Posted on 03/21/2018 7:31:01 AM PDT by fwdude
I still remember experiencing the wonder of walking up and down the aisles of Toys R Us as a child visiting America from New Zealand. To be honest I think my parents were as awed as I was at the rows and rows of Barbie dolls and Ninja turtles, especially coming from a country that did not yet have such a huge range of mass-produced toys available.
It was a time when the age of mass materialism was only just upon us and held wonder and magic. I ended up buying a Little Mermaid sheet set and giant, long, variously coloured ice-blocks which we savoured all that summer, though I do now question my parents’ use of suitcase space.
However, Toys R Us has obviously not managed to maintain the magic. As it prepares to close its doors, people are questioning what went wrong for the once mighty, culturally emblematic business.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercatornet.com ...
Kimberly-Clark. (Disposable diapers) downsizing citing same reason
Montgomery Ward has an online catalog to shop from, but yes, the stores are now gone.
When they first opened years ago I went in to Toys R Us, thinking they might have a big selection of model airplanes. I’m a girl that liked models and trains, and those realistic true-to-breed plastic horses and farm animals that feed stores carry.
But they had very few models, and nothing else of interest - not much in the way of building sets. I looked at stuff for girls hoping the horses would be there but virtually all the toys for girls were stupidly colored simplistic plastic ponies with goofy fake hair and hair brushes. Figured that stupidity went well with the insulting backwards letters in the company’s name. Everything they had for girls was dumb and almost all of it revolved around hair, and that was insulting, too. So I never went back.
K Mart had better models and at least a few decently realistic horses and local hobby shops had even better models and supplies for making dioramas, so that’s where I went if I had a little money. Other than that I never spent much on toys and decided that tools were more fun, since Dad let us use every tool he had after showing us how to use them safely.
My folks got us interested in gardening early so if I had money to spend and no one had anything unusual in the way of models, there were always interesting plants to buy instead and unlike toys, plants would grow and produce divisions which could be sold from the front yard lemonade-and-tomato stand [back before local governments started killing off kid’s lemonade stands with licensing requirements]
I don’t think Toys R Us will be missed.
And Tim, that Bennigan’s is long gone, too. Sad.
Who will fill the void...........the many mom and pop stores that used to thrive before Toys-R-Us and all their cheaply made Chinese crap filled that market.
yes... and stores with their own lunch counter with good cheap food including PIES.
Went to Chucky Cheese once. Once. Opened the door and my ears instantly fried from the music and screaming, shut door, went to Pizza Hut.
Chucky Cheese is what I envision hell to be like.
In the world of toys, I have only one love: Legos.
I know the prices. I know the statistical price per piece in many cases (about 3 or 4 cents in most cases).
And lemme tell ya: Toys R Us was a rip off.
Mine, in Houston near the medical district, was a gross mélange of ghetto employees, ghetto clientele, and of course, Mexicans.
Plus, they treated me like a criminal. There was no actual way to exit the store without running a gauntlet.
Legos are a great toy, no doubt there-they beat Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs because they were much more versatile.
I don’t know why, plenty of people out there getting screwed 24/7.
I envy him. Legos are great for the brain and for teaching long term planning, and envisioning a final product that does not yet exist.
I wish I had the free time. Plus, my kids are young. They see Legos as a food source.
The problem was VERY cheap toys at fairly high prices. At least at Amazon when we order a cheap toy from China it’s doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Didn't say it didn't. But a shrinking market definitely plays a role.
“Change is not necessary. Survival is not mandatory”
Yes, I know... it is sad. I loved that place.
I hardly recognize the Baybrook area anymore.. and, I used to live 2 miles down the road.
Except for a few necessary stores, brick and mortar is going the way of the buggy whip.
That is the trend anyway and certain restrictions either man made or natural could change that. But for now it is a great force.
DITTO
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