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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
+8
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered 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.
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.
It could've reinvented itself if it weren't for the LBO, I think is the point people are trying to make.
The larger discussion of the US manufacturing sector isn't on topic here. The fact is, people want their toys cheap, and that means shipping them from overseas... and TRU was selling even those at a markup.
After all, toys are a disposable resource for most families. Lord knows how many of my childhood toys I cried over, involving my bros breaking them...
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?
People are pointing out that the problem is the leveraged buyout. That's the difference here.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
And again, Canadian TRU is propped up by inefficiency and defended from competition by the taxation and import regimes.
Where do you think TRU Canada gets its stuff? Because I doubt Mattel, Nintendo, Hasbro and company have production facilities in Canada, which means they are subject to those same import taxes and therefor don't provide TRU with any advantage.
Most toys are duty-free in Canada. The exceptions are tricycles, scooters and such. Video games and video game consoles are also duty free. So I'm not seeing this tariff protection TRU has. Don't assume what you get from shipping stuff over the border is the same as commercial shipments- the rules are often very different.
EDIT: also don't you export prosthetics? If you're judging by shipping those commercially you're probably getting the wrong impression as medical gear can be an incredibly touchy subject and is going to be subject to delays repeated toy shipments just won't have. For that matter those are *also* duty free. https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2018/html/00/ch90-eng.html
The best way to solve shitty work conditions like retail is not to shutter the stores, but back legislation that gives power to the workers and enables them to unionize to stand up for better terms without being retaliated against. This includes scumbag tactics like closing a store "temporarily" just because the workers were on the verge of making the union official.
That's the entire point of a union is to allow those without much power to come together and fight back against those with a lot of power.
I wouldn't deny that TRU was screwed over and had their life cut short. But I doubt they were long for this world anyway.
Without the LBO, TRU would have had the money to update their stores. They also wouldn't have had the empty suit known as Dave Brandon foisted onto them as well.
Again, what's killing retail is vulture capitalism.
They got a new store here very recently. It's really nice. Warm, open, inviting. It's the polar opposite of the poorly-lit, self-storage facility vibe the previous locale seemed to be going for.
I've seen too many toy stores die over the years this side of the pond. Taylor & McKenna, Beatties, the independent store my dad started that didn't last a year (long time ago, that was), the model shop in the city nearest to me that closed I think it was last year, and now TRU... it sometimes feels like that whole sector is cursed, and not just because of the rise of internet sales or vulture capital firms like Bain.
It’s hard when the competition doesn’t need to devote shelf space to displaying merch, or pay for clerks to be there even when there’s no business, or pay rent on store fronts. Also hard to stay competitive when the competition’s not just undercutting your prices, but delivering things directly to the customer’s door. Lot of retail places needed to adapt or die in the last several years and a lot of them chose Death (not necessarily because the wanted to mind you)
Won’t lay all the blame at TRU’s feet, but they not entirely victims either.
No, I'm pretty sure the problem was the multi-billion dollar boat anchor Bain put around TRU's neck.
Can someone explain what the benefit is to the people who buy the company in these scenarios?
Like, I get the idea, you use a smaller amount of money and the rest is loans, and the loans go on the companies books (which is insane)
but then the company goes...bankrupt so...what are you getting out of it?
Money. There's a reason why I described it as a "legalized bustout". And if you're wondering what a bustout is...
But when you just reference Goodfellas people tend to think there's some playful exaggeration at work.
I'm just going to use the description of Sears's demise from that link Sammitch posted:
In 2005, Lampert arranged the merger of Sears with discount retailer Kmart, and immediately started shifting revenue to shareholders. He spent $6 billion on stock buybacks to reward investors and prop up the share price.
More important, Lampert personally lent billions to Sears Kmart, increasing corporate debt. As in-store sales lagged, Sears sold off major assets like Craftsman brand tools and Land’s End outdoor equipment to service the loans.
Lampert also split ownership of 266 Sears and Kmart buildings into a real estate investment vehicle called Seritage. Last year, Sears and Kmart stores paid $200 million in rent on these properties they once owned, eating up operating revenue.
As Sears closes hundreds of stores and considers bankruptcy, Lampert will likely come out ahead. He enjoyed fees from all the lending to Sears, and he’ll recoup more money in any restructuring, even if Sears has to sell off inventory to do it. As a shareholder of Seritage, Lampert’s hedge funds can profit from higher rents charged to new retail outlets that move into the shuttered Sears locations.
He skimmed the profits, forced it to take a loan with him, made it use his vendors, sold off it's property, then pulled the plug when there was nothing left.
It's like a shot-by-shot remake of that scene with the exception that Paulie didn't get to lease out the lot to the next guy after he burned it down.
+18
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Giggles_FunsworthBlight on DiscourseBay Area SprawlRegistered 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.
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 pretty consistent in my advocacy for a basic income and I'm wondering who these strawmen are. This is a problem regardless of sector.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
TRU in the US was doing well too, except for that millstone literally designed to make it fail. Profits were actually increasing this last year. It's just that it was being deliberately bled dry that is the problem.
EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
My city has a number of small, high-quality toystores opening across the city. Few are chains, many are attached to other types of businesses (such as gaming stores that now have a sizable toy stocking or clothing stores that also sell boutique toys). They don't have the insane range of Toys R Us, but most folks 40 and under have an aversion to big box stores anyhow. If you are going to one, why not Target or Walmart and get your groceries at the same time?
Toys R Us, along with the big sporting goods stores and other mega-genre outlets (hello Circuit City and Best Buy) were a dream of a pre-internet era in the 1990s. They never could be viable, and their impact on destroying local businesses and local employment was always negative. With the rise of digital vendors like Amazon and eBay, you have places where the mom-and-pop stores can now simultaneously compete with the large stores while still offering boutique service for those who want to come in and shop. And that's a good thing. And that isn't going into artisans who make local, custom toys now having a worldwide outlet through both large scale like Amazon, but also more reasonable vending services such as Etsy.
It sucks for the Toys R Us employees, of course. But it sucked far worse when the local small stores were crushed by Toys R Us and replaced career store positions with minimum wage clerk positions. Internet marketplace actually makes it so folks who produce good content can vend it again, which is excellent.
My city has a number of small, high-quality toystores opening across the city. Few are chains, many are attached to other types of businesses (such as gaming stores that now have a sizable toy stocking or clothing stores that also sell boutique toys). They don't have the insane range of Toys R Us, but most folks 40 and under have an aversion to big box stores anyhow. If you are going to one, why not Target or Walmart and get your groceries at the same time?
Toys R Us, along with the big sporting goods stores and other mega-genre outlets (hello Circuit City and Best Buy) were a dream of a pre-internet era in the 1990s. They never could be viable, and their impact on destroying local businesses and local employment was always negative. With the rise of digital vendors like Amazon and eBay, you have places where the mom-and-pop stores can now simultaneously compete with the large stores while still offering boutique service for those who want to come in and shop. And that's a good thing. And that isn't going into artisans who make local, custom toys now having a worldwide outlet through both large scale like Amazon, but also more reasonable vending services such as Etsy.
It sucks for the Toys R Us employees, of course. But it sucked far worse when the local small stores were crushed by Toys R Us and replaced career store positions with minimum wage clerk positions. Internet marketplace actually makes it so folks who produce good content can vend it again, which is excellent.
People aren't complaining about that. If it went bankrupt because of a changing market it would be one thing. The problem is it only went bankrupt because it got looted by a handful of rich assholes who weren't satisfied with their billions.
So what’s going to happen to all the TRU real estate? I can’t think of any retailer that fits in stores that big that currently has an appetite/need for these locations...
So what’s going to happen to all the TRU real estate? I can’t think of any retailer that fits in stores that big that currently has an appetite/need for these locations...
Convert to office space?
Empty rotting big box stores are going to be a feature of the landscape...
So what’s going to happen to all the TRU real estate? I can’t think of any retailer that fits in stores that big that currently has an appetite/need for these locations...
Convert to office space?
The more likely scenario for most locations is a hulking shell of a building that doesn't get used and stands empty slowly aging into ruin.
however for the few that live on i would expect conversion to offices, use as warehouse space, or conversion to restaurants and other service locations like a sky zone, or mind trek vr, or gyms and stuff like that. Like you'd have to do heavy renovations for some of these, but they are essentially big boxes you can fill with various layouts of walls and entrances and shit. It's just gunna cost dollars.
Problem is, these big box stores don't have windows. There is a limited number of things you can make with a massive windowless building. And renovating outside walls to add windows costs a lot more money than simply putting up a few dry walls to reconfigure the internal space.
Office space and affordable housing both require windows.
I think retail in general is going to be one of the first on the chopping block in labor automation
Online stores may not have executed Toys R Us, but they will certainly prevent its resurrection. I think retail is approaching manufacturing in that aspect. Just another job you can't have in the US.
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.
The idea of buying up a bunch of toys r us locations and turning them into VR halls is kinda fun to think about. Specially because buying the real estate probably wouldn't be the expensive part.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
I think it's kinda both. If an old person has cancer and dies of pneumonia, did they die of the cancer which weakened them, or the pneumonia that took them away?
I think retail in general is going to be one of the first on the chopping block in labor automation
Online stores may not have executed Toys R Us, but they will certainly prevent its resurrection. I think retail is approaching manufacturing in that aspect. Just another job you can't have in the US.
More precisely the online market covers and provides scapegoat for the billionaires looting the retail sector of our economy.
Greedy billionaires killed it. The online marketplace is gunna keep it dead, and take the blame for killing it.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
I think it's kinda both. If an old person has cancer and dies of pneumonia, did they die of the cancer which weakened them, or the pneumonia that took them away?
The idea of buying up a bunch of toys r us locations and turning them into VR halls is kinda fun to think about. Specially because buying the real estate probably wouldn't be the expensive part.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
I think it's kinda both. If an old person has cancer and dies of pneumonia, did they die of the cancer which weakened them, or the pneumonia that took them away?
Problem is, no one has proven yet that the internet is cancer for TRU and Sears, or why it was for them but not for all the other massive box stores (The Bay, Walmart, etc.).
The situation is more akin to a doctor claiming an old person dying of pneumonia actually has cancer, and using that as an excuse to pocket billions of dollars in unnecessary cancer treatments while ignoring the pneumonia. Or something. It's starting to get away from me, that one.
The idea of buying up a bunch of toys r us locations and turning them into VR halls is kinda fun to think about. Specially because buying the real estate probably wouldn't be the expensive part.
Multi-story laser tag arena
Basically the same thing, but we live in the future and have immersive VR so you can run around killing aliens and stuff in virtual environments.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
I think it's kinda both. If an old person has cancer and dies of pneumonia, did they die of the cancer which weakened them, or the pneumonia that took them away?
I wasn't aware increasing profits constituted illness.
The idea of buying up a bunch of toys r us locations and turning them into VR halls is kinda fun to think about. Specially because buying the real estate probably wouldn't be the expensive part.
Multi-story laser tag arena
Basically the same thing, but we live in the future and have immersive VR so you can run around killing aliens and stuff in virtual environments.
You just have to strap a laptop to your back.
Oh man, enhanced-reality laser-tag. That would be amazing.
The idea of buying up a bunch of toys r us locations and turning them into VR halls is kinda fun to think about. Specially because buying the real estate probably wouldn't be the expensive part.
Multi-story laser tag arena
Basically the same thing, but we live in the future and have immersive VR so you can run around killing aliens and stuff in virtual environments.
You just have to strap a laptop to your back.
Oh man, enhanced-reality laser-tag. That would be amazing.
We already have that. Take some drugs before you go. Done.
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.
And yet Canadian TRU is doing just fine, by all accounts, putting the lie to the second part of that.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
On the other hand, Best Buy's future business plan is to deprioritize product sales and emphasize support services.
I can believe that. Best Buy's retail prices are straight price gouging, but their geek squad service, while horrible, is actually competitively priced.
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.
The idea of buying up a bunch of toys r us locations and turning them into VR halls is kinda fun to think about. Specially because buying the real estate probably wouldn't be the expensive part.
Multi-story laser tag arena
Basically the same thing, but we live in the future and have immersive VR so you can run around killing aliens and stuff in virtual environments.
You just have to strap a laptop to your back.
Oh man, enhanced-reality laser-tag. That would be amazing.
We already have that. Take some drugs before you go. Done.
Is...is there another way to play laser tag?
But no for real they are working on PvP scenarios for immersive VR it is and is gunna be dope.
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.
Posts
And again, Canadian TRU is propped up by inefficiency and defended from competition by the taxation and import regimes.
It's kind of crazy how well retail can still do when run correctly. Best Buy had incredible terrible upper-management for a while, and then imported a hotel CEO that turned the business around dramatically. I worked there for like eight years and saw things get pretty grim, and then saw them start to pump money into the right places, and now they're growing again, despite being the biggest 'Amazon will destroy this company' company in the country. They may have had an advantage in essentially being subsidized by hardware manufacturers, but I'm sure Toys R Us could have done the same with Hasbro/etc.
I think Toys R Us would have been fine had they done the right things and not be sabotaged internally. Without Toys R Us, we might see some of the tiny hobby shops that sell Amiibos and other collectible toys do a bit better for a while, but I've never lived anywhere where those can last more than a few years.
It could've reinvented itself if it weren't for the LBO, I think is the point people are trying to make.
The larger discussion of the US manufacturing sector isn't on topic here. The fact is, people want their toys cheap, and that means shipping them from overseas... and TRU was selling even those at a markup.
After all, toys are a disposable resource for most families. Lord knows how many of my childhood toys I cried over, involving my bros breaking them...
People are pointing out that the problem is the leveraged buyout. That's the difference here.
Where do you think TRU Canada gets its stuff? Because I doubt Mattel, Nintendo, Hasbro and company have production facilities in Canada, which means they are subject to those same import taxes and therefor don't provide TRU with any advantage.
Is it? What are you basing this on again?
I already pointed out that articles talking about it being bought suggest it's a well-run company which probably has a lot to do with it.
That's a fiction.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2018/01-99/ch95-2018-eng.pdf
Most toys are duty-free in Canada. The exceptions are tricycles, scooters and such. Video games and video game consoles are also duty free. So I'm not seeing this tariff protection TRU has. Don't assume what you get from shipping stuff over the border is the same as commercial shipments- the rules are often very different.
EDIT: also don't you export prosthetics? If you're judging by shipping those commercially you're probably getting the wrong impression as medical gear can be an incredibly touchy subject and is going to be subject to delays repeated toy shipments just won't have. For that matter those are *also* duty free. https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2018/html/00/ch90-eng.html
That's the entire point of a union is to allow those without much power to come together and fight back against those with a lot of power.
They got a new store here very recently. It's really nice. Warm, open, inviting. It's the polar opposite of the poorly-lit, self-storage facility vibe the previous locale seemed to be going for.
But when you just reference Goodfellas people tend to think there's some playful exaggeration at work.
I'm just going to use the description of Sears's demise from that link Sammitch posted:
He skimmed the profits, forced it to take a loan with him, made it use his vendors, sold off it's property, then pulled the plug when there was nothing left.
It's like a shot-by-shot remake of that scene with the exception that Paulie didn't get to lease out the lot to the next guy after he burned it down.
I'm pretty consistent in my advocacy for a basic income and I'm wondering who these strawmen are. This is a problem regardless of sector.
TRU in the US was doing well too, except for that millstone literally designed to make it fail. Profits were actually increasing this last year. It's just that it was being deliberately bled dry that is the problem.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
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Toys R Us, along with the big sporting goods stores and other mega-genre outlets (hello Circuit City and Best Buy) were a dream of a pre-internet era in the 1990s. They never could be viable, and their impact on destroying local businesses and local employment was always negative. With the rise of digital vendors like Amazon and eBay, you have places where the mom-and-pop stores can now simultaneously compete with the large stores while still offering boutique service for those who want to come in and shop. And that's a good thing. And that isn't going into artisans who make local, custom toys now having a worldwide outlet through both large scale like Amazon, but also more reasonable vending services such as Etsy.
It sucks for the Toys R Us employees, of course. But it sucked far worse when the local small stores were crushed by Toys R Us and replaced career store positions with minimum wage clerk positions. Internet marketplace actually makes it so folks who produce good content can vend it again, which is excellent.
People aren't complaining about that. If it went bankrupt because of a changing market it would be one thing. The problem is it only went bankrupt because it got looted by a handful of rich assholes who weren't satisfied with their billions.
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PSN: AbEntropy
Convert to office space?
Empty rotting big box stores are going to be a feature of the landscape...
The more likely scenario for most locations is a hulking shell of a building that doesn't get used and stands empty slowly aging into ruin.
however for the few that live on i would expect conversion to offices, use as warehouse space, or conversion to restaurants and other service locations like a sky zone, or mind trek vr, or gyms and stuff like that. Like you'd have to do heavy renovations for some of these, but they are essentially big boxes you can fill with various layouts of walls and entrances and shit. It's just gunna cost dollars.
Some of the old storefronts got turned into thrift stores, but mostly it's just a dead shopping center.
Add Toys R Us to the empty-buildings pile I guess. Kinda depressing.
Maybe they'll turn it into a gym or something. I know Anytime Fitness seemed to go around scooping up all of Blockbuster's old locations.
Office space and affordable housing both require windows.
Online stores may not have executed Toys R Us, but they will certainly prevent its resurrection. I think retail is approaching manufacturing in that aspect. Just another job you can't have in the US.
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.
Indeed. I find it telling that the two biggest "Internet is killing retail" stories in recent history, Sears and Toys R Us, were both actually victims of predatory capitalism and bad management, and not of the internet at all.
I think it's kinda both. If an old person has cancer and dies of pneumonia, did they die of the cancer which weakened them, or the pneumonia that took them away?
More precisely the online market covers and provides scapegoat for the billionaires looting the retail sector of our economy.
Greedy billionaires killed it. The online marketplace is gunna keep it dead, and take the blame for killing it.
TRU's income was going *up* not down.
Multi-story laser tag arena
Problem is, no one has proven yet that the internet is cancer for TRU and Sears, or why it was for them but not for all the other massive box stores (The Bay, Walmart, etc.).
The situation is more akin to a doctor claiming an old person dying of pneumonia actually has cancer, and using that as an excuse to pocket billions of dollars in unnecessary cancer treatments while ignoring the pneumonia. Or something. It's starting to get away from me, that one.
Basically the same thing, but we live in the future and have immersive VR so you can run around killing aliens and stuff in virtual environments.
You just have to strap a laptop to your back.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I wasn't aware increasing profits constituted illness.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Oh man, enhanced-reality laser-tag. That would be amazing.
We already have that. Take some drugs before you go. Done.
On the other hand, Best Buy's future business plan is to deprioritize product sales and emphasize support services.
I can believe that. Best Buy's retail prices are straight price gouging, but their geek squad service, while horrible, is actually competitively priced.
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.
Is...is there another way to play laser tag?
But no for real they are working on PvP scenarios for immersive VR it is and is gunna be dope.
I want virtual amusement parks
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.