All Toys R Us Stores Are Expected to Close Within 6 Weeks in the UK

I'm going to be heading to my local either today or tomorrow. Not expecting to find anything great though. Still feels odd that they'll all be gone.

Damn shame. They're an institution!

ZeroWolf wrote:I'm going to be heading to my local either today or tomorrow. Not expecting to find anything great though. Still feels odd that they'll all be gone.

Not quite all gone I must add. Toys 'R Us has a quite a few stores in Asia, especially in Japan and they seem to be doing more than fine right now. I wonder what would happen to those stores.

The news just broke: Toys R Us will be closing all 800 US stores.

Ironhidensh wrote:http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-stores/index.html

Damn.
So TrU will remain only in Canada and Asia?

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-stores/index.html

Damn.
So TrU will remain only in Canada and Asia?

FYI, TRU Australia isn't part of the TRU Asia group.

[UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal has a quote from Chief Executive David Brandon on the matter of Toys R Us stores in other countries. Brandon says that the company is likely to liquidate in France, Spain, Poland and Australia, and has plans to sell its Canadian, Central European and Asian arms. The only real light in the tunnel here is the prospect of purchase; the company is currently attempting to find a buyer for a 'package' of sorts, comprised of its Canadian branch along with 200 US stores. Other countries' stores may also find themselves saved if a buyer happens to come along - Brandon has said that "all anyone has to do is offer one dollar more” than liquidation firms - but this is still not anywhere near a guarantee that Toys R Us stores are safe anywhere in the world.]

Sad news today, Seibertronians. After months of tension regarding its fate since September last year, Toys R Us has finally made the decision to sell or close all of its US stores, as reported by CNN. This comes not long off the heels of their postponed decision on Monday, but now we know the answer for certain and it's not a heartening one.

Employees have already been notified by the company's CEO, as the Wall Street Journal reports. There is not yet any word on how this will affect Toys R Us' business in Canada and other countries, though with Toys R Us expected to close all UK stores in the coming weeks as well, things aren't looking too good for the brand at large.

From a more Transformers-centric perspective, it's also unclear how this will affect Toys R Us-exclusive figures like the extremely recent Studio Series Thundercracker, and fans' attempts to acquire them. There's a lot of uncertainty going around right now, but with such a huge change as this, it's only to be expected that many things are in flux with no clear direction or solution.

Share your thoughts below in the Energon Pub if you have any perspectives on this issue, and you can be sure that Seibertron.com will be on hand to report on any further developments to this situation and its multitude of loose ends. Until next time Seibertronians, don't take your toys for granted.

So yeah, dang. Growing up mostly in a rural part of Australia it's not like I've had a whole lot to do with Toys R Us, but I did used to visit relatives in America with my family about once a year, and trips to the nearby Toys R Us were always a memorable highlight. Titanium Rodimus (a toy I still like to this day); Animated Cybertronian Optimus, Ratchet and Arcee; even a couple non-Transformers like the Glatorian Mata Nui and some weird all-terrain Hot Wheels vehicle; I have clear memories of picking up each and every one from that huge child-haven full of toys.

It is just a retail company, and not even a very popular one at that, but TRU was probably a big part of a lot of people's childhoods and it does strike a bit of a chord with me to see it go. Seems I'm overly sentimental about this, eh? Ah well... I'm guessing the big news now is going to be how TRU Canada/Australia/Asia etc. are affected by this - there's no way they're coming out totally unscathed, at least.

I don't want to sound like I am brushing off a concern on the fate of a famous store, but at least there is a chance that stuff like any exclusives TRU sold (like Masterpieces and Thundercracker) can be sold in more commonly found stores. I don't think Target or Walmart would have issues with selling the upcoming MPM-5 and 6 Barricade and Ironhide or maybe bring out the Predaking gift set.

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-stores/index.html

Damn.
So TrU will remain only in Canada and Asia?

FYI, TRU Australia isn't part of the TRU Asia group.

Close enough.

Still, hope your TrU stay open.

I guess I have to grow up. I was a ToysRUs kid. So many different kinds of toys that I could play with. From bikes to trains to video games, they were the biggest toy store there is. I guess I have to grow up, oh baby now that I did, I can longer be a ToysRUs Kid.

In other news my childhood died today. So I gues we have to grow up.

Quantum Surge wrote:I don't want to sound like I am brushing off a concern on the fate of a famous store, but at least there is a chance that stuff like any exclusives TRU sold (like Masterpieces and Thundercracker) can be sold in more commonly found stores. I don't think Target or Walmart would have issues with selling the upcoming MPM-5 and 6 Barricade and Ironhide or maybe bring out the Predaking gift set.

I think the more likely scenario is that the ones that already hit shelves will just be obscenely rare.

As I recall, though, MPM Ironhide was never officially slated to be a TRU exclusive. Like... To the point where people pointed out that the packaging didn't have the 'exclusive' stamp. Maybe Hasbro has been anticipating this. Or. I'm remembering this entirely wrong.

I'm just worried, now, that Amazon exclusives will take its place. I f***ing hate Amazon.

DecepticonFinishline wrote:I'm just worried, now, that Amazon exclusives will take its place. I f***ing hate Amazon.

I hate exclusives in general, regardless of what store/website they're sold at/on

For me it is a sad day. I was a Toys R Us kid. Reading the holiday catalog and circling what I would want. As you grow older, you start to realize their prices were higher than most. I started to head elsewhere but still never forget that feeling of heading to the store and being surrounded by toys. I can still remember standing in line for Nintendo Wii and talking to the manager. Hunting for MP-10 at every local TRU. Finally finding him and using a coupon to save some money.

I don't know what the future holds. Hate shopping online but that might be what I have to do. My local stores never change or restock their items. I wonder what this closing would do for other smaller toy lines? If GIJoes are not in the stores now...I don't think they will ever be.

Thanks for all the nostalgia and memories, Toys R Us.

Whelp, I guess I'll be getting home from work a whole lot sooner now.

Burn wrote:

DecepticonFinishline wrote:I'm just worried, now, that Amazon exclusives will take its place. I f***ing hate Amazon.

I hate exclusives in general, regardless of what store/website they're sold at/on

But... But... that PREMIUM feel?

Seriously, Exclusives suck ass. Especially when they are overpriced and/or badly distributed. Not counting when the thing is an exclusive of a store that ISNT EVEN IN YOUR FREAKING COUNTRY!

Masterpiece toys will probably just be sold through online vendors. This is currently what is happening with the only generation one style masterpiece toy coming out this year, prowl.

I think that the future just means that there will be less exclusives... and that's bad. Sometimes, a figure just won't sell a lot of toys, and a manufacturer might only make 4,000 of them. Toys R Us was a good place to sell those exclusives. Walmart doesn't want them--they make it VERY clear to retailers that they have limited space in their stores, and if their stuff doesn't sell fast, they don't want them.

If there's not a ready market to sell small runs of figures... the small run of figures just aren't made.

Thus, say bye bye to likes of figures like RID Cryotek or Animated Rodimus or US Masterpiece Optimus. If it can't make a profit from mass production, it's just not profitable to make.

Well, time to wait for the clearance sales

gone the way of childrens palace and kb. good luck to those losing jobs.

This is a sad day indeed. I was a Toys R Us kid too. I used to love going to the one in Times Square before it shut down, and now it is all of them. Damn you greedy corporate Leveraged Buy Outs that caused this mess. Maybe a new toy chain will take it's place.

First i find out my local comic shop is closing now i find out TRU is closing, pretty crappy day if you ask me. I didnt like how they over charged on transformers and other brands like that but they were the only place i could get neca stuff for regular price and they just started to carry import stuff like gundam universal unit. Corporate greed strikes again and the only ones screwed are us, the customers & employees.

Well, damn. I don't know what to say. RIP TRU. You will be missed

I NEED that Thundercracker for a custom I'm planning.

What about This?

http://toynewsi.com/news.php?itemid=307 ... m=facebook

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo!!!

Major bummer. Local TRU has been here longer than me, and now it's gonna be gone. Prolly see a Spirit Halloween in there later this year, then someone will doze it and put in another crappy storefront with a phone place, a vape place, and a Subway, like they got on just about every other corner 'round here.

And here I thought that the internet would cheer me up after being sick all day.

I couldn't agree more about not taking your toys for granted. Here is to hoping that another company will try and pick up where TRU is leaving off. Makes me worry a bit for the future of toys as a whole considering how crappy my local Target is.

shajaki wrote:What about This?

http://toynewsi.com/news.php?itemid=307 ... m=facebook

The news (11pm local news) said that deal fell through as far as the American stores go

Holy crap. It's happening. Honestly, though, they did it to themselves. I do feel bad for all the people losing their jobs. However, tomorrow I will go to my TRU to be a vulture and try to pick the carcass. Maybe I can score a TLK Cybertron dirt cheap?

Also, I wonder what effect this will have on previous TRU exclusives on the 2ndary market, if any.

william-james88 wrote:So what? Even in normal times, some people migjt not see toysrus exclusives at their specific toys are us.

The point is this exclusive has been shipped to the stores. There is no going back on it and you will not see it at another outlet aside from a discount outlet ifTRU dumps their stock.

I see this as a part of the problem. I am like others and do not like exclusives. Especially when they rarely pop up at the actual store they are exclusive to. Especially when I have a hard enough time finding non-exclusives at their stores. Do not get me wrong, I do like to look at TRU. But that's honestly all I feel like I do these days. Look. I'm even ok with the prices being a little higher(Kay Bee never bothered me either and they were way higher than other places). But man, actually give me something that other stores can't/don't. And not just one or two that get snapped up immediately after the truck arrives at the store that I miss out on because I have things like, you know, work to be at.

Despite all this, I am sad to see them shutting down. A lot of good child hood memories and whatnot. But I am not sure what to say other than that. Especially with recent experiences there. Oddly enough I find myself missing Kay Bee's more. I'm not sure there will really be anything to snag if they start to clearance anything because they really haven't had much in the way that Target hasn't. Anything I would pick up would be non-TF anyways.


On another note, did I grossly misunderstand the leveraged buy out aspect or did someone really buy TRU while using TRU itself(or it's revenue generating power) as the collateral for buying TRU? Can you claim something as an asset to use towards buying said asset? That blows my mind so I'm hoping I really did not understand that. Otherwise, that seems almost like it was an intentional failure and the only way I see that being pursued is if whoever did it had something to gain whether TRU sank or swam(which it would be hard not to know it would have most certainly sunk based on repayment totals for said debt incurred and projected revenue earnings).

You understood perfectly, that is exactly what a leveraged buy out is. It minimizes the risk for investors.

WreckerJack wrote:And here I thought that the internet would cheer me up after being sick all day.

I couldn't agree more about not taking your toys for granted. Here is to hoping that another company will try and pick up where TRU is leaving off. Makes me worry a bit for the future of toys as a whole considering how crappy my local Target is.

I really see everything trending to more online now. It has to. Target and Walmart will not carry anywhere close to what TRU did(despite the fact that a lot of times it was never on the shelves anyways). But you're never going to find the Predaking set at Walmart/Target in store(I'd honestly already decided I would BBTS that anyways) for example. I really hate having to shop online for new toys. Having packages sit on your door step all day is a dangerous game(porch pirates) and that doesn't even take into consideration the damage that can occur during shipping. Hence why I have had the chip on my shoulder regarding TRU's lack of stock. Although I do realize my experiences do not necessarily reflect those of others in other locales.

william-james88 wrote:You understood perfectly, that is exactly what a leveraged buy out is. It minimizes the risk for investors.

Ok that's, yeah, that's scary. That just screams failure. There would never be any way to climb out of that hole.

lakebot wrote: I really hate having to shop online for new toys. Having packages sit on your door step all day is a dangerous game(porch pirates) and that doesn't even take into consideration the damage that can occur during shipping. Hence why I have had the chip on my shoulder regarding TRU's lack of stock. Although I do realize my experiences do not necessarily reflect those of others in other locales.

I also dislike the 3rd party sellers on amazon. They can have different characters in the same wave for an absurd price difference. Yeah, sure I could hit up HTS but the shipping costs are terrible. Target's site gets stuff that is ancient history, that is if it's not out of stock. And don't even get me started on walmart and the scalpers they allow to use their website.

Very depressing. TRU has came in clutch on more than one occasion for me (its literally the only place that’s even bothered to stock the last three Titan-class figures on the shelves where I’m at). Got quite a few memories from TRU.

Disappointing and heartbreaking. I was a Toys r Us kid as well, but all good times must come to an end. I guess at least I have the memories...

well @#$%!

i was there when it opened
ill b there the day it goes.

I AM
AND SHALL EVER BE
A TOYS R US KID!
NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT.

Use those gift cards if you can, I was told yesterday they wouldn't accept them.

Ironhidensh wrote:http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/14/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-stores/index.html

Jesus that got me right in the feels...

darkjedi187 wrote:Use those gift cards if you can, I was told yesterday they wouldn't accept them.

See, that's kind of what I was wondering about. I have $20 worth of R US rewards, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to use them.

I'm just glad my son is young enough that he will forget the experience. Last weekend wife and I took him, and while we did not buy anything imagine this little three year old glowing with excitement pushing buttons and running around the store. Worse case, he will see the landmark and assume and shout "Play play! Xavier play!" which will break my heart . At least with Barnes and Noble they have a train table. I thought about taking him this weekend as a last time trip, but I don't think myself I can handle it knowing it'll be gone, not just cause of my childhood, but memories of him there. Every year I have a video of him when we go for his birthday week since the age of 1 (he's three now) getting the crown and balloon and he's just as excited as ever.

And I agree with the Statement about Walmart and Target.
There was a time when Walmart did exclusives, I believe it was MP Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, but they stopped doing them. Never seen the large figures IE Metroplex, Trypticon and Fortress Maximus at neither Target or Walmart. With the market for DC/Marvel and Star Wars, I doubt there will be room for Transformers. They're starting to be like Power Rangers there where the selection is very very small where as DC/Marvel and Starwars has an entire isle side dedicated to them.

What I do hope then with Toys R Us going down, maybe Walmart and/or Target, along with any other store like them picks up the slack on toys. If they're smart they will see a business model on toys and see their largest competitor is gone and start having a larger selection. Doubt it, but we'll never know.

That or I'll start a toystore in my local area (kidding, but you never know).

Z3ROhour wrote:i was there when it opened
ill b there the day it goes.

You are 70??

I just hope online retailers don't get greedy and get the idea that now that TRU is closing that they can jack the prices even higher because they would be one of the primary ways that people get some of their specific toys.

It would also be nice if Wal Mart and Target would look at this as a way to expand their toy sections and make them bigger with more selection and maybe they could keep the shelves stocked.

I remember when I was a kid in the late 70's going down isles at TRU and seeing nothing but a wall of Star wars figures on one side and the other loaded with vehicles. Lionel Playworld was like this as well. Such fond memories....

Well for starters not to be a wet blanket on what some of you are saying....there will be no one to take their place. I was and still am a small retailer. You all bitch about ToysRUs's high prices ever see what the little guy pays for things? I will tell you right now on many items we buy we little guys pay almost what Target and Walmart SELLS them for. My whole sale price on some Marvel legends (after shipping) can be around $17.00 a figure in order to make a profit I have to sell them at around $24+ other wise as I have chosen its not worth it.

The main problem I see is TRU should have been able to be competitive being all they bought were toys...I worked there in the 90's and damn they were the place to go I remember seeing them sell out of 100's of toybiz X-men figures in a week. Oh wait there was a x-men cartoon on after school and on the weekends. Maybe the decline of the toy industry is the lack of Saturday morning cartoons and the after school cartoons. They are no more..don't give me the Cartoon network and nickleodean excuse either. I talked with a guy who used to work for Hasbro in the 80's and 90's and he confirmed when the Saturday morning cartoons went away so did the toy companies main source of advertising (commercials and toy tie in shows). He told me that with out some change (this was around the time of the first TF movie) in movies and other forms of entertainment ....the Toy industry as a whole will colapse and well that was before KB closed....and now TRU.

The last thing now I want to say is all of you complain about scalpers and lack of product...well with only Target and Walmart they will get to dictate what gets made...technically only Walmart does because Target is having some troubles as well and that means everyone will be fighting for what ever makes it to stores floors....if anything. I know many stores around me that have employees who buy stuff to sell on Ebay or their Amazon accounts and tend to buy up most of the "rare things" before they hit the floor seems like the internet will be where we will have to shop.....unless Amazon buys TRU before the closure....but I think if they were going to they would have by now.

IF..and I mean IF they get saved I hope some of you put your money where your mouth is and lets organize a save TRU day and go in and spend $100.00 and together it would add up and be a nice thank you to whoever bails them out.

tmthor wrote:Maybe the decline of the toy industry is the lack of Saturday morning cartoons and the after school cartoons. They are no more..don't give me the Cartoon network and nickleodean excuse either. I talked with a guy who used to work for Hasbro in the 80's and 90's and he confirmed when the Saturday morning cartoons went away so did the toy companies main source of advertising (commercials and toy tie in shows). He told me that with out some change (this was around the time of the first TF movie) in movies and other forms of entertainment ....the Toy industry as a whole will colapse and well that was before KB closed....and now TRU.

90's I don't think it was just the Saturday morning cartoons (while at the same time yea, I agree was a large portion), in the 90's "before school" cartoons were on, this was when I watched Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Beast Wars, etc. The time they played in the morning was perfect, they played when kids were getting ready for school and eating their breakfast. We all know those toys sold out often, they smothered the walls in toy isles, and were sold out often. Took me forever to finally find the original Megazord and my folks put it on Layaway (even though the sword was gone, didn't care lol). First went the morning cartoons, then the Saturday morning cartoons. The CW was able to hold out until 2014, now it's live action educational shows (https://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-first-w ... 1642441646).

Yea I noticed smaller stores having to have a higher price. There's a comics and hobby store (and I think it's the norm, I could be wrong) but they have a Overlord 49.99 and the wave 1 Power of the Primes are 15.99+

Mindmaster wrote:Very depressing. TRU has came in clutch on more than one occasion for me (its literally the only place that’s even bothered to stock the last three Titan-class figures on the shelves where I’m at). Got quite a few memories from TRU.

I keep seeing this claim about the titans and while its true that they put them in their stores, I dont see how that helps anyone.
Would americans pay 150$ if they see it in a store right now, rather than instead purchasing it for way less at walmart.com https://www.walmart.com/ip/Transformers ... n/55589165?wmlspartner=FYAGeMjDX6c&=&affs=p&wid=5b6b4213e4b0bcb699adeb9f&u1=&oid=223073.10006940&sourceid=37141976172661509211&affillinktype=3&veh=aff

Or amazon https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... zon/40584/

william-james88 wrote:

Mindmaster wrote:Very depressing. TRU has came in clutch on more than one occasion for me (its literally the only place that’s even bothered to stock the last three Titan-class figures on the shelves where I’m at). Got quite a few memories from TRU.

I keep seeing this claim about the titans and while its true that they put them in their stores, I dont see how that helps anyone.
Would americans pay 150$ if they see it in a store right now, rather than instead purchasing it for way less at walmart.com https://www.walmart.com/ip/Transformers ... n/55589165?wmlspartner=FYAGeMjDX6c&=&affs=p&wid=5b6b4213e4b0bcb699adeb9f&u1=&oid=223073.10006940&sourceid=37141976172661509211&affillinktype=3&veh=aff

Or amazon https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... zon/40584/

for some folks, it's about also holding it in your hands while purchasing it. While at the same time, not 100%, I don't trust shipping. I've gotten some amazon packages that looked like they were kicked to my apartment (luckily the product itself was not damaged). While you can then go online and say "Hey package came in, but it was damaged" how often do the remedy that?