With a name like Geoffrey this business is DOA. DUMB DUMB DUMB...
Yeah, but you gotta admire them for sticking their neck out! ;)
I remember 20 years ago when my kids were little, and TRU used to be the "discount" store. Now, its not anymore. What's the big difference between them, Target, and Wally's World? They all get toys that are practically 100% made by slave labor in Communist China. You have to go to a mom-and-pop toy store (if you can find one, good luck coming up with one in suburbia) to find toys that are made by people with our values.
I agree, but not just because of the name.
When they were coming up with names for this venture I would hope they ventured outside their own experience. "Geoffrey" seems like an obvious choice, but the while the character was once warm and cuddly - a cartoon rendering - his latest incarnation is a 'realistic' 3D or live action creature that's frankly sort of frightening.
The Geoffrey brand is recognizable but it's blurry in the marketplace. How can they make 'Geoffrey' a destination it's indistinct and leans toward 'scary' (my kids' definition)
Equally troubling in conjunction with this 'icon' is their attempt to run a high-overhead store in an era of cost-cutting.
Sure, it's a great idea and it works in Fondue, Wisconsin, but where I live there's a ton of more 'legitimate' culture than there is in that BFE town.
I'd give it two weeks here.