Toys R Us.


iPad

[jp the roadgeek]

When I was a kid we had the much better Child World in New England, and that went bankrupt in the 90's. I think, down the road, the only toy stores that will survive are small mom and pop specialty places, with the bigger retailers left in the dust due to the internet.

I remember Child World.  Although they survived until the 1990s, they started going downhill in the late 1970s and had far fewer stores than either Toys R Us or KB.

We didn't have Child World but we had Children's Palace, which I think was the same thing. They didn't have nearly as good of a video game selection as Toys R Us.


iPad

Don't remember seeing a Child World in CT after the early 80's.  We had KB in every mall, and even a few non-mall locations (most often called Toy Works in its early days).  We still have a great local toy store with 2 locations in Amato's Toy and Hobby

http://amatostoyandhobby.com/ 

[DaBigE]

When I was a kid we had the much better Child World in New England, and that went bankrupt in the 90's. I think, down the road, the only toy stores that will survive are small mom and pop specialty places, with the bigger retailers left in the dust due to the internet.

I remember Child World.  Although they survived until the 1990s, they started going downhill in the late 1970s and had far fewer stores than either Toys R Us or KB.

We didn't have Child World but we had Children's Palace, which I think was the same thing. They didn't have nearly as good of a video game selection as Toys R Us.


iPad

Had Children's Palace around here as well. IIRC, the Milwaukee area had at least three of them. The closest one to me was a couple doors down from a Toys R Us. Toys R Us usually was the more expensive store with a smaller selection, but still worth stopping just to browse. The eventual demise of that store was one of the low-points of my childhood.   

[freebrickproductions]

Welp...
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/13/toys-r-us-is-preparing-to-file-its-liquidation-plan-with-the-court.html

Toys R Us prepares to file liquidation plan with the court

• Toys R Us is in the process of drafting the court motion for its liquidation plan, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC.
• Toys R Us missed a payment to some of its vendors this week, these sources said.

Toys R Us, the iconic U.S. retailer, is in the process of drafting the court motion for its liquidation plan, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC on Tuesday.

The retailer could file as soon as the end of Wednesday, making the motion official. This step begins the wind down of the storied toy retailer, after more than half a century in business.

The retailer this week missed a payment to some of its vendors, two people familiar with the situation said.

The retailer has not been responsive to calls from its vendors, they added. Bloomberg first reported the missed payment.

Toys R Us declined to comment.

The retailer was battered by dismal holiday season, in which sales, traffic and profit all fell far short of what it had told lenders to expect. Poor holiday performance, as well as a group of lenders that have been pushing for liquidation, have challenged the retailer's ability to emerge from bankruptcy.

The retailer filed for bankruptcy protection in September with $4.9 billion in debt.

Shares of toymaker Mattel closed down about 3.5 percent, while rival Hasbro shares were shed about 1 percent.

[ET21]

Grab your discounted nerf guns while they last 

[US71]

Grab your discounted nerf guns while they last 

IF they are discounted. A lot of stuff was "not on sale" when I visited last week.  That may change once the whole company goes belly-up.

[jeffandnicole]

Grab your discounted nerf guns while they last 

IF they are discounted. A lot of stuff was "not on sale" when I visited last week.  That may change once the whole company goes belly-up.

Which it wouldn't be, as they're not in the process of closing the stores. 

[US71]

Grab your discounted nerf guns while they last 

IF they are discounted. A lot of stuff was "not on sale" when I visited last week.  That may change once the whole company goes belly-up.

Which it wouldn't be, as they're not in the process of closing the stores. 

My store IS closing, but a lot of stuff wasn't marked down. Lots of signs saying "This item is not part of the sale".

[LM117]

All stores in the UK are closing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-43401674

[jeffandnicole]

Grab your discounted nerf guns while they last 

IF they are discounted. A lot of stuff was "not on sale" when I visited last week.  That may change once the whole company goes belly-up.

Which it wouldn't be, as they're not in the process of closing the stores. 

My store IS closing, but a lot of stuff wasn't marked down. Lots of signs saying "This item is not part of the sale".

I'm guessing that stuff may be moved to another store then...although if they shut them all down, then that'll be a moot point.

[briantroutman]

Toys "˜R' Us didn't have a presence in my hometown for most of my childhood, so I don't have any sense of nostalgia for the chain.

I did, however, visit my closest Toys "˜R' Us last weekend in hopes of using up a merchandise credit that I had left over from a baby present for my daughter that I returned over a year ago. As of last Saturday, the store was fully stocked and fairly busy; everything seemed to be "business as normal" .

It's been hard to use up the merchandise credit because pricing on nearly everything we've looked at is considerably higher than any other retailer. And not just by a trivial margin: My daughter's in need of a new toddler-aged car seat, and Toys "˜R' Us's price are basically the same as MSRP (let's say $300) while nearly all other retailers are selling the same seat for a little over $200. I'd be willing to overspend that much with a local merchant who's a member of the community. But for a national "category killer"  that adds no value to the transaction, no.

I ended up blowing most of the balance on mundane toddler supplies–and will probably do the same with what's left.

[roadman]

When I was a kid we had the much better Child World in New England, and that went bankrupt in the 90's. I think, down the road, the only toy stores that will survive are small mom and pop specialty places, with the bigger retailers left in the dust due to the internet.

I remember Child World.  Although they survived until the 1990s, they started going downhill in the late 1970s and had far fewer stores than either Toys R Us or KB.

We didn’t have Child World but we had Children’s Palace, which I think was the same thing. They didn’t have nearly as good of a video game selection as Toys R Us.


iPad

Child World/Children's Palace was already on the decline when video games started to take off - which is why they didn't invest too heavily in selling them.

[kkt]

Toys R Us announced today that all the stores are closing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/03/14/toys-r-us-to-close-all-800-of-its-u-s-stores/?utm_term=.4b6ebab30a19
by Abha Bhattarai March 14 at 6:05 PM

Toy store chain Toys R Us is planning to sell or close all 800 of its U.S. stores, affecting as many as 33,000 jobs as the company winds down its operations after six decades, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The news comes six months after the retailer filed for bankruptcy. The company has struggled to pay down nearly $8 billion in debt – much of it dating back to a 2005 leveraged buyout – and has had trouble finding a buyer. There were reports earlier this week that Toys R Us had stopped paying its suppliers, which include the country's largest toy makers. On Wednesday, the company announced it would close all 100 of its U.K. stores. In the United States, the company told employees closures would likely occur over time, and not all at once, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.

(story continues; read it online...)

[gonealookin]

Apparently the intent is that the store closings and inventory liquidation sales will be staggered throughout the remainder of 2018.  With a 4.1% unemployment rate I'd think it would be difficult to maintain adequate staffing under these circumstances.

[US71]

Apparently the intent is that the store closings and inventory liquidation sales will be staggered throughout the remainder of 2018.  With a 4.1% unemployment rate I'd think it would be difficult to maintain adequate staffing under these circumstances.

Temps.

[Brandon]

Game over.

And...

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/15/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-blame/index.html
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/03/15/dont-blame-walmart-amazon-for-toys-r-us-demise.aspx
https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2018-03-15/toys-r-us-store-closings-a-how-not-to-guide-for-retail

[abefroman329]

Frankly, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.  Of all the brick-and-mortar stores to be threatened by online shopping, toy stores seemed one of the most vulnerable.

[Brandon]

Frankly, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.  Of all the brick-and-mortar stores to be threatened by online shopping, toy stores seemed one of the most vulnerable.

IMHO, online shopping is a bit overrated (Amazon surprisingly doesn't make much of a profit - exactly the kind of business model that led to the dot com bust in 2000-2001).  The prices aren't really much better (I've found better prices at Walmart than Amazon).  It's the massive debt load that did them in (read the articles I linked).

[kkt]

Yes, the prices are only better on Amazon if you ignore the shipping cost or pretend that Prime membership isn't costing anything and doesn't change your shopping habits.