Posted on 03/14/2018 4:58:16 PM PDT by Java4Jay
The chain — whose history traces back to a post-World War II baby furniture store — has spent many decades as the country's largest dedicated toy emporium. Today's parents are the millennial generation who grew up with the Internet and approach purchasing decisions and time they spend with children differently from baby boomers. Generally, foot traffic is falling at brick-and-mortar stores. And children are playing differently than they used to decades ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Now all the wee ones need can be found at the smartphone store.
Now all the wee ones need can be found at the smartphone store.
Must be run by a bunch of democrats.
A joke I heard in the 80s:
A group of black investors bought
Toys R Us and will change the name to
We Is Toys.
Every company is competing against Amazon.
I worked for a big data company that had powerful technology to provide incredible analytics telling companies how their web sites were performing and how their mobile apps were performing. The best retailers are adapting quickly, but maybe not quickly enough to save them. Once the brick and mortar “DNA” is in your e-staff blood, it is hard to get it out.
Five bucks, yeah not worth it. But 50 or a 100? Worth it.
This is kind of sad. Sometimes it’s just nice to look at what you’re buying, rather than an online picture.
Most the pity.
However, if I may offer the following without offense:
My parents were very similar in that they falsely believed they had to entice my daughters to visit them by offering “toys / clothing bribes” despite my insistence that those things were not necessary. My parents ignored my advice until my daughters reached their early teens, after which my daughters preferred a trip to beach. a mountain hike, a fishing trip, or a weekend camping in the motorhome, sitting outside by a campfire listening to stories of my parents’ childhood or just simply playing card games like whist, hearts, spades, dumb bunny, etc.
I suggest you stop thinking you need to bribe them with gifts and instead offer them the things that you enjoyed as a child which you reminisce about and miss most in life. Believe it or not, those are the important things in life and even children need fond memories beyond a new toy, video game, dress, or latest gizmo.
Just a suggestion.
“I always told the wife, he’ll have more fun with the box.”
that’s true with most cat toys as well ...
I remember Children’s Bargain Town in the Midwest with their mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe. They were one of the chains that were eventually merged into the final Toys R Us.
Having been a professional mother and toy buyer for 40 years, I can say that I never liked TRU, and seldom shopped there.
Dirty, unorganized stores, exorbitant prices, terrible checkouts, terrible employees.
I’m surprised they lasted this long.
Western Auto
Nailed it!
Yes, I also remember Geoffrey the Giraffe.
Well, the retailing landscape continues to shift, doesn’t it?
Somebody told me, that in about 10 years, there will be about six companies that control 90+% of retailing. And that Amazon would be the biggest retailer of all, even eclipsing Wal Mart in the years ahead.
The variant of that I saw was We B Toys, with a backwards B.
Petrie Stores
That’s a separate issue. Leveraged buyouts enrich the investors by bleeding the company, while the retailer is saddled with debt that sales cannot possibly service. Then BK washes away the debt, or the company liquidates. In either case the investors make a killing.
“and kids have way too many toys.....”
IMO, that’s part of the “better parenting” thing that’s been going on since WWII. Each generation wants it better for their kids thinking they are doing them a favor by actually spoiling them.
It got the hippies going in the 60’s and we are currently dealing with brainless snowflakes.
Wife would make a Fort out of the Big boxes (Wash Machine, Refrigerator etc.) The girl's (three of them) would play week's with them. We would cut out windows, door's. They would spend hour's upon hour's. But then again we did live in the middle of NO-WHERE'S-VILLE.
If their bonds haven't been reduced to junk level status yet, they soon will be.
I suspect that if Sears can survive this summer, they'll probably try to make one last splash for Christmas, and then fold up.
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