amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
Actually, for a good portion of the working class - especially women - mid-tier retail jobs were good for them, especially if they moved up the ranks and got into management.
... the company was taken private by KKR, Bain Capital and real estate firm Vornado. The $6.6 billion purchase left it with $5.3 billion in debt secured by its assets and it never really recovered...
When Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, it disclosed it had about $5 billion in debt and was spending about $400 million a year just to service that debt.
So in 2005 TRU was worth 6.6 billion (or at least that was what bain and a few other companies were willing to pay for it). By 2017 the outstanding debt was only 5 billion. To me that seems like someone with 5 billion could buy TRU (paying off all outstanding debts) and continue to run it. So long as they don't require a ridiculous $400 million a year in return, they have a stable income and a profitable company.
That's just it though - if you spend $5 billion, how long is it going to take to recoup that? That's more than 20 years at $400 million a year. Nobody wants to take that on unless they can quickly flip it somehow. Bain Capital has been able to bounce debt from company to company for a long time now, but not everyone else can play the game as well as them.
I can't believe Babies'r'Us is going down with them. The one near me always seems busy, and I got most of my baby stuff there.. But I guess baby registries are going online now, too.
I did all of mine on Amazon, they offer a lot of perks and it's easy for friends/relatives to use.
For all that they say online shopping is not a big factor... I think it is. At least, it weakens the big box stores enough that hostile buyouts etc mean they can't recover.
I'm waiting for the death of Barnes and Noble - my daughter adores toy shopping there and they have a really large toy section, as well as a huge kids book section. Prices aren't noticeably worse than Amazon either. But I still buy stuff from Amazon when I want something specific, as opposed to having her choose.
B&N has been on a downward slope due to poor management for years but they're in a death spiral now. Fired nearly all of their full time employees earlier this year. I'd be surprised if they make it to 2019.
Also owned by Bain. I made a post in the economy thread about it.
Toys "R" Us' debt problems date back to well before Amazon (AMZN) was a major threat. Its debt was downgraded to junk bond status in January of 2005, at a time when Amazon's sales were just 4% of their current level.
A year later the company was taken private by KKR, Bain Capital and real estate firm Vornado. The $6.6 billion purchase left it with $5.3 billion in debt secured by its assets and it never really recovered.
The toy store faced several other big challenges at about the same time. There was the rise of big box retailers like Walmart (WMT), which now dwarfs Toys "R" Us in total toy sales. Last year toymakers Mattel (MAT) and Hasbro (HAS) each sold about $1 billion worth of their toys at Walmart, more than twice as much as what they sold through Toys "R" Us. Target (TGT) sold just about as many of their as Toys "R" Us last year.
And like most retailers, Toys "R" Us also lost sales to online rivals such as Amazon that offered lower prices and quick shipping.
But much of the chain's resources were devoted to paying off that massive debt load rather than staying competitive.
The most loathesome part about this is Bain got their stake in Toys R Us with money from doing the same thing to KB Toys in the run up to the recession. Now there just aren't any large toy stores.
Also in like the same day the news broke that they'd driven one of the largest media monopolies in the US bankrupt (really mixed feelings about that).
iHeart, formerly known as Clear Channel, is the nation’s largest radio company, with more than 850 stations. It also owns iHeartRadio’s music streaming service, a large concert business, and a 90% stake in Clear Channel Outdoor, the billboard company. Clear Channel Outdoor did not file for bankruptcy. For years, the company has been saddled with $20 billion in debt, the legacy of a leveraged buyout in 2008.
“What they’ve done to try to stay afloat is financial engineering,” says Seth Crystall, an analyst at Debtwire. “There’s no reason to file for bankruptcy until you have to… but we’re at that point.”
Among the music companies listed as creditors on the iHeart docket are Nielsen (owed $20 million); SoundExchange ($6.4 million); Warner Music Group ($3.9 million); Universal Music Group ($1.3 million); and Spotify ($2.1 million). Performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI are each owed slightly over $1.4 million while Global Music Rights is looking at a $2 million debt.
While dramatic, the filing is not likely to have much noticeable effect on the company’s day-to-day. “They’re not shutting down. They’re going to pay their bills,” Crystall says. “If you were listening to iHeartRadio, or going to iHeart concerts, you will not even know the difference.”
The company, owned by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, has been in negotiations for nearly a year with its primary debtholders, led by Franklin Resources Group. Under the agreement detailed in an SEC filing, the debtholders will take control of more than 91 percent of the equity in the reorganized company, while Bain and Thomas H. Lee will keep just 1 percent. In term sheets released previously, the equity holders had offered creditors 89.5 percent of the equity, and proposed to keep 5.25 percent of the company. The creditors’ counteroffer sought a higher stake in the company — 94.75 percent — while offering the equity holders nothing.
Also they've got their hooks in Barnes & Noble, and based on what a ghost town that place was during the holidays that acquisition is close to bearing fruit. Guess we won't have any large bookstores soon either.
I am not sure what if anything can be done to legislate against leveraged buyouts but it's a practice that shouldn't be legal imo. Guts the economy in the long term for everyone to make a few people richer in the near term.
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Giggles_FunsworthBlight on DiscourseBay Area SprawlRegistered Userregular
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
Amazon will replace large-area and outlet stores like Sears, TRU, Wallmart, and so on. Their entire business plan is giving customers a large selection and cheap prices, and Amazon has a much larger selection at much cheaper prices.
What Amazon will not replace is smaller specialized stores, where you can get specialized products, expert advice, and experience. Specialized products are harder to find online (especially without getting slammed by shipping fees), and not everyone can understand spec sheets or find reliable sources online. And live experience always wins out over sitting in front of a computer screen.
Game stores are already adapting. Board games are the best example: board game cafés give you access to a range of obscure games you won't find at Walmart and TRU, experts who've played them and can guide you to the good games in your favourite genre, and the café portion allows you to sit down and play the game before you buy it while sipping a beer with friends (along with experts to explain the rules to you). Amazon's got nothing on that.
Except that after you are done playing the game at the cafe you go home order the game on Amazon and you don't go back to the cafe until you are looking for a new game.
You go home?
You buy it on your phone for $15 less right there at the table, and if you're lucky you just tell them to drop it off at your doorstep while you have one more drink. Then you go home and play around 2 at your house.
This is not a common feeling in the US, yet.
I live in a decent sized city that literally was built around being a transport hub (3 different interstates and another handful of state and US routes all meet), and we don't get Prime Now or anything like this. We're only now starting to get pickup/delivery on groceries, mostly thanks to Wal-Mart and Hyvee and a few other companies. Despite there being multiple distribution centers in Illinois, there's still a 2 day lag to get anything here (less than a couple hours away). Now extend that for people in rural areas...
Now, on the larger discussion, board games aren't a good analogue anyways because they are a social event. You need to experience the games with someone else, on some level, be it online or in person. Game shops cater to this. Books are generally not a social experience, beyond conspicuous consumption. But toys? Toys is something I feel fits in the middle, where people need to see what they are buying (and make sure it is appropriate) and then they can impulse buy. IF we ever get nation-wide doorstep delivery, then I can see that being the death knell of brick and mortar for the toy industry. But again - the bigger problem was the leveraged buyout hurting the experience and feel (and raising prices), not necessarily the arrival of Amazon... yet.
My version of this looks like four different companies competing to bring me groceries to my house, within 2 hours, for about $4 more than it would cost me to spend 2 hours getting them myself.
Prime now is transformative, and I absolutely, unquestionably welcome it. Big box stores are environmentally harmful, promote waste, deceive customers, and soak wealth out of the economy. They pay their employees terribly, treat them worse, and their business model is built around a combination of inertia and ignorance.
I have a deep sense of nostalgia for Toys R Us, and they were truly a part of my childhood. The store occupies A Place In My Memory. Itwas the first place I saw an intellivision. It had an entire aisle dedicated to just to video games. It had every action figure in every set I wanted! It was magical and I'm glad it existed when I was a child.
Nowadays like most things that existed when I was a child - rotary dialing, Long distance charges, broadcast television, Ozarks related fads - I'm not really upset that they're gone and I am excited to see the acceleration of brick-and-mortar closures.
We love you, goodbye. Don't come back.
This really sounds like Amazon is really good for you because you chose a shit place to live in terms of access to civilization.
For me TRUS was 5 minutes away, with another 10 mins, because I live in an urban center, and it was pretty much the only toy store of its kind left since Bain killed the other large toy retailer. Being able to browse has value. I don't buy near as much stuff on Amazon as I do in actual stores, and while not being able to browse is better for my wallet, it certainly isn't better for the economy.
Also everything you say is bad about big box stores can be applied to Amazon x10 so I don't really get your argument.
... the company was taken private by KKR, Bain Capital and real estate firm Vornado. The $6.6 billion purchase left it with $5.3 billion in debt secured by its assets and it never really recovered...
When Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, it disclosed it had about $5 billion in debt and was spending about $400 million a year just to service that debt.
So in 2005 TRU was worth 6.6 billion (or at least that was what bain and a few other companies were willing to pay for it). By 2017 the outstanding debt was only 5 billion. To me that seems like someone with 5 billion could buy TRU (paying off all outstanding debts) and continue to run it. So long as they don't require a ridiculous $400 million a year in return, they have a stable income and a profitable company.
That's just it though - if you spend $5 billion, how long is it going to take to recoup that? That's more than 20 years at $400 million a year. Nobody wants to take that on unless they can quickly flip it somehow. Bain Capital has been able to bounce debt from company to company for a long time now, but not everyone else can play the game as well as them.
Who buys a business expecting 100% ROI within a few years? That is insane. The point is that you can make say 100 million a year (or 2%/year of your 5 billion investment). And after 10 or 20 years hopefully sell for at least 5 billion.
"The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it" - Dr Horrible
... the company was taken private by KKR, Bain Capital and real estate firm Vornado. The $6.6 billion purchase left it with $5.3 billion in debt secured by its assets and it never really recovered...
When Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, it disclosed it had about $5 billion in debt and was spending about $400 million a year just to service that debt.
So in 2005 TRU was worth 6.6 billion (or at least that was what bain and a few other companies were willing to pay for it). By 2017 the outstanding debt was only 5 billion. To me that seems like someone with 5 billion could buy TRU (paying off all outstanding debts) and continue to run it. So long as they don't require a ridiculous $400 million a year in return, they have a stable income and a profitable company.
That's just it though - if you spend $5 billion, how long is it going to take to recoup that? That's more than 20 years at $400 million a year. Nobody wants to take that on unless they can quickly flip it somehow. Bain Capital has been able to bounce debt from company to company for a long time now, but not everyone else can play the game as well as them.
Who buys a business expecting 100% ROI within a few years? That is insane. The point is that you can make say 100 million a year (or 2%/year of your 5 billion investment). And after 10 or 20 years hopefully sell for at least 5 billion.
You've basically discovered the problem with modern American finance. It's all short term thinking. Waiting a decade is unacceptable, because that doesn't maximize return next quarter.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
Meanwhile the gains are huge for consumers and retailers who are prepared to work in the new market.
There isn't a new market.
Tell that to the Chuck Tingle.
There isn't a new market, man. From today to a week ago nothing has changed except another brick and mortar retailer went under.
Nothing is going to replace it because it's getting replaced with automation.
Something will replace it. The question is what, where and when. It's about what the transition costs are and where the benefits accrue. Where are the new jobs forming, what kind are they, what skills do they require and all that and when are they gonna form. Cause the answers to that can be "far away", "different then retail jobs", "different ones then these people have" and "not for another decade". But those 33,000 TRU employees need to buy food, you know, today. They need to make rent this month. They need a job now. But the new market is not right here right now. That's the problem. That's why shit like this is so catastrophic.
The problem with this type of sentiment is that without a proposed solution, the default assumption is that the status quo would be better than the "catastrophy." I don't think it is ever better to reduce or stifle innovation. It should be possible for a society to use safety nets to catch those put into bad situations by innovation, without giving up on the opportunities afforded by it. I'm not saying I have an answer, but I reject the implied answer of just maintaining the status quo because it's hard to transition people.
That's not a problem at all though. And you are assuming the death of TRU USA was caused by "innovation". Which, I guess it was in a sense but not the kind of innovation you are talking about. Internet shopping is an innovation. So are business plans and structures (Walmart's success is in part built on excellent pipeline management and a lack of this was a huge part of what killed Target Canada.) So are financial tools. Levereged buyouts are innovations. Someone invented them. They aren't just a thing that exists, humans invented the financial system in order to accomplish things and people come up with new innovations in financial practices to make money all the time. But they don't always do good things. They aren't always useful for society as a whole. They don't always make the economy function better for society.
The problem here is actually your blanket assumption that innovation is always better. That new innovations are good. Packaging subprime mortages into newly created financial products and selling those to make a shitload of money was an innovation just like leveraged buyouts. How well did that go for everyone? Should we not regulate those because it would reduce or stifle innovation?
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
This guy...is not my type of guy
I see this kind of “platituding” from time to time....
...from the shit managers I’ve had to reassign or fire because they had no clue how to run their businesses or motivate their teams.
They are insecure and try to mask it with irrelevant tough talk, sports analogies and pointless pantomiming at their ideas of “leadership.”
I think Bain got tired of waiting around and sent their ace in to finish the job.
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
This guy...is not my type of guy
I see this kind of “platituding” from time to time....
...from the shit managers I’ve had to reassign or fire because they had no clue how to run their businesses or motivate their teams.
They are insecure and try to mask it with irrelevant tough talk, sports analogies and pointless pantomiming at their ideas of “leadership.”
I think Bain got tired of waiting around and sent their ace in to finish the job.
I never got that, I've found that people respond BETTER to insecurity than false macho bullshit, there's better group cohesion when there isnt some fratboy wannabe douche trying to validate himself.
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
Amazon will replace large-area and outlet stores like Sears, TRU, Wallmart, and so on. Their entire business plan is giving customers a large selection and cheap prices, and Amazon has a much larger selection at much cheaper prices.
What Amazon will not replace is smaller specialized stores, where you can get specialized products, expert advice, and experience. Specialized products are harder to find online (especially without getting slammed by shipping fees), and not everyone can understand spec sheets or find reliable sources online. And live experience always wins out over sitting in front of a computer screen.
Game stores are already adapting. Board games are the best example: board game cafés give you access to a range of obscure games you won't find at Walmart and TRU, experts who've played them and can guide you to the good games in your favourite genre, and the café portion allows you to sit down and play the game before you buy it while sipping a beer with friends (along with experts to explain the rules to you). Amazon's got nothing on that.
Except that after you are done playing the game at the cafe you go home order the game on Amazon and you don't go back to the cafe until you are looking for a new game.
You go home?
You buy it on your phone for $15 less right there at the table, and if you're lucky you just tell them to drop it off at your doorstep while you have one more drink. Then you go home and play around 2 at your house.
This is not a common feeling in the US, yet.
I live in a decent sized city that literally was built around being a transport hub (3 different interstates and another handful of state and US routes all meet), and we don't get Prime Now or anything like this. We're only now starting to get pickup/delivery on groceries, mostly thanks to Wal-Mart and Hyvee and a few other companies. Despite there being multiple distribution centers in Illinois, there's still a 2 day lag to get anything here (less than a couple hours away). Now extend that for people in rural areas...
Now, on the larger discussion, board games aren't a good analogue anyways because they are a social event. You need to experience the games with someone else, on some level, be it online or in person. Game shops cater to this. Books are generally not a social experience, beyond conspicuous consumption. But toys? Toys is something I feel fits in the middle, where people need to see what they are buying (and make sure it is appropriate) and then they can impulse buy. IF we ever get nation-wide doorstep delivery, then I can see that being the death knell of brick and mortar for the toy industry. But again - the bigger problem was the leveraged buyout hurting the experience and feel (and raising prices), not necessarily the arrival of Amazon... yet.
My version of this looks like four different companies competing to bring me groceries to my house, within 2 hours, for about $4 more than it would cost me to spend 2 hours getting them myself.
Prime now is transformative, and I absolutely, unquestionably welcome it. Big box stores are environmentally harmful, promote waste, deceive customers, and soak wealth out of the economy. They pay their employees terribly, treat them worse, and their business model is built around a combination of inertia and ignorance.
I have a deep sense of nostalgia for Toys R Us, and they were truly a part of my childhood. The store occupies A Place In My Memory. Itwas the first place I saw an intellivision. It had an entire aisle dedicated to just to video games. It had every action figure in every set I wanted! It was magical and I'm glad it existed when I was a child.
Nowadays like most things that existed when I was a child - rotary dialing, Long distance charges, broadcast television, Ozarks related fads - I'm not really upset that they're gone and I am excited to see the acceleration of brick-and-mortar closures.
We love you, goodbye. Don't come back.
This really sounds like Amazon is really good for you because you chose a shit place to live in terms of access to civilization.
For me TRUS was 5 minutes away, with another 10 mins, because I live in an urban center, and it was pretty much the only toy store of its kind left since Bain killed the other large toy retailer. Being able to browse has value. I don't buy near as much stuff on Amazon as I do in actual stores, and while not being able to browse is better for my wallet, it certainly isn't better for the economy.
Also everything you say is bad about big box stores can be applied to Amazon x10 so I don't really get your argument.
Hah no
I am in a great place just outside Austin. There's a TRU 10 minutes from me too, in a huge big box strip mall. I haven't done anything but drive past it in probably 10 years because why would I when Amazon will sell what I want to me for less money and deliver it for zero dollars, often within 2 hours. I can browse during lunch and it's waiting when I get home. And this is supposedly LESS convenient than driving all over hell's half acre to find the one figure they're out of?
Browsing is still possible, and usually better since you can see everything rather than just what's in stock, and because you'll run across things that would never exist in a store. Browsing is basically a luxury indulgence for which you pay a premium. If you're going to indulge in luxury, you should use your amazing urban center and browse a local store like https://toyjoy.com here in Austin. At least that way you're supporting local jobs instead of a big-time local retail killer.
If you want to kill local, at least get something out of the bargain!
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
Don't let them crash them on purpose for a quick payout, maybe?
Because the frequency that this is happening suggests that the ultra rich have found a loophole in the whole "working hard" thing, and that's salting the economic landscape for their own benefit.
Does Toys R Us have enough value to birth a new toy store franchise
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
how about "don't let people buy companies on debt to steal money from them and purposefully drive them headfirst into the ground to loot the corpse".
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
The solution is the management need to be better at their jobs, it's their fault the company is closing. Now their employees are going to pay for it, because they don't have golden parachutes waiting in the wings.
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
how about "don't let people buy companies on debt to steal money from them and purposefully drive them headfirst into the ground to loot the corpse".
But it's okay because the jobs are shitty in this case.
+2
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
The solution is the management need to be better at their jobs, it's their fault the company is closing. Now their employees are going to pay for it, because they don't have golden parachutes waiting in the wings.
Getting the place closed feels like it may have been the idea to begin with.
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
If you enjoy people shitting on Dave Brandon for a very long time, here you go.
Every single word in that Quote made me so angry I got a nosebleed
Seemed fine to me. Maybe there's some other thing that makes him horrible but like, this wasn't it at all.
Oh, whats that? What part of ANY of that fratboy cliche diatribe made him look even remotly like a person you'd want to be around?
Maybe I'm just used to having a boss that works and expects me to do the same thing. I didn't say I wanted to suck his cock, but that exerpt didn't make him sound like a bad boss.
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
Don't let them crash them on purpose for a quick payout, maybe?
Because the frequency that this is happening suggests that the ultra rich have found a loophole in the whole "working hard" thing, and that's salting the economic landscape for their own benefit.
Meanwhile the economy is on fire and wages are finally going up for everybody and the jobless rate is at a historic low...
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
Well the job apocalypse is coming it's merely on the horizon
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
amazon is going to be the biggest monopoly we've ever seen, but we effectively don't have a government to regulate things anymore, so we're in for hard times employment wise
Amazon will outcompete business like walmart and sears, sure.
But it won't be the death of brick and mortar for a good long time. Millennials do love amazon, but they also love shopping experiences too.
And they'll kill employment in their brick and mortar stores. Amazon is currently investing billions towards the destruction of labor annually.
Thanks Bezos!
Yeah we really need to preserve those sweet sweet retail jobs. Everyone is always talking about how great they are and clamouring get one and keep it for life...
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
Don't let them crash them on purpose for a quick payout, maybe?
Because the frequency that this is happening suggests that the ultra rich have found a loophole in the whole "working hard" thing, and that's salting the economic landscape for their own benefit.
Meanwhile the economy is on fire and wages are finally going up for everybody and the jobless rate is at a historic low...
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
If you enjoy people shitting on Dave Brandon for a very long time, here you go.
Every single word in that Quote made me so angry I got a nosebleed
Seemed fine to me. Maybe there's some other thing that makes him horrible but like, this wasn't it at all.
Oh, whats that? What part of ANY of that fratboy cliche diatribe made him look even remotly like a person you'd want to be around?
Maybe I'm just used to having a boss that works and expects me to do the same thing. I didn't say I wanted to suck his cock, but that exerpt didn't make him sound like a bad boss.
Thats not the way your posts come off, I'm surprised you can talk clearly with his dick in your mouth. The guy acts like Donald Trump!Biff Tannen from Back To the Future 2, and you think he's some sort of capitalism paragon?
Athletics hugely influenced me. While growing up, I was usually elected captain of the team in whatever sport I was playing. Eventually, I wanted to be captain of everything because that responsibility felt good to me.
For the most part, I picked my team. As a new leader, you must have people around who you can trust, so I have specific criteria for who will make it and who won’t.
I was a quarterback in high school. When there’s four minutes to go and you’re ahead by three touchdowns, everyone in the huddle is happy, confident, and supportive. But when you’re two touchdowns behind and you step into that huddle, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and see who you want on your team. They’re the ones looking back at you and saying, “We can do this and I will help you.” The others are already thinking about the excuses they’ll make in the locker room about why this didn’t work. You can’t win with those guys.
I have always answered my own email – hundreds a day – and get them all done before I go to bed each day. I refuse to give up on that. It lets people know I’m open, available, and engaged. I think it’s very important for me to stay in touch with my people. I’m like a blind dog in a meat house right now.
I knew I was going to be a bit of a shock to this place. I move fast and my expectations are high. My executive assistant (who came with me from Domino’s) has been very valuable in managing that. People would come to her in the first two weeks and say, “Does he really work that hard?” “Is his office always that clean?” “Does he expect our offices to look like that?” “Is that how he wants all of us to dress for work?” She became my ambassador of information. Yes, he works that hard. Yes, he expects your office to look professional. No, he doesn’t like blue jeans at work. She became this trusted figure that really eased the transition around here with a level of professionalism.
When we got here, the office itself was a mess. The Friday before I started, my wife, my assistant, and I came in after everybody left and worked all weekend. We ripped everything off the walls, painted, cleaned the carpet, emptied cupboards, put new art on the walls, wiped stains off the conference tables… When everyone walked in here on Monday, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
That was the smartest thing we ever did because people immediately understood there was a new sheriff in town and things would be different. It’s amazing how most people respond when you display an attitude like that.
If you enjoy people shitting on Dave Brandon for a very long time, here you go.
Every single word in that Quote made me so angry I got a nosebleed
Seemed fine to me. Maybe there's some other thing that makes him horrible but like, this wasn't it at all.
Oh, whats that? What part of ANY of that fratboy cliche diatribe made him look even remotly like a person you'd want to be around?
Maybe I'm just used to having a boss that works and expects me to do the same thing. I didn't say I wanted to suck his cock, but that exerpt didn't make him sound like a bad boss.
Thats not the way your posts come off, I'm surprised you can talk clearly with his dick in your mouth. The guy acts like Donald Trump!Biff Tannen from Back To the Future 2, and you think he's some sort of capitalism paragon?
This is now the end of discussing what people personally think about Dave Brandon.
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
they were woefully mismanaged on purpose and saddled with 4 billion dollars in debt when bain acquired them.
how many companies do you think would survive being leveraged to 100% of their value and have all the profits siphoned off? It's not many!
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
It's not specifically TRU that deserves propping up, people are more worried about the trend of shutting down retail stores and the loss of jobs. It's just that TRU was a pretty big chain, so now it's brought the issue back to the forefront. It doesnt help that TRU didnt go literally bankrupt, it was the victim of corporate looting. There was a bunch of other added problems, but that was the main one.
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HerrCronIt that wickedly supports taxationRegistered Userregular
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
Except this thread has been at pains to point out that Bain capital has put TRU in this position, not "market forces".
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
It's not specifically TRU that deserves propping up, people are more worried about the trend of shutting down retail stores and the loss of jobs. It's just that TRU was a pretty big chain, so now it's brought the issue back to the forefront. It doesnt help that TRU didnt go literally bankrupt, it was the victim of corporate looting. There was a bunch of other added problems, but that was the main one.
But the people lamenting the loss of those retail jobs, are the same people who dismiss out of hand the concerns of those impacted by the loss of manufacturing jobs, instead telling them ‘they’re gone, they’re not coming back, find something else instead’
Is it because retail is a job basically anyone can get? Is it because the loss of these jobs are largely Amazons gain, and that’s bad?
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
they were woefully mismanaged on purpose and saddled with 4 billion dollars in debt when bain acquired them.
how many companies do you think would survive being leveraged to 100% of their value and have all the profits siphoned off? It's not many!
Utilizing TRU properly was never Bain's intention. Their stock and trade is buying companies saddled with debt, then selling them off piece by piece for profit. This is by design.
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I think it’s possible, even likely, that
1. Bain Capital screwed TRU by saddling it with unsustainable debt service
And
2. Toys R Us had a business model that was doomed to failure eventually
Are both true statements. I can’t speak to the viability of the BabiesRUs brand, but I do know that once the closest TRU to us was converted to a BRU back in the 90s, our family never once stepped foot in it. I personally only went into a TRU one other time, because I happened to be way the hell out where they put the new one, a good 10-15 miles from where the previous location had been. I don’t know if they thought their brand was that much of a draw, or if they just didn’t care, but all the business the previous store got went instead to places like Target and WalMart and even Shopko. Because those were close to where the majority of people in the city lived, and TRU was way out in the unincorporated part of the county.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
There's admittedly a lot of nostalgia in the brand - I saw that today when I was checking it out on my usual rounds. But it's amazing how many nerds and geeks used the place as a rite of passage. I found out some board game friends of mine worked there around 2004. I certainly applied for jobs there around the turn of the century.
Keep in mind that the 33k doesn't just include retail workers. There is management, marketing, logistics and shipping, website, programmers, so on and so on... The retail workers are definitely the public face (and likely the least well paid), but the next thing I'm keeping an eye on is if corporate is going to try and help them get new jobs or severance packages.
It was a publicly traded company, and it wasn’t doing great in the mid-2000s. Not terrible, but badly enough that it was vulnerable to a leveraged buyout. After the buyout it became a privately traded company.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
I’m wondering what exactly makes TRU worthy of propping up so much, or the brick and mortar industry in general that people feel should be regulated into economic immunity, when there’s a large consensus in another thread on this page that says trying to will jobs into existence that are part of a dying industry is considered a fruitless, and even harmful endeavor?
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
It's not specifically TRU that deserves propping up, people are more worried about the trend of shutting down retail stores and the loss of jobs. It's just that TRU was a pretty big chain, so now it's brought the issue back to the forefront. It doesnt help that TRU didnt go literally bankrupt, it was the victim of corporate looting. There was a bunch of other added problems, but that was the main one.
But the people lamenting the loss of those retail jobs, are the same people who dismiss out of hand the concerns of those impacted by the loss of manufacturing jobs, instead telling them ‘they’re gone, they’re not coming back, find something else instead’
Is it because retail is a job basically anyone can get? Is it because the loss of these jobs are largely Amazons gain, and that’s bad?
Maybe? I dont really know the demographics of people defending the loss of manufacturing jobs, but it's not really the same thing. The U.S lost it's manufacturing base because it cant compete with what is essentially slave labor in Asia. It's losing it's retail market because of chain giants destroying them through economic voodoo. It's not really comparable because a lot of the retail stores arent going under because they cant compete.
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Actually, for a good portion of the working class - especially women - mid-tier retail jobs were good for them, especially if they moved up the ranks and got into management.
That's just it though - if you spend $5 billion, how long is it going to take to recoup that? That's more than 20 years at $400 million a year. Nobody wants to take that on unless they can quickly flip it somehow. Bain Capital has been able to bounce debt from company to company for a long time now, but not everyone else can play the game as well as them.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Also owned by Bain. I made a post in the economy thread about it.
This really sounds like Amazon is really good for you because you chose a shit place to live in terms of access to civilization.
For me TRUS was 5 minutes away, with another 10 mins, because I live in an urban center, and it was pretty much the only toy store of its kind left since Bain killed the other large toy retailer. Being able to browse has value. I don't buy near as much stuff on Amazon as I do in actual stores, and while not being able to browse is better for my wallet, it certainly isn't better for the economy.
Also everything you say is bad about big box stores can be applied to Amazon x10 so I don't really get your argument.
Your good faith argument is that all 33,000 TRU employees can make a living as net celebrities?
C'mon man, at least if you pivoted to an argument for basic income you'd have something mathematically workable.
Who buys a business expecting 100% ROI within a few years? That is insane. The point is that you can make say 100 million a year (or 2%/year of your 5 billion investment). And after 10 or 20 years hopefully sell for at least 5 billion.
You've basically discovered the problem with modern American finance. It's all short term thinking. Waiting a decade is unacceptable, because that doesn't maximize return next quarter.
That's not a problem at all though. And you are assuming the death of TRU USA was caused by "innovation". Which, I guess it was in a sense but not the kind of innovation you are talking about. Internet shopping is an innovation. So are business plans and structures (Walmart's success is in part built on excellent pipeline management and a lack of this was a huge part of what killed Target Canada.) So are financial tools. Levereged buyouts are innovations. Someone invented them. They aren't just a thing that exists, humans invented the financial system in order to accomplish things and people come up with new innovations in financial practices to make money all the time. But they don't always do good things. They aren't always useful for society as a whole. They don't always make the economy function better for society.
The problem here is actually your blanket assumption that innovation is always better. That new innovations are good. Packaging subprime mortages into newly created financial products and selling those to make a shitload of money was an innovation just like leveraged buyouts. How well did that go for everyone? Should we not regulate those because it would reduce or stifle innovation?
Asbestos was a new innovative product once too.
This guy...is not my type of guy
I see this kind of “platituding” from time to time....
...from the shit managers I’ve had to reassign or fire because they had no clue how to run their businesses or motivate their teams.
They are insecure and try to mask it with irrelevant tough talk, sports analogies and pointless pantomiming at their ideas of “leadership.”
I think Bain got tired of waiting around and sent their ace in to finish the job.
I never got that, I've found that people respond BETTER to insecurity than false macho bullshit, there's better group cohesion when there isnt some fratboy wannabe douche trying to validate himself.
Seemed fine to me. Maybe there's some other thing that makes him horrible but like, this wasn't it at all.
For a lot of families, that shitty job you're sneering at is the difference between the kids eating something decent or mac n cheese for the 30th night in a row, or having clothes for school. Or lights being on. Second incomes are huge these days, and retail jobs for the non-breadwinner in the family can be a massive help.
There's nothing replacing it, and TRU closing is 30k more people shoved back into the employment line.
From the sketchy leveraged buyout to the inevitable rich-get-paid-to-fail economics, nothing good has happened here. 30k people are now wondering what to do because 5 people extracted all the money out of their company and shuttered it once they couldn't bleed it anymore.
I'm sorry the people who have to do these jobs don't match your high standards.
Hah no
I am in a great place just outside Austin. There's a TRU 10 minutes from me too, in a huge big box strip mall. I haven't done anything but drive past it in probably 10 years because why would I when Amazon will sell what I want to me for less money and deliver it for zero dollars, often within 2 hours. I can browse during lunch and it's waiting when I get home. And this is supposedly LESS convenient than driving all over hell's half acre to find the one figure they're out of?
Browsing is still possible, and usually better since you can see everything rather than just what's in stock, and because you'll run across things that would never exist in a store. Browsing is basically a luxury indulgence for which you pay a premium. If you're going to indulge in luxury, you should use your amazing urban center and browse a local store like https://toyjoy.com here in Austin. At least that way you're supporting local jobs instead of a big-time local retail killer.
If you want to kill local, at least get something out of the bargain!
Oh, whats that? What part of ANY of that fratboy cliche diatribe made him look even remotly like a person you'd want to be around?
Again, it sounds like your solution is "don't close businesses because losing a job is bad". What are you arguing for here?
Losing a job is awful! Its going to continue and accelerate because retail is going to contract much more before we get all the useless overhead and waste out of the system. Your solution can't be "don't let people close companies".
I'm just wondering when were going to make running businesses into the ground on purpose to get a golden parachute illegal.
Don't let them crash them on purpose for a quick payout, maybe?
Because the frequency that this is happening suggests that the ultra rich have found a loophole in the whole "working hard" thing, and that's salting the economic landscape for their own benefit.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
how about "don't let people buy companies on debt to steal money from them and purposefully drive them headfirst into the ground to loot the corpse".
The solution is the management need to be better at their jobs, it's their fault the company is closing. Now their employees are going to pay for it, because they don't have golden parachutes waiting in the wings.
But it's okay because the jobs are shitty in this case.
Getting the place closed feels like it may have been the idea to begin with.
Maybe I'm just used to having a boss that works and expects me to do the same thing. I didn't say I wanted to suck his cock, but that exerpt didn't make him sound like a bad boss.
Meanwhile the economy is on fire and wages are finally going up for everybody and the jobless rate is at a historic low...
Well the job apocalypse is coming it's merely on the horizon
We have a US economy thread.
Thats not the way your posts come off, I'm surprised you can talk clearly with his dick in your mouth. The guy acts like Donald Trump!Biff Tannen from Back To the Future 2, and you think he's some sort of capitalism paragon?
This is now the end of discussing what people personally think about Dave Brandon.
I have good memories of it too, but woefully mismanaged retail chains are nothing new.
they were woefully mismanaged on purpose and saddled with 4 billion dollars in debt when bain acquired them.
how many companies do you think would survive being leveraged to 100% of their value and have all the profits siphoned off? It's not many!
It's not specifically TRU that deserves propping up, people are more worried about the trend of shutting down retail stores and the loss of jobs. It's just that TRU was a pretty big chain, so now it's brought the issue back to the forefront. It doesnt help that TRU didnt go literally bankrupt, it was the victim of corporate looting. There was a bunch of other added problems, but that was the main one.
Except this thread has been at pains to point out that Bain capital has put TRU in this position, not "market forces".
But the people lamenting the loss of those retail jobs, are the same people who dismiss out of hand the concerns of those impacted by the loss of manufacturing jobs, instead telling them ‘they’re gone, they’re not coming back, find something else instead’
Is it because retail is a job basically anyone can get? Is it because the loss of these jobs are largely Amazons gain, and that’s bad?
Utilizing TRU properly was never Bain's intention. Their stock and trade is buying companies saddled with debt, then selling them off piece by piece for profit. This is by design.
1. Bain Capital screwed TRU by saddling it with unsustainable debt service
And
2. Toys R Us had a business model that was doomed to failure eventually
Are both true statements. I can’t speak to the viability of the BabiesRUs brand, but I do know that once the closest TRU to us was converted to a BRU back in the 90s, our family never once stepped foot in it. I personally only went into a TRU one other time, because I happened to be way the hell out where they put the new one, a good 10-15 miles from where the previous location had been. I don’t know if they thought their brand was that much of a draw, or if they just didn’t care, but all the business the previous store got went instead to places like Target and WalMart and even Shopko. Because those were close to where the majority of people in the city lived, and TRU was way out in the unincorporated part of the county.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Keep in mind that the 33k doesn't just include retail workers. There is management, marketing, logistics and shipping, website, programmers, so on and so on... The retail workers are definitely the public face (and likely the least well paid), but the next thing I'm keeping an eye on is if corporate is going to try and help them get new jobs or severance packages.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It was a publicly traded company, and it wasn’t doing great in the mid-2000s. Not terrible, but badly enough that it was vulnerable to a leveraged buyout. After the buyout it became a privately traded company.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Maybe? I dont really know the demographics of people defending the loss of manufacturing jobs, but it's not really the same thing. The U.S lost it's manufacturing base because it cant compete with what is essentially slave labor in Asia. It's losing it's retail market because of chain giants destroying them through economic voodoo. It's not really comparable because a lot of the retail stores arent going under because they cant compete.