A bit off topic but as a child of the 80's, it was always my dream to win one of those shopping sweepstakes on Nickelodeon where you got a set amount of time to dump as many toys as you could get in a cart from a store like Toys R Us... From bikes to trains to video games...
Haha, I remember some of those, I was thinking the best choice (at the time as a kid in the 80s) would be to go straight to the games/consoles and grab all you could.
It seems like I was the only toy action figure collector in my family. I used my imagination to play wars between my action figures. Tmnt,xmen, power rangers... I would do royal rumble or hell in a cell match type battles. I never liked playing with cars or leggos.
Read an article earlier today suggesting the issue was private equity groups driving them into debt and not so much the amazon issue. Apparently had about $520 million per year in debt service. And that before that they were a healthy company.
I took our kids there often enough when they were little. Always hated the place. They always had a confused layout and over-priced everything. The one regret I have about "Toys, etc." going out of business is that it leaves far fewer possible places to take young kids where they can actually look at toys, not images of toys. That's it. Otherwise, adios. They always underpaid their staff, as well. That's what I heard more than once, at any rate. Sorry to see the job loss, but there are better jobs out there, in my opinion.
I always went to one that was at I-10 and Bunker Hill that stands as empty building and land now. I understand that property is tied up in some trust dispute.
Target was on Westheimer...I'll have to ask the mom where the TrUs was, we killed lots of time there.
My mom just confirmed your location for Toys R Us. Taaawget (that's what my little brother called it, and we gave him constant ****) was Westheimer. She said she was also totally shocked in '75 after they moved to Westside Houston and she took little baby me to ToysRUs for the first time. Never seen anything like it.
The Billionaire Behind Bratz Dolls Has a Plan to Save Toys 'R' Us As the liquidation sales get underway at Toys “R” Us stores across the country today, a major toy executive has stepped forward with a proposal to save the beleaguered retailer. Isaac Larian, the billionaire CEO or MGA Entertainment, maker of the Bratz line of dolls, is leading a group that has pledged $200 million to save half of the chain’s stores. The group is looking to raise up to another $800 million via a GoFundMe campaign. It is, admittedly, a long shot. Even if he finds several deep pocketed investors to hit that target, Larian’s plan would have to be approved by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the case. As of 9 a.m. ET this morning, Larian had raised $105 in additional donations for his bid. Perks for the top tier ($10 million) contributors include toys for life, naming rights for the store of your choice and a #SaveToysRUs bumper sticker. “We can’t just sit back and just let it disappear,” Larian told the Associated Press. “People do not realize the hole that can’t be filled by other retailers. The pipeline is too big.” Larian, who is using his own money for the bid, says the loss of the chain would be devastating for the toy industry. MGA sells nearly 20% of its products through Toys R Us.
Why not just let this iteration of TRU die a slow and painful death...and then swoop in and buy the assets (name, characters and song) for much cheaper than $1B...and reincarnate the chain from there? Sorta a'la Hostess.
Probably cause this stirs up some media attention for his company for free as a savior. Also cause most of its crowdfunded and not his dime. The crowd source will more than likely not meet its goal and then he'll swoop in to buy the corpse thats left anyway.
I was chauffeured 50 miles as kid to the almeda location for $5 of topps baseball cards and the accompanying gum
Me too. I was more of a medieval guy back in the 90s, build my castles across the room and go to battle. My buddy was the space junkie so I had some nice pieces to bring over to his place. Hell yes. Brio wooden trains were awesome.
