Toys R Us closures incoming

[brightberry]

This is so sad.  I always dreamed of going there as a kid.  But only got to a couple of times.  When I became an adult, I forgot about it until visiting this forum.  So glad I did.  It was a lot of fun to window shop and see how toys had changed or stayed the same.

[ringwraith10]

annnnnnnnnnnnnd more bad news:  the store closures are not likely to stop, and furthermore, ALL of the TRU USA stores could be liquidating soon:

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,390657.0.html

Yep, I just read an article that said all TRU stores will be closing. But as everyone has already said, I almost never shop there because of the prices... and Target is more convenient.

[ponycake]

Mine in town is on the list to close. I was in there the other day and saw no sign that they would be. It's a really nice looking store, what a shame. Especially if all of them really do.

ETA:  Oh, interesting. I googled my store and saw an article that said the decision to close mine was reversed and they would not be closing.

[Sora]

UKers don't need to worry too much just yet about losing TRU completely. From a member of staff on their facebook:

No stores have been closed by the Administrators and all sites are currently open for trading. The store
closure plan implemented as part of the CVA will continue. The Administrators will manage the store
trading strategy whilst also evaluating the options regarding the company’s future and determining how
to obtain the best possible outcome for all creditors. It remains to be decided if some or all the stores will
be closed.

I will be honest, I had my suspicions that they wouldn't be completely closing every store from the very start of the announcement (based on several observations), and I still don't think they will.

[Icey]

Saw an article pop up in my feed that all US stores are closing? Wow, that will be a sad day indeed.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I just want to say that TrU has not mentioned themselves that they will be filing, it's simply the reports of others. They are expecting for them to file or announce this week, but it's not official-official.
Claire's is also in the same boat, it sounds like.

[Flitter]

Having seen KB & FAO go in my the past years I can't be too surprised I suppose but it still will be kinda sad to not have a large toy-specific store around if they do go completely.

I'm interested to see how the retail environment in general changes over the next years. So much online shopping and automation, there will be lots of changes I expect.

[Mewtwofan1]

It’s a sad state of affairs, but one we all saw coming with online shopping. We don’t have target up here anymore, so toys r us was most convenient for me. Reports say that business as usual for toys r us up here though.
     I have a friend who manages one of those stores. I hope that she’s going to be okay, and that all the employees manage to find new jobs quickly once their stores go down. Such a shame. As a kid, I always wanted my first job to be at build a bear or toys r us.

[tikibirds]

I went there the other day and the girl insisted that the store was NOT closing. Weird.

[Taffeta]

UKers don't need to worry too much just yet about losing TRU completely. From a member of staff on their facebook:

No stores have been closed by the Administrators and all sites are currently open for trading. The store
closure plan implemented as part of the CVA will continue. The Administrators will manage the store
trading strategy whilst also evaluating the options regarding the company’s future and determining how
to obtain the best possible outcome for all creditors. It remains to be decided if some or all the stores will
be closed.

I will be honest, I had my suspicions that they wouldn't be completely closing every store from the very start of the announcement (based on several observations), and I still don't think they will.

News reports I read is that stores are to begin closing from nthis week with staff being made redundant.

Ultimately even if some survive, if they're not in areas people can get to then it is basically the same thing.

My store is one of the flagship stores in the UK, here in London. It is NOT on the immediate 26 closures list. It was being ransacked when I went there ten days ago. I remember when Woolworths went, and it was in a similar vein of imminent closure disaster. I would have expected stock from other stores maybe to end up at this one and it to be one of the last to go, but that's not the case.

If a store chain is in administration, and there is no buyer, there is nobody to deal with the debt. The whole store chain will go if a buyer is not found. This was the case in February when the discussions fell through and is the case now.

The stores that have the most chance of surviving are ones inside shopping centres, which over here is quite rare I think. But the TRU that opened in our shopping centre back home didn't last very long as it had direct competition there from Entertainer. It tried the retail park as well and also failed because of being in competition with Smyths. So that isn't necessarily a solution either.

Best scenario outcome I can see right now is that someone comes in and takes a portion of the company and maybe develops it as an online outlet. But I am not optimistic about the long term survival of this store. We live in an uncertain economic climate thanks to Brexit. Investing in a risky toy store chain is just not high on investors' to do lists.

That facebook message also doesn't say that closures will not be imminent nor does it say that full closures will not happen. Without a buyer, TRU will go, like Woolworths, like BHS. It seems foolish to assume otherwise until there's some news that a purchase looks likely.

[achab1984]

Darn it! Well I better stop there when I am out of town next week. I have a gift card and want to use it before I no longer can!

[Taffeta]

And further to what I said earlier:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43401674

Yes, they are all going in the UK. Soon.

Seems pretty likely from CNBC's report that the US will follow suit.

The impact on toy company shares is quite dramatic. I know you guys had said it but I hadn't rationalised that TRU doesn't have a dedicated toy store competitor in the US the way we have Smyths and Entertainer here. Apparently Entertainer looked into buying part of TRU in the UK - apparently also other vendors expressed interest in stock...so we might see some ex- TRU stuff showing up at other toy stores in the next months. :/ And if not there, then B&M and TKMaxx.

[Bekuno]

Looks like it's pretty much over.

I had made a joke comic about it on twitter, which I won't share here due to language, and it's being blown up on twitter due a popular artist reblogging it and starting large arguments. Phew! Social media sure is something, can't make a joke anywhere.

I'm very worried for the number of people losing their jobs, but I personally will not miss TRU that much.

[kakenterprise]

So I'm a bit confused.  My stores not on the list of "current" store closings.  But I just stopped by to pick up a video game and well allot of the shelf's were empty.  It looked like if they sold out of something they were no longer buying new stock.  So are stores no longer stocking, because they're waiting to find out if they're gone too?  The store only had 3 employees but they seemed to be selling allot of toys.

It definitely was a depressing walk around the store.  I wish them the best and hope that they pull through. 

[Ponyfan]

If I understood the news report tonight, Toys R Us will either close or sell all of their US stores, so I guess that means no more Toys R US soon for any of us.


Ponyfan