Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian

Wednesday, April 18th, 2018 12:03AM CDT

Categories: Toy News, Company News
Posted by: Seibertron Views: 24,133

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For those of us hoping that Toys R Us still had a shot at salvation, those hopes might have been squelched yesterday evening. Various mainstream news agencies reported yesterday that Toys R Us rejected billionaire Isaac Larian's bid to "save" hundreds of Toys R Us stores in the United States and Canada. Larian is the CEO of the toy company MGA Entertainment, home of the popular and highly collectible L.O.L. Surprise Dolls as well as Bratz (competitor to Barbie) and Little Tikes. As of this writing, it is unknown why Toys R Us rejected his bid, perhaps because it was not enough or maybe because it's just time to move on.

Wall Street Journal wrote:Toys “R” Us Inc.’s lawyers and advisers have shot down an 11th-hour offer from a billionaire toy maker that would have kept some of its U.S. stores open, according to a person familiar with the matter.

According to USA Today, Mr Larian was quoted as saying "If this is true, it is very disappointing," Larian said. "It is our hope and expectation that we can continue to participate in the bid process, so we can keep fighting to save Toys “R” Us," he said. ". We feel confident that we submitted a fair valuation of the company's U.S. assets in an effort to save the business and over 130,000 domestic jobs."

In other news related to Toys R Us, the chain has apparently begun turning away gift cards according to the New York Post. Toys R Us was supposed to accept gift cards through April 21st, though some shoppers have apparently had their gift cards turned away already.

Last month, Larian announced his intention to save as much of Toys R Us as he could via his #savetoysrus campaign. His efforts were apparently not enough, or perhaps there's more than meets the eye with Toys R Us rejecting his bid. Might someone have bid a higher amount that may have even more grand and apparently quieter plans for the chain? Or is Toys R Us simply another doomed franchise that is yet another casualty of the ongoing retail apocalypse. Time will tell, but be sure to keep following Seibertron.com for all of your latest Transformers news and major announcements about the fate of the beloved Toys R Us chain.

Transformers News: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian

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Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953779)
Posted by ZeroWolf on April 18th, 2018 @ 3:58am CDT

It might have been rejected due to the bidders other ventures, could make other toy businesses wary, would they be able to trust them to give their product a fair shake at things alongside the products that the owner's businesses make?

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953801)
Posted by ScottyP on April 18th, 2018 @ 6:32am CDT

Seibertron wrote:it's just time to move on

I think this is the case :/ It's over, finished!

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953814)
Posted by dragons on April 18th, 2018 @ 8:06am CDT

That sucks so it is true poor management

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953817)
Posted by Black Bumblebee on April 18th, 2018 @ 8:15am CDT

At the Toys R Us in my area, most things are still only 5 - 10 % off. If they think it's time to move on, they're taking their time about it.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953827)
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2018 @ 9:07am CDT

That was the most low ball offer I have ever seen, literally pennies on the dollar. TRU Canada's real estate is estimated at close to 1B$

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953828)
Posted by o.supreme on April 18th, 2018 @ 9:08am CDT

Seibertron wrote:
o.supreme wrote:Not the closest TRU to me, but one about 10 miles out, on the other side of town. LOL...Yeah Windblade is definitely a "fan favorite"....

That's not fair ... that's the BS "face shield" version. Notice the regular version (of which the one shown in your photo was a remold) has been nowhere to be found in quite a while.

I don't buy RiD toys...so I wasn't even aware there was another version...Still...I don't think there are that many savvy fans in my area that would reject this release solely based on that...

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953839)
Posted by Blitzwing is bae on April 18th, 2018 @ 9:43am CDT

SUN OF A BISCUIT! im gonna miss toys r us thats for sure. I only got about have of theyre exclusives :BANG_HEAD:

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953853)
Posted by Relic0037 on April 18th, 2018 @ 11:32am CDT

From reading through the articles, it sounds like the offer was too low. Time will tell what happens in this story.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953861)
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2018 @ 11:59am CDT

o.supreme wrote:
Seibertron wrote:
o.supreme wrote:Not the closest TRU to me, but one about 10 miles out, on the other side of town. LOL...Yeah Windblade is definitely a "fan favorite"....

That's not fair ... that's the BS "face shield" version. Notice the regular version (of which the one shown in your photo was a remold) has been nowhere to be found in quite a while.

I don't buy RiD toys...so I wasn't even aware there was another version...Still...I don't think there are that many savvy fans in my area that would reject this release solely based on that...

Why are we talking about fans? The RID line targetted kids, kids wanted toys fo waht they saw on the show. They wanted the windblade that looked like on the show and that toy sold out. This toy, which doesnt resemble that, didnt. So yeah, the proof that all of normal windblades sold out (everywhere it seems) shows that she is indeed a fan favourite.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953866)
Posted by o.supreme on April 18th, 2018 @ 12:15pm CDT

william-james88 wrote:Why are we talking about fans? The RID line targeted kids,

kids ARE fans...I don't make a distinction...

william-james88 wrote:kids wanted toys for what they saw on the show. They wanted the Windblade that looked like on the show and that toy sold out.

I know there's this idea about "show appearance" being important, but back in the original Transformers era, there were so many toys that were not show accurate, and it really didn't matter (to me at least). Ironhide and Ratchet are probably 2 examples of the worst. Still seeing how cool Ironhide was on the show, and seeing his *different* appearance in toy form didn't stop 8 year old me from wanting him.

Someone can say an alternate *sold out*, but that's like saying TR deluxe wave 5 sold out everywhere...merely skewing something that was produced in extremely limited quantities, and not available to most US fans.

Of course I can say the same about myself. Maybe that pic I took was an aberration, maybe that particular toy sold out everywhere else, and I was looking at a scalping goldmine without knowing it...

Besides, this is not about my personal dislike for Windblade, I honestly couldn't care less. It's not like I work at TRU and purposefully withheld all these toys for months to get a cheesy photo. I just thought it was amusing that at a store that's closing down, there was so much of a single figure. I probably would have done the same if I saw 20 BB's, or Prime's, or whoever...

I took a similar pic of 32 Squeeks toy banks a while back. (amid a mostly empty TF section at a particular walmart) I just think its amusing anytime any particular toy is so seemingly overproduced.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953965)
Posted by tmthor on April 18th, 2018 @ 6:12pm CDT

On the raido the bussiness guy said he heard the Tru lawyers say the $890 million would not be enough to just buy the Canadian stores let alone the US ones. He said it was said he would have to pony up over 2 billion for what he wants. Probably better to use that $890 million to just open up a new store and buy the Tru name later and brand the stores as such.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1953999)
Posted by Octobotimus on April 18th, 2018 @ 7:12pm CDT

i don't see what they have to lose. they have lost Toys R us, why are they being picky with money after failing to make money themselves ...... no wonder this store died, the people behind it just suck at managing their store.... now they'll have it die and won't even get money out of it... good on them.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954022)
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2018 @ 9:27pm CDT

Octobotimus wrote:i don't see what they have to lose. they have lost Toys R us, why are they being picky with money after failing to make money themselves ...... no wonder this store died, the people behind it just suck at managing their store.... now they'll have it die and won't even get money out of it... good on them.

You guys dont understand, Toysrus is still worth lots in real estate. Once the stores all close, you can sell the leases/buildings/lots to others. This is some high profile real estate. Lots of land and in many cases, in populated areas. Ideal locations for other companies that want a foot in. Lets just low ball it and say the 735 locations average out to about 2M$ in real estate each, thats $1.5B! The ones owed money are way better off just selling everything and getting their money back that way than getting pennies on the dollar.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954076)
Posted by ZeroWolf on April 19th, 2018 @ 5:10am CDT

So it was that the offer was too low then? And given the response he definitely knew and was seeing what he could get away with. We'll see if the offer is increased if he tries again.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954557)
Posted by Bronzewolf on April 20th, 2018 @ 5:26pm CDT

In the wake of Toys R Us Rejecting the buyout bid of the CEO of Bratz, the company has sent out an email confirming that, as of today, clearance sales have now reached up to 40% off, from the 30% they've been holding on to for several weeks.
This all but confirms the initial reports of the sales going up 10% a week, as it now appears the chain just attempted to give themselves a head start of sorts by starting the sales at 30% and holding it at that percentage for exactly three weeks. Now those three weeks are up, and we're seeing the discounts raise as a result. Time will tell if this theory is entirely true, being confirmed if they raise the clearance to 50% next Friday.

As it relates to our own fandom, Seibertronain AlvinC reports that Transformers toys are now 15% off, up from 10%.
Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for more updates during the final weeks of Toys R Us.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954558)
Posted by Rated X on April 20th, 2018 @ 5:37pm CDT

At this point, TRU going out of business sales isnt even relavant to transformers collectors anymore. I went in a TRU last week and they only had a few one step changers left. The entire action figure aisle was looted.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954571)
Posted by DeathReviews on April 20th, 2018 @ 6:15pm CDT

Indeed. The bigger discounts would be wonderful, if everything good hadn't already been taken. There's nothing left but the chum now. Though I did see about 12 boxes of the 'Infernicus' TRU exclusive on the shelf at our nearby TRU, and about 3 'Cybertron' figures.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954578)
Posted by Ironhidensh on April 20th, 2018 @ 6:50pm CDT

Yeah, that 40% off is bullshit. It's only on an extremely tiny selection of items. Most things are only 15% off at most. Hell, the fucking Legos are still only 5% off.

Worst. Liquidation sale. Ever.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954584)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on April 20th, 2018 @ 7:23pm CDT

I was going to mention something about the discounts but I see I was beaten to it. My TRU was still nicely stocked though.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954592)
Posted by Lucky Logician on April 20th, 2018 @ 7:45pm CDT

Ironhidensh wrote:Worst. Liquidation sale. Ever.

This right here. My TRU is still 10% off everything. Normal sales gave discounts for more than 10%.

Want to know the only thing that I saw for 30% off yesterday? The *#$@*&$ 2018 calendars. WTH? :-x

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954595)
Posted by Absolute Zero on April 20th, 2018 @ 7:53pm CDT

Aside from some stuff no one wants, like movie figures, TRU hasn't been getting anything in for Transformers. I work at store 8007 and check the manifest every day. We might get more studio Thundercrackers in, but even that seems unlikely. The best chance might be finding older releases in June before we expect to close.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954601)
Posted by william-james88 on April 20th, 2018 @ 8:52pm CDT

Absolute Zero wrote:Aside from some stuff no one wants, like movie figures, TRU hasn't been getting anything in for Transformers.

If no one wants them, then how come some toysrus stores are completely cleaned out of TFs at only 10% off?

Also, why are all these toys sold out at only a 10% discount when HTS routinely has 20% off and the older stuff just sits there?

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954628)
Posted by Wolfman Jake on April 20th, 2018 @ 11:22pm CDT

I went in tonight to see what was shaking now that things are "up to 40%." Of course, I didn't see anything that was actually 40% off, but that's beside the point. The store did claim to have "trucks coming every day" so they could liquidate their warehouses too, so maybe some more Transformers stuff will come before the bitter end. I was happy with what I picked up, though. Mostly just a few TRU exclusives I hadn't gotten yet, like Infernocus and Skullotron from TLK and Studio Series Thundercracker. Also picked up TLK Berserker, as it was the only other movie on the shelves that I needed and didn't have. My partner and I are going to take a trip around the Twin Cities tomorrow to check out the other stores that are still open and see if they've got anything different in stock.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954662)
Posted by Absolute Zero on April 21st, 2018 @ 3:58am CDT

william-james88 wrote:
Absolute Zero wrote:Aside from some stuff no one wants, like movie figures, TRU hasn't been getting anything in for Transformers.

If no one wants them, then how come some toysrus stores are completely cleaned out of TFs at only 10% off?

Also, why are all these toys sold out at only a 10% discount when HTS routinely has 20% off and the older stuff just sits there?

We have at least a dozen Infernicus. And still have 3 Windblades from RID. The only thing that moved quickly were the Power of the Primes, and those don't appear to be coming back.

As for why things moved at 10%? People are dumb. The sales tax here is 10.1%. We sold out of Switches and PS4s within the first week and they were (and still are) at 5%.

I spoke to the liquidator. We are not getting anything new. What we have in the warehouses is what we are getting. No new lego sets, no new consoles, no new Transformers. If your store hasn't had wave 2 figures by now, then they likely won't get it. Now, it's possible we could get some old MP figures, but we don't know whats in the warehouse, and we don't know what we're getting until a day or two before the truck arrives.

As for the sale being crap, I know. I hear it several times a day. We thought it would be higher, but TRU wants to try to get as much money as possible, and for the first two weeks, we were making Christmas weekend money on weekdays.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954721)
Posted by tmthor on April 21st, 2018 @ 10:57am CDT

I think we are seeing a company that thinks they will be saved

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954746)
Posted by X3ROhour on April 21st, 2018 @ 11:52am CDT

Seibertron wrote:
o.supreme wrote:Not the closest TRU to me, but one about 10 miles out, on the other side of town. LOL...Yeah Windblade is definitely a "fan favorite"....

That's not fair ... that's the BS "face shield" version. Notice the regular version (of which the one shown in your photo was a remold) has been nowhere to be found in quite a while.

i like the face shield version. She becomes my Reformatted SKYFEATHER!
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Skyfeather

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954763)
Posted by no-one on April 21st, 2018 @ 12:27pm CDT

Our TRU was a blow out before the liquidation and is an even bigger blow out now. I was there today and was shocked that the vast majority of the store has only increased to a 15% discount.

I will give you a little spot of bright light though. I spotted and purchased the studio series Thundercracker today for just a hair over $25. That figure was not there a week ago.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954767)
Posted by Bronzewolf on April 21st, 2018 @ 12:47pm CDT

Why is it that they can't run a clearance sale correctly? I mean, seriously, I've never been able to wrap my head around their business decisions and their prices when they were a thriving company, let alone now. I'm just scratching my head. In most cases, that 10%-15% only takes the products down to the regular retail price of Walmart and Target. We haven't even hit an actual "discount" on most toys yet. I refuse to still pay $10 for a TLK Leigon class figure, which is what it STILL COSTS, even with the discounts.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954779)
Posted by no-one on April 21st, 2018 @ 1:22pm CDT

Bronzewolf wrote:Why is it that they can't run a clearance sale correctly?

Well they fucked up their normal operations, why should they be capable of a "liquidation" sale.

You're right though, they are only on par with their competition now and 10% only covers sales tax for me.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954992)
Posted by lakebot on April 22nd, 2018 @ 1:00am CDT

william-james88 wrote:That was the most low ball offer I have ever seen, literally pennies on the dollar. TRU Canada's real estate is estimated at close to 1B$

Does TRU own the real estate the vast majority of their stores sit on? I find that hard to believe seeing as how every one I have ever seen has been located in a strip center, most consisting of several other big time retailers. So if they do not own the property and are leasing it, why would that factor into the buy out? That would be for the buyer to deal with once possession was transferred and said buyer had to determine whether to keep said stores located where they are or move locations depending on desired leasing agreement/pricing.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1954993)
Posted by lakebot on April 22nd, 2018 @ 1:13am CDT

I was able to stop by our local TRU today and would echo pretty much what was already stated: most toys people would be interested in actually purchasing(IMO anyway) are nowhere near the percentage off the giant signs at the door suggest. They do have what I would consider a fully stocked store though. I mean, when you walked in, had you not known the store was closing, you'd never have guessed.

I think the failure here lies in the fact that most of what is there is obviously not brand new and a lot of it is actually old/older(although finding the new Jurassic World toys there was a treat). Ok, that makes sense as they are closing. Why expect new product? However, as a collector/fan/parent shopping for their kids/whatever label you choose, for me to be driven to buy something, it needs to be something I don't already own or something that I may have passed up (for one reason or another) and now I've been given a new reason to buy it.

Simply put, they're not giving anyone a reason to buy a lot of what is on the shelves. The only figure they have left I'd be willing to consider is Cybertron and it would have to have such a steep discount for me to consider it, at this rate, I don't think it's happening.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955309)
Posted by william-james88 on April 22nd, 2018 @ 11:27pm CDT

Here's a fun fact. Did you know that there were 93 Toysrus stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland combined? That's quite a bit of stores for such a small landmass. Other fun fact, all these toys are now owned by Ireland's very own toy chain Smyth's Toys. That's right, the family owned chain which only had 110 stores yesterday will now add these 93 to their tally of owned stores. They also inherit 4 Toysrus websites and will take on all current staff and management.

This is great news since that means it is business as usual for fans, and more importantly Toysrus employees, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It also brings Toysrus back to its routes of being a family entreprise.

Here is what Smyth's Toys co-founder Tony Smyth said about the deal: “We are convinced that multi-channel toy retailing will develop positively and that we can successfully introduce and expand our brand in Europe.”

This news was reported by Reuters and sent our way thanks to TF fan Alex.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955340)
Posted by Rated X on April 23rd, 2018 @ 1:06am CDT

And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone? #-o

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955348)
Posted by ZeroWolf on April 23rd, 2018 @ 1:31am CDT

Actually this is good news for tf fans in those regions as it means that they can continue to have more choice in where to buy the toys.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955357)
Posted by leokearon on April 23rd, 2018 @ 2:07am CDT

Maybe this will lead to SMYTHS Exclusives

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955358)
Posted by Qwan on April 23rd, 2018 @ 2:17am CDT

Rated X wrote:And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone?

Or maybe some people live in one of those countries, used to get their Transformers from Toys R Us and will be very interested to know about this. Toys R Us is/was a huge juggernaut among toy retailers; Transformers, surprisingly, are toys; it stands to reason that ongoing information about a shake-up as big as this (that does affect at least some Transformers fans, believe it or not) would be worth sharing.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955363)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on April 23rd, 2018 @ 2:48am CDT

I'd like it if a Smyths took over the building where the Cambridge Toys R Us was. It's been rumoured but not seen any confirmation of such so I'm hoping it becomes true.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955367)
Posted by Rated X on April 23rd, 2018 @ 3:10am CDT

Qwan wrote:
Rated X wrote:And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone?

Or maybe some people live in one of those countries, used to get their Transformers from Toys R Us and will be very interested to know about this. Toys R Us is/was a huge juggernaut among toy retailers; Transformers, surprisingly, are toys; it stands to reason that ongoing information about a shake-up as big as this (that does affect at least some Transformers fans, believe it or not) would be worth sharing.

Basically Smyths is buying up real estate. Those stores are not going to be a TRUs anymore. Theyre going to take those big stupid giraffe signs and toss them in the dumpster and replace them with Smyths signs. So in essence the site is front paging the grand opening of new locations of an existing toy chain. Hardly Transformers news. Its just a bizzare fetish the news guys seem to have with TRU. They wont let it go. We all poured out some liquor and told our childhood memories like a month ago. Its time to move on already. The news guys are beating this dead giraffe so hard, its blood is starting to bleed. Im sure Hasbro already has plans on what chain will carry the next exclusives, titan class figures, MP releases, etc. We just need to be patient.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955369)
Posted by ZeroWolf on April 23rd, 2018 @ 3:26am CDT

Carnivius_Prime wrote:I'd like it if a Smyths took over the building where the Cambridge Toys R Us was. It's been rumoured but not seen any confirmation of such so I'm hoping it becomes true.

I thought they might in some locations, doubt it would happen to the now closed tru near me as we have a symths not too far away already.

Rated X@ as I said this news is important to those countries where it happened, you may be sick of the news about tru and what happens to some of its stores in other countries but you don't decide what news is, but you can just ignore it :-)

I mean looking at the right this is posted above four other tf related news pieces. :-)

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955371)
Posted by Qwan on April 23rd, 2018 @ 3:42am CDT

Rated X wrote:
Qwan wrote:
Rated X wrote:And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone?

Or maybe some people live in one of those countries, used to get their Transformers from Toys R Us and will be very interested to know about this. Toys R Us is/was a huge juggernaut among toy retailers; Transformers, surprisingly, are toys; it stands to reason that ongoing information about a shake-up as big as this (that does affect at least some Transformers fans, believe it or not) would be worth sharing.

Basically Smyths is buying up real estate. Those stores are not going to be a TRUs anymore. Theyre going to take those big stupid giraffe signs and toss them in the dumpster and replace them with Smyths signs. So in essence the site is front paging the grand opening of new locations of an existing toy chain. Hardly Transformers news. Its just a bizzare fetish the news guys seem to have with TRU. They wont let it go. We all poured out some liquor and told our childhood memories like a month ago. Its time to move on already. The news guys are beating this dead giraffe so hard, its blood is starting to bleed. Im sure Hasbro already has plans on what chain will carry the next exclusives, titan class figures, MP releases, etc. We just need to be patient.

Our bizarre fetishes are our own business, thank you very much [-(

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955377)
Posted by g2jazz on April 23rd, 2018 @ 5:01am CDT

I visit toysrus germany regualry but online and in stores i can never find any reference what is gonna happen to the stores in germany. And this news gives us atleast some inform whaft is gonna happen to t

Because there is not allot of stores for transformers in germany

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955381)
Posted by Ironhidensh on April 23rd, 2018 @ 5:43am CDT

Rated X wrote:And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone?

Was it frightening when the bad man stormed your home, put a gun to your head, and forced you to click on this thread?

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955383)
Posted by xMXUx on April 23rd, 2018 @ 5:59am CDT

For people living in countries that already have Smyth's Toys, how does their stock of Transformers compare to Toys'R'Us? Cause the Toys'R'Us closest to me here in Switzerland always had an absolutely terrible selection of Transformers, usually only stocking the kiddie lines of movie toys. Therefore I don't really care about them disappearing. But with Smyth's taking them over, buying Transformers in stores might actually become a viable option now

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955389)
Posted by MemphisR56 on April 23rd, 2018 @ 6:17am CDT

xMXUx wrote:For people living in countries that already have Smyth's Toys, how does their stock of Transformers compare to Toys'R'Us? Cause the Toys'R'Us closest to me here in Switzerland always had an absolutely terrible selection of Transformers, usually only stocking the kiddie lines of movie toys. Therefore I don't really care about them disappearing. But with Smyth's taking them over, buying Transformers in stores might actually become a viable option now

Smyths are fantastic in the UK. Since combiner wars, they have consistently been the first store to mass release every new generations toyline and have it well stocked constantly. Everything I've been looking for a single trip to smyths has always been rewarding. Combiner wars, titans return, Kreo blind bags, RID figures, etc. I've talked at length about how bad TRU UK have been for transformers (holding on to dead stock on pegs for over 10 years) so I'll not go into how bad they are when held side by side with Smyths. Their staff are polite, the stores are vibrant, everyone seems to have their finger on the pulse of what the hot toys currently are. And most importantly they don't have a killer TRU mark-up. Their prices always seem spot on to what most people are 'willing to pay' for the various size classes.

Honestly, walking into a Smyths feels exactly what walking into Toys R Us felt like in the 80's & early 90's. My only criticism of them is that they are too far away from me, and you can't order from their website. (yet, presuming if they're picking up toys r us's staff they may be expanding their online presence in coming days too.)

I'm praying quite hard that they make the same decision with buying up TRU UK and turning my local TRU ghosttown into a smyths which is actually within a sensible distance for public transport.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955391)
Posted by no-one on April 23rd, 2018 @ 6:19am CDT

Ironhidensh wrote:
Rated X wrote:And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone?
Was it frightening when the bad man stormed your home, put a gun to your head, and forced you to click on this thread?

"Bad touch" is better than "no touch".

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955426)
Posted by Rated X on April 23rd, 2018 @ 9:09am CDT

Ironhidensh wrote:
Rated X wrote:And yet another TRU article that has nothing to actually do with Transformers. This obsession with TRUs demise is getting ridiculous. Its a toy store. Someone else will rise from their ashes to sell Transformers. Hello...Transformers anyone?

Was it frightening when the bad man stormed your home, put a gun to your head, and forced you to click on this thread?

Its ironic how such a traditionally educated group gobbles up all this fake news.

TRU is not Disneyworld, Universal Studios, or any other type of "attraction". Its not a shrine to Transformers, Star Wars, or any other brand of toys. Its a store. A store that made crappy decisions that led to its demise. They failed in the US because capitalism takes no prisoners. As other countries around the world discover their own versions of Walmart and Amazon, their TRUs will collapse as well. While it may force some toy collectors to expand their horizon, that doesnt make it Transformers related. Time to let TRU go and move on buddy.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955427)
Posted by Qwan on April 23rd, 2018 @ 9:20am CDT

Rated X wrote:While it may force some toy collectors to expand their horizon, that doesnt make it Transformers related.

What you are describing is pretty much the closest you could get to a definition of Transformers-related news, without it actually being solely about Transformers. Not to mention you skipped over every response telling you why they find these articles useful, as Transformers collectors, so you could go for the throat on the facetious post instead. Come on now.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955437)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on April 23rd, 2018 @ 10:22am CDT

I'm confused as to why all the arguing. Toys R Us was one of the primary stores that sold Transformers toys. Smyths also sells Transformers toys. My nearest Toys R Us was one of the few places I could walk in and see Transformers toys on the shelves and pegs and now it is gone. I'd very much like to know if Smyths would take over that building so that there would still be a toy store situated there that sells Transformers toys and Smyths tends to be better at stocking Transformers toys than the Toys R Us was at stocking Transformers toys so I'm really hoping that it'll happen and I'll again have a nice big place to go visit and potentially purchase Transformers toys. So I don't an issue about discussing stores that sell or sold Transformers toys on a forum devoted to Transformers toys. Stop arguing and go play with or admire your Transformers toys. That's why we all come here?

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955441)
Posted by ZeroWolf on April 23rd, 2018 @ 10:36am CDT

Carnivius_Prime wrote:I'm confused as to why all the arguing. Toys R Us was one of the primary stores that sold Transformers toys. Smyths also sells Transformers toys. My nearest Toys R Us was one of the few places I could walk in and see Transformers toys on the shelves and pegs and now it is gone. I'd very much like to know if Smyths would take over that building so that there would still be a toy store situated there that sells Transformers toys and Smyths tends to be better at stocking Transformers toys than the Toys R Us was at stocking Transformers toys so I'm really hoping that it'll happen and I'll again have a nice big place to go visit and potentially purchase Transformers toys. So I don't an issue about discussing stores that sell or sold Transformers toys on a forum devoted to Transformers toys. Stop arguing and go play with or admire your Transformers toys. That's why we all come here?

The arguing is more about one poster not liking how the news staff is doing things relating to the death of toys r us, so he's venting here. As far as everyone else is concerned, symths taking over those tru is good news :-)

and like you I would like the same to happen here.

Re: Toys R Us rejects bid from billionaire toy CEO Isaac Larian (1955442)
Posted by ZeroWolf on April 23rd, 2018 @ 10:36am CDT

Carnivius_Prime wrote:I'm confused as to why all the arguing. Toys R Us was one of the primary stores that sold Transformers toys. Smyths also sells Transformers toys. My nearest Toys R Us was one of the few places I could walk in and see Transformers toys on the shelves and pegs and now it is gone. I'd very much like to know if Smyths would take over that building so that there would still be a toy store situated there that sells Transformers toys and Smyths tends to be better at stocking Transformers toys than the Toys R Us was at stocking Transformers toys so I'm really hoping that it'll happen and I'll again have a nice big place to go visit and potentially purchase Transformers toys. So I don't an issue about discussing stores that sell or sold Transformers toys on a forum devoted to Transformers toys. Stop arguing and go play with or admire your Transformers toys. That's why we all come here?