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Is this the end of Toys R US in the US?

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  • Is this the end of Toys R US in the US?

    First mentioned on Bloomberg yesterday and posted on USAToday and other websites last night, the US division of Toys R US is expected to liquidate and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the US possibly next week:

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...say/408975002/

    The UK division of TRU is in administration which is pretty much the same thing.

    According to the article, TRU has been in trouble since a leveraged buyout in 2005 where they assumed almost $5 billion dollars of debt in a leveraged buyout.

    I used to enjoy taking my sons to TRU back in the early 90s when they were 10, 7, and 4... my younger grandchildren have enjoyed going in the last few years, but I don't go as often as I used to because they haven't had new inventory, Cars-wise or otherwise.

    I remember shopping at KB Toys and Children's Palace (a division of Child's World) back in the late 1980s through 2007 - they too filed bankruptcy and went out of business... I honestly expected Sears Holding (Sears and Kmart) to file bankruptcy and shut down before Toys R US.

    If this indeed turns out to be true, we'll be left with Walmart and Target and Amazon as well as smaller online resellers... I don 't have a local Target and haven't bought much in the way of Cars at the local Walmart store.

    Shares of Mattel and Hasbro stock dropped 6% and 3% yesterday respectively after the TRU announcement.

    Some of my friends think TRU may try to hang on as an online-only company - we'll have to see.


    I am cac1959... I am a Cars-a-holic... and a proud supporter of Nathan's Playroom

  • #2
    Originally posted by cac1959 View Post
    First mentioned on Bloomberg yesterday and posted on USAToday and other websites last night, the US division of Toys R US is expected to liquidate and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the US possibly next week:

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...say/408975002/

    The UK division of TRU is in administration which is pretty much the same thing.

    According to the article, TRU has been in trouble since a leveraged buyout in 2005 where they assumed almost $5 billion dollars of debt in a leveraged buyout.

    I used to enjoy taking my sons to TRU back in the early 90s when they were 10, 7, and 4... my younger grandchildren have enjoyed going in the last few years, but I don't go as often as I used to because they haven't had new inventory, Cars-wise or otherwise.

    I remember shopping at KB Toys and Children's Palace (a division of Child's World) back in the late 1980s through 2007 - they too filed bankruptcy and went out of business... I honestly expected Sears Holding (Sears and Kmart) to file bankruptcy and shut down before Toys R US.

    If this indeed turns out to be true, we'll be left with Walmart and Target and Amazon as well as smaller online resellers... I don 't have a local Target and haven't bought much in the way of Cars at the local Walmart store.

    Shares of Mattel and Hasbro stock dropped 6% and 3% yesterday respectively after the TRU announcement.

    Some of my friends think TRU may try to hang on as an online-only company - we'll have to see.

    You are right to state that TRU (UK) is currently in administration. Basically, administration means that a company is continuing to trade, in the hope that a buyer or buyers maybe found for all or part of the business as a going concern. In the case of TRU (UK), there have been no significant offers, so they are effectively having a closing down sale at all stores.

    The more terminal option would be for a UK company to file for bankruptcy or liquidation. One of the UK's largest service companies, Carillion PLC recently went directly into liquidation and ceased trading immediately.

    Although TRU (UK) are officially in administration, there is no likelihood of any significant part of the business being saved, they are effectively having a liquidation sale.

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    • #3
      stopped off at our local tru today, 5 days to go before closing, most of the store was cordoned off and there was little left, cant see it remaining open for 5 days, one of the things that I did see was 5 terry gongs and a few of the fire chasers from fire and rescue, pretty sad really.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you for the updates, niftynigel and boogity... I hate to see stores close... Competition is good for the consumer, and without competition, stores can charge higher prices.

        There are still a few Cars at stores like Meijer and Kohl's but you usually can't count on finding much... all but 2 Dr. Damage and 1 Ralph Carlow are from case A at Meijer - from May 1, 2017.


        I am cac1959... I am a Cars-a-holic... and a proud supporter of Nathan's Playroom

        Comment


        • #5
          I hate to see Toys R us go if they do. I never thought their prices were very good, and I honestly think that's their main problem. They had by far the best variety and the most to choose from. Their price points were simply unreasonable. Instead of looking where they could get margins and dropping the mass items in overall price, they kept all prices high. Legos? Better to go to a Lego store honestly. Etc. Yet, some things could only be found at TRU and that's the shame of the whole thing.

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          • #6
            Update: 3/15/18... announced last night, Toys R US is going to liquidate in the US and close all stores... they are hoping that they'll be able to see their 200 most profitable stores as part of their Canadian operations but we'll have to see... 33,000 employees will be out of jobs.

            Will I make one last road trip to buy something at a Toys R US store?


            I am cac1959... I am a Cars-a-holic... and a proud supporter of Nathan's Playroom

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by cac1959 View Post
              Update: 3/15/18... announced last night, Toys R US is going to liquidate in the US and close all stores... they are hoping that they'll be able to see their 200 most profitable stores as part of their Canadian operations but we'll have to see... 33,000 employees will be out of jobs.

              Will I make one last road trip to buy something at a Toys R US store?

              At the very least, in the UK, we still have Smyths Toy Superstores, who have around 100 stores (and growing) plus the four major supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons. Admittedly, the supermarkets are giving less shelf space to toys (except pre-Christmas). In addition to these, there are a network of independent toy shops, under the umbrella of Toymaster and The Entertainer, again a nationwide store in many High Streets.

              Toys R Us were the major Cars reseller. It remains to be seen, how this affects the market, whether Smyths can pick up their market and maybe even expand more than they have done in recent years. It's possible that Smyths are sitting it out and waiting for a few TRU stores to become vacant before making a move to fill in gaps in their presence? I can certainly think of a couple of TRU (smaller) stores that would fit the Smyths portfolio quite nicely.

              Comment


              • #8
                I think when it comes to smyths and cars... they havnt got a clue, best looking to the likes of home bargains and the like

                Comment


                • #9
                  Remember KB Toys? Many of us do... they may be coming back... I found this story on theindychannel.com website earlier this evening.

                  https://www.theindychannel.com/news/...d-of-toys-r-us

                  It's an interesting read. in my opinion... I also found it on the CNN website.. TRU did buy the KB Toys name in 2006... but Bain, the private equity firm that bought TRU in 2005 sold the KB Toys name to Strategic Marks in 2016.

                  In other news, TRU in the US is planning to start liquidation sales tomorrow, March 22, 2018 and they expect to wind down operations in 14 weeks... so by the end of June Toys R US won't exist in the US.


                  I am cac1959... I am a Cars-a-holic... and a proud supporter of Nathan's Playroom

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Today, April 2, 2018, the US Toys R US website is shut down... there's a dialog box that tells you that in order to purchase anything you need to go to one of the stores...Sad times indeed, in my opinion.

                    I did stop at an Indianapolis Toys R US store on Saturday afternoon and bought 6 Cars 3 singles... I gave my grandchildren a Dinoco Cruz Ramirez and a Rusteze Lightning McQueen to open and play with on the rest of the trip and a Louise Nash to play with after we arrived at our destination... I kept HJ Hollis, Phil Tankson, and another Dinoco Cruz for myself.


                    I am cac1959... I am a Cars-a-holic... and a proud supporter of Nathan's Playroom

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The Toys R Us here in my area never closed in Australia. Same with the AUS website.

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                      • #12
                        Glad to hear that Toys R US in Australia is still going strong, SamB2003... Toys R US in the UK is heading towards its last days and the current owners in the US have rejected a bid from a company that wanted to buy 200 of the US stores and keep them open.

                        I saw a picture that PCD founder rippers posted on Facebook showing a shuttered store... that could be happening throughout the rest of the UK and the US soon.

                        I enjoyed taking my sons to TRU stores back in the early to mid 90s - we looked at video games and Legos...I've enjoyed taking my grandchildren to TRU stores recently - the girls looked at dolls and my youngest grandson looked at Thomas the Train toys and most recently Cars... it's been awhile since I bought much at TRU but it's because Cars selection hasn't been great, basically due to Mattel case assortments and distribution.


                        I am cac1959... I am a Cars-a-holic... and a proud supporter of Nathan's Playroom

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