# Toys 'Were' Us? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 19, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724 "2017-09-19T13:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/1 "2017-09-19T13:57:39Z")
[I wonder how much longer they can hold on?](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TOYS_R_US?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-09-19-08-12-55) > [@](#): > > Toys ‘R’ Us, the big box toy retailer struggling with $5 billion in debt and intense online competition, has filed for bankruptcy protection ahead of the key holiday shopping season - and says its stores will remain open for business as usual. > > The company said the proceedings are a way for Toys ‘R’ Us to work with its creditors on restructuring the debt beleaguering it. And it emphasized that its stores worldwide will remain open and it will work with suppliers and sell merchandise. > > Filing for bankruptcy protection “will provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business … and strengthen our competitive position in an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing retail marketplace worldwide,” Chairman and CEO Dave Brandon said in the announcement. > > The move comes at a critical time leading into the holiday season that is crucial to retailers’ bottom lines. The company said it was “well stocked as we prepare for the holiday season and are excited about all of our upcoming in-store events.” I’ll be more surprised if they still exist in 5 years than if they don’t, but I’ve been saying that about Kmart for forever now. And [Radio Shack’s demise took far longer than anyone thought it would](http://www.theonion.com/article/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b-2190). But things aren’t looking good for Geoffrey and Co. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/2 "2017-09-19T14:15:50Z")
I heard about this via friend-with-young-children on Facebook. Friend is not surprised, given that most parents she knows, including herself, purchase toys either online or brick-and-mortar general retailer (i.e., Walmart). She swears by Target’s annual Christmas-in-July toy sale and plans accordingly so she won’t have to do any kid gift shopping later on. There’s a Toys R Us at our local mall. Last time we went in there looking for Youngest Nephew’s birthday present we were very underwhelmed with its selection. There were more dolls than anything else. The manager was quite dismayed when Lego opened up its own store at the other end of the mall. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/3 "2017-09-19T15:28:50Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised. Aside from Christmas and maybe a few minor gift holidays like Easter, there doesn’t seem to often be much traffic through my local store. And, as mentioned, these days a lot of people would rather buy their Christmas stuff online than fight crowds or wait in lines at the store. I feel like they had more selection when I was younger but I may have just been a smaller person back then 😃 Also, and I don’t know, but maybe there ARE less toys being made because they’re not as profitable in this modern age of video games and tablets and smart phones and color TVs. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/4 "2017-09-19T15:36:26Z")
Toys R Us problems are more about a leveraged buyout than a lack of ability to make money. If handled correctly they can be solvent again. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/5 "2017-09-19T15:41:26Z")
Just last year (or possibly earlier, I don’t go to that area much) they bulldozed the original Toys ‘R’ Us location in Rockville, MD to build condos. I grew up near there and every year on my birthday my father would take me to that store and I could pick out absolutely anything I wanted in the whole store, and then he would buy me the next, less expensive thing I wanted :D. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/6 "2017-09-19T15:46:23Z")
I just want to know when my local store is having their bankruptcy sale. They have a lot of cool shit there for me to [del]pretend to buy for my nephew[/del] buy and I want it cheap! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/7 "2017-09-19T15:55:18Z")
My brother takes his kids to TRU from time to time. But I think he only makes the trip because they have an impressive number of “grown up dolls” or - Action Figures 🙂 So they have definitely figured out how to get the 25-45 year old parents (and non-parents!) in there. I wonder how much of the sales come from figurines? My older niece is a mere 8 and she’s already over Toys R Us for the most part. She prefers a place like Target where she can look at clothes and makeup and junk. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/8 "2017-09-19T17:03:35Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I just want to know when my local store is having their bankruptcy sale. > > They have a lot of cool shit there for me to [del]pretend to buy for my nephew[/del] buy and I want it cheap! Probably won’t happen for quite some time. This is a buyout debt load issue and not a need to start closing stores issue. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ecks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/9 "2017-09-19T17:28:33Z")
I remember reading years ago that Toys R Us isn’t a toy store chain, it’s a real estate investment company. The stores may break even, but the real value is from the land they’re built on appreciating over time. No idea if it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/10 "2017-09-19T17:38:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > I remember reading years ago that Toys R Us isn’t a toy store chain, it’s a real estate investment company. The stores may break even, but the real value is from the land they’re built on appreciating over time. No idea if it’s true. I’ve heard that about other places, like McDonald’s for sure. I wonder if this is just a common thing. Whether common because it’s true, or an interesting factoid, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/11 "2017-09-19T17:41:41Z")
I had no idea they were still open; haven’t seen one in ages. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/12 "2017-09-19T17:45:45Z")
From the article: > [@](#): > > Toys ‘R’ Us has struggled with debt since private-equity firms Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and Vornado Realty Trust took it private in a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2005. The plan had been to take the company public, but that never happened because of its weak financial performance. This has happened with a lot of businesses: the private-equity firms borrow almost the entire amount of money to buy the company–and then the company doesn’t generate enough profit to pay the interest on the loans. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/13 "2017-09-19T18:26:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Radio Shack’s demise took far longer than anyone thought it would](http://www.theonion.com/article/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b-2190). Good things come to those who wait. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/14 "2017-09-19T18:31:51Z")
I take issue with the correct grammar in this thread title… it is inconsistent with the corporate history of the firm. I suggest “We ain’t Toys” or “Toys ain’t Us” ---
**Author:** ![IndigoWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@IndigoWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IndigoWolf)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/15 "2017-09-19T18:34:01Z")
So many stores from back then vanishing…Blockbusters, Kmart, and now JC Penny is going down the same path. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/16 "2017-09-19T19:54:20Z")
I hope it doesn’t go too soon tho because when they came here in the early 90s all the other non department store toy places were gone in 6 months … so its them, target or Walmart for toys ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/17 "2017-09-19T20:18:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > I remember reading years ago that Toys R Us isn’t a toy store chain, it’s a real estate investment company. The stores may break even, but the real value is from the land they’re built on appreciating over time. No idea if it’s true. Unless they are somehow leasing the space to tenants, or selling properties with regularity, this isn’t a viable business model as they would have no way to convert the real estate into cash. Same for McDs. The land may make up a large portion of their balance sheet, but that’s not sufficient to consider them an investment company. eta: actually, I hadn’t considered the effect of franchising. That’s a significant aspect of both the ToyRUs and McDs business model, so in that regard, I think there is truth to it as the parent company will collect fees from it’s franchise operators. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/18 "2017-09-19T21:17:26Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I had no idea they were still open; haven’t seen one in ages. Beyond not knowing they were still open, I totally forgot they ever existed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/19 "2017-09-19T21:25:55Z")
I never heard of ToysRUs using a franchise model for its US stores and the Wikipedia article doesn’t mention it. Do you have a cite for that? BTW, a while back, the company split ToysRUs and BabiesRUs into separate stores but then discovered this was a bad idea. The story I read said that parents would visit ToysRUs perhaps a few times annually, but go to BabiesRUs once a week or so. (Obviously this would be for new parents.) So if the two stores are in the same building, the parent getting clothing, diapers or whatever might pick up a toy from the ToysRUs side of the business. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724/20 "2017-09-19T22:56:10Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I never heard of ToysRUs using a franchise model for its US stores and the Wikipedia article doesn’t mention it. Do you have a cite for that? I was looking at [this](http://www.kaycircle.com/What-is-the-Average-Cost-of-a-Toys-R-Us-Franchise-Average-Toys-R-Us-Franchise-Price): > [@](#): > > Toys R Us, Inc. is one of the leading toy and baby products retailer in the world. It operates more than 1,500 franchised stores in U.S. and 690 stores in 33 countries. The average initial start up cost of a Toys R Us franchise is around $430,800. There is an annual royalty fee that is 3% of the net revenues with a 20-year term of agreement. The parent company charges a sum of annual advertising fee that is 2% of gross sales. There is [this](http://www.franchiseherald.com/articles/12977/20141111/toys-r-us-toy-store-kids-store-global-expansion.htm)too: > [@](#): > > Together with the development is the store’s expansion through the launch of approximately 90 stores in 21 countries and jurisdictions throughout the year. > The company plans to open stores that includes new locations, the relocation of various stores, **and 33 licensed stores**. Toys “R” Us’s extension includes its newest licensed store that opened in Namibia last October. Also [this](https://www.monster.com/company/profiles/toysrus-inc): > [@](#): > > The company sells merchandise through 587 toy stores in the U.S. and nearly 650 international toy stores, including licensed and franchise stores, as well as through its Internet site … I’ve also seen things that say they don’t franchise, so I’m not sure how reliable the above is. They certainly don’t seem to franchise like McDs does. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toys-were-us/796724.md?page=2)