Toys R Us closures incoming

[lonewolf]

Guess I better go to the one near me either tomorrow or Saturday and stroll down the pink aisle one last time.
First started going there for Christmas shopping in the late 80's. Back then I was only interested in model trains (I may have gotten 1 or 2 of my G1's from them). Back then they had an entire aisle devoted to model trains and slot cars. There was one devoted to board games too. My family's first video game system was an Atari 7800 from them. It messed up so we took it back and got another. It messed up too (may have just been dirty connectors), so we traded it for an NES, which I still have.

The Tr'U exclusive ponies might gain value (I've got a MIB Zecora, that is also autographed by her VA). I also  recently got a train set made for Tr'U in the 70's off Ebay.
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[Khoufu]

My boyfriend has a similar train, from the late 80s or early 90s!

[nessa16]

They announced overnight that they are closing all US stores according to USA Today. I will need to drive an hour to hit up my “local” store.

[Galactica]

Yes as of yesterday they were "shopping" for a plan to save some of the stores- but this morning they announced EVERY store will close (or be sold) and every employee will be laid off

It's definitely the end of an era

[tailrustedtealeaf]

So, it's been announced. I'm going to be visiting tomorrow, but does anyone have an idea of how long it will take for liquidation prices to kick in?

[Taffeta]

I am in 2 minds whether to go back to mine at all to see it once more before it goes. When I went last time it was already half stripped out and it was really sad. I don't think there's a point in going back but I do wonder if I should, just in case.

The bus route I do out to TRU is a route I never take for any other reason, but I had just figured out how to get by bus to TRU, the big Tesco and Smyths on the same trip. Now that information is a bit useless :/  unless I want to go to Brent Cross. But it's not as though there's much in the way of toys at Brent Cross. No Entertainer. Maybe if TRU is gone, Entertainer might move in there...but I'll probably not be living in this area when that happens

[banditpony]

This is pretty awful news. I feel bad for the families who will lose jobs.. and what effect it has on local economy if nothing replaces those stores.

I read that MGA is attempting to buy some of the stores in Canada. I hope that works out...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/omaseddiq/2018/03/15/bratz-billionaire-calls-toys-r-us-closing-devastating-toys-with-buying-it/

[Ponyfan]

I went to my local store today. It was busier than usual. It looked like they'd either sold some stuff or had decided to take a few things off the shelves as some items that had been there for quite a while were gone. They were no closing signs or special discount sales going on, but the word has clearly gotten around that Toys R US will soon be no more.

Ponyfan

[Khoufu]

According to stores in my area in California, liquidation sales will begin in roughly 2 weeks, and stores will close in 60+ days

[Jocelyn]

My first memory of TRU was from when I was four. My mom took my brother and I there, and there was a cardboard box of stuffed Yoshi beanies. My brother got a red one while I found my Yellow Yoshi. Since then, Yellow has been my lifelong companion, traveling with me on various excursions, vacations and playdates, and even going to college with me

That was such a happy memory for me, but lately when I've gone back to that same TRU, it's pretty disappointing. It's run down, dingy and dirty, and everything is expensive. The only things I see there that I'm interested can be found cheaper at other stores. I will definitely miss the idea and concept of Toys r Us, but as far as the actual experience...ehhhh. Maybe in hindsight my recent trips will look almost as rosy as the first.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

Anybody else old enough to remember the Nickelodeon Toys R Us toy runs?  I always wanted to win but never did.  I watched the kids pull one toy off the shelf at a time and always thought that if I won I'd put my hand up on the shelf and knock everything into the cart as I ran down the aisle. 

And the theme song:

I don't wanna grow up I'm a Toys R Us kid.
There's a million toys at Toys R Us that I can play with.
From cars to trains to video games, it's the biggest toy store there is!
I don't wanna grow up because if I did,
I couldn't be a Toys R Us Kid!

Ah well...no more Toys R Us kids.

[Taffeta]

If that had ever happened here, and I'd been on it, I would probably just have emptied the pony aisle...

Sounds like fun though A nice memory.

TRU didn't come to the UK till 1985 apparently. I never went there as a kid, but I remember the TV ad. Sister was convinced it said "there's millions of geoffries all under one roof"...

[JazzMatazz]

By the sounds of it from my previous coworkers still there my store is closing in 60 days and certain vendors like trading cards are coming in and taking their stock before the liquidation so no magic cards will be on clearance.

[Khoufu]

I saw someone taking a bunch of pokemon cards and putting them in boxes on a six wheeler yesterday at my TRU and had been wondering what they were doing. That clears that up since I didn't think they were a customer.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

So I was just in the nearby TRU.
It's a disaster area.
Somehow parents thought that today was the last day this location was open despite there being no signage or sales going on whatsoever. It wasn't even on the original list. There was one register open and the poor customer service worker was constantly on the phone, answering questions about the bankruptcy I'm sure. So with one register open and a parking lot full of confused parents, the line was long enough to careen into the video game section and wrap around one shelf.
We left without buying anything, but I'm gonna try to get the liquidation company to sell me one of their pony displays. If it's up for sale, of course! No clue if that gets sent back to Hasbro or what. I'm assuming sales will kick in within a month.