Thursday, March 22, 2018

Toys R Us

31,000 Out of Jobs
Klaus Ebenhoch
Just recently, Toys R Us announced that 200 stores around the globe are closing.  The company filed for bankruptcy back in September, and announced in January that it would be closing down.  As of the most recent report, 31,000 employees will be losing their jobs.  The kicker is that they won’t be receiving severance.

For many kids and adults alike, the news is shocking.  Obviously, children are upset that their favorite toy store is closing, but even adults are taking to social media, reminiscing about childhood memories born from the chain.  Toys R Us has a long running history for selling toys, as it opened back in 1948 selling cribs, strollers, and other baby items.  According to CNN, “The chain has struggled as shoppers move online . . . And as video games and other high-tech toys grow in popularity” (Toys). 


In a sense, Toys R Us itself was also a factor of the company closing.  The company filed for bankruptcy in September, instead of after the holiday season.  For retailers, holiday season is a huge source of yearly income.  The bankruptcy statement was a huge distraction for the company, as they weren’t able to focus as much on advertising their holiday deals.  When the news of the chain’s bankruptcy out to the public, competitors sold their toys even more aggressively.  Companies like Target and Walmart “priced toys "at low-margins or as loss-leaders" during the holiday shopping season and offered aggressive online shipping options” (Reasons).  Toys R Us had no chance of surviving the holidays with competitor prices, especially because they rely solely on toys for profit.

For the employees of Toys R Us, the news is even more devastating, as they won’t receive any severance pay.  Because of bankruptcy laws, 401k benefits and health insurance are lost.  Employees will have no job and no benefits.  The laid-off employees will still have 60 days of pay, but some employees will still be required to work past two months to close down operations.  However, there is hope.  The job market at the moment is promising, as the unemployment rate is at an a 17 year low of 4.71%, and lots of retailers are in dire need of employees. 

While the famous toy retailer might be closing down for good, the name will live on in many hearts.  Kids will still have options for purchasing toys, but nothing will come close to the magic and nostalgia of Toys R Us.






Bomey, Nathan. “5 reasons Toys R Us failed to survive bankruptcy.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 18 Mar. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/03/18/toys-r-us-bankruptcy-liquidation/436176002/.
Many employees told CNN the shutdown caught them surprise. “31,000 Toys 'R' Us employees: No job and no severance.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, money.cnn.com/2018/03/16/news/companies/toys-r-us-employees/index.html.


33 comments:

  1. Unfortunately, the way that technology is taking over and people are beginning to buy more and more items online along with electronics for their kids, the demand for toy stores is decreasing. It is easier for people to buy a product off of amazon for not only cheaper but for convenience. The closer of Toys R Us is unfortunate for many who grew up with it, but as time changes and things progress, stores such as this are going to become a fad and fade out.

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  2. Me personally have only been to Toy's R' Us once in my lifetime as a kid and I remember it was like going to a theme park or disneyland because of all my favorite toys were there. But now that five year old's are getting Iphones and playstation there's really not enough demand for small plastic figurines. Which is sad.

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  3. Although Toys R Us is a store of our childhood, I am not surprised it went bankrupt. Kids nowadays are finding less and less entertainment with physical toys, and more and more with video games. Apparently, Toys R Us was not supplying enough of what consumers wanted (video games), and too much of what they didn’t want (physical toys). Even if they were supplying enough or close to enough of what consumers wanted, like you said, competition was too high. Big, successful companies like Target could throw out big deals unlike Toys R Us. Good thing people can still find toys elsewhere.

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    1. I agree with your comment because more and more kids are just enjoying playing on their tablets and watching TV rather than playing with toys. For those kids that do want toys, parents nowadays are just looking online for the specific toy instead of making a trip to a toy store. The choice to file for bankruptcy in September, rather than after Christmas was probably just unavoidable. Overall, this was a good piece and although Toys R Us hasn't closed for good, it seems to be unavoidable.

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  4. It's a shame that Toys R Us store continue to close down around the world, like other s mentioned in the article I've had a lot of memories from buying and playing with toys from there. Because technology continues to improve and become more and more evident in our generation, it's just so much easier to buy toys from online stores such as Amazon. In addition to technological advancements, society has also gotten more lazy with where they buy their products from, not sticking to a certain brand or logo and just looking for ways to entertain their kids. Whether that entertainment be with cheap random toys that they find online or video games, the parents no longer find what they're looking for at stores like Toys R Us leading to the bankruptcy claim.

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  5. *sigh*. Wow. This is devastating news, I got all of my toys from Toys R Us. Now I'm going to have to go to Walmart for my toys and all they have is Marvel characters. I found it interesting that due to the shift in technology people are resorting more and more to online shopping. I personally was never an online shopper but it seems to be the trend these days. I wonder if online shopping will put other stores out of business as well. I think that within the next decade, due to advancements in technology, plastic toys and figurines will no longer be a big want by children. Instead it will be video games and iPhones and virtual reality. Maybe they should open up an "Electronics R Us" to get with the trend lol.

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  6. While it is sad to see that Toys R Us is closing down, as it does hold so much childhood nostalgia, I´m actually more surprised that it didn't shut down sooner. Truthfully, there's simply way to many other substitutes for these toys, such as the convenience of buying online. Not only that, but there is a much higher demand for technology based toys nowadays as well.

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  7. I think that one of the reasons why Toys R Us is closing is because they did not follow the determinants of demand. They did not make their store accessible for consumers to purchase the store’s products online. They didn’t take the consumers’ new interest in technology. More objects that involve technology are becoming more popular by the day. Since people lost interest into purchasing Toys R Us products, the company was unable to pay off all of their debts and became bankrupt.

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  8. It’s very shocking that a company as big as Toys R Us is closing down after all the years of business. Though it is not a surprise due to the rise of technology and online shopping. In the post it also stated that Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September before the holiday season which basically marked the end for the company. Toys R Us was not able to adjust to the rapid change in the world and now is shutting down for good.

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  9. Toys R Us was such a big company for children for so long! Do you think that if they had waited until after the holiday season to file for bankruptcy, they would have made more sales? Maybe they were so deep in dept that there was no way that the average holiday sales would have saved them. The demand for the toys that Toys R Us sells has decreased in the last couple of years, and they did not change their inventory fast enough to accommodate the wants of the consumers

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  10. This blog made me a little sad because I remember when I was younger going to Toys R Us was such a big deal and was super exciting. As I grew up, I definitely noticed less popularity revolving around the toy store. Kids recently are more into electronics and technology. When I babysit, I cannot believe how young some of the kids are who use ipads and even iphones. As we develop more technology, our preferences and trends change causing the demand for "out-dated" toys to decrease.

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  11. I think that it is really interesting to see that the company lasted this long with so much competition coming from general stores like Wal-Mart and Target, in addition to the extensive presence of online companies selling toy-related products. I find that it will be interesting to see if we ever have another comparable store appear as many companies are now merging to serve an umbrella role in what products they sell and services they provide.

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  12. One of the main reasons a company like this still exists in the digital age is that people derive some form of enjoyment from actually going to the store, and buying the toy that went right then and there. Now as time as gone on, people find convenience to be more efficient, rather than the catharsis from actually looking for the physical toy at a store.

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  13. We also talk about the positive economic impacts of technology improvement, and on the whole it certainly is, but it does leave many companies lagging behind and suffering. I also think this brings up an interesting point with how companies are able to handle bankruptcy. People at the top of the company are allowed to let the company go as long as possible while they are collecting their checks, and then suddenly shut down after the company takes massive losses. This has always seemed to be to be an incredibly unfair set up, as it negatively impacts the lower level workers at a much greater level.

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  14. This post surprised me at first I had no idea that Toys R Us was closing, but now that I think about it when I pass the one by the mall it's always dead. It sort of makes sense since they filed for bankruptcy before their biggest selling season of the year, the holidays. This decision was somewhat of an opportunity cost since they could've potentially made more money, however they went with the safe route which was probably the best move since they have so much competition.

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  15. Klaus: Toys R US was a very popular store back in the day and I can remember going there a lot. Although Toys R US just did not have the business to compete. There were many other companies and stores such as Walmart and target that took to selling a lot of toys and a lot more than toys also. Since Toys R US did not sell anything else it made it a lot harder to compete with the other chains. The advancement of technology also made it a lot harder for them to compete. With the advancement of technology more and more kids took to phones and other forms of technology instead of playing board games or other games. Toys R US although like you said should have stayed open for the Holidays because they could have made a lot of money over that time instead of declaring for bankruptcy back in September. Therefor they crashed due to not being able to compete with other companies and the advancement of technology pushing them out of business.

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  16. This post did make me quite nostalgic about my days as a kid shopping at Toys R Us, yet I don’t believe the closing of this store was a shock to many people. The toy store ran its course and didn’t keep up with the latest trends. Nowadays, parents are more likely to buy their kids a tablet with games already equipped on it rather than having physical toys clutter up their homes. Although this is sad, now stores like Walmart and Target will have a chance to sell more kids toys and make more of a profit from it. For stores to stay in business, they need to be aware of what the consumers are currently into, and Toys R Us did not do this.

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  17. This is sad since Toys R US was such a big deal for our generation, their are famous videos going around of children crying because it is such a tragedy to them. Since we now have such advanced technology it is likely that parents shove ipads and event their own iphones in their childrens faces to keep them quiet rather than stacking up a room full of toys. I'm hoping that someone comes up with an even better toy store so that we do not completely change to technology for our children because I believe at a very young age it is unhealthy. Toys R Us has been suffering for awhile and was obvious that it was soon to come to an end.

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  18. I too find it shocking that the major store Toy R Us is closing down. However, I can see why they are. It was a major toy seller for years. However, as more and more competitors like Target and Walmart start up and buys go to online stores it hurt their profits. Once they declared bankruptcy it was too late to come back. Walmart and Target probably wanted Toy R Us to go out of business. That is why they made their prices super low and offered great deals on toys, to make sure Toy R Us was driven out of business.

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  19. I think when talking about this topic, it’s important to also talk about America’s innovation and technological advances in the last decade or so that has ultimately led to the closure of Toys R Us. Additionally, as online shopping gets more and more popular, it was only a matter of time before Toys R Us went under, I’m almost surprised they made it this far. Their products weren’t very accessible for consumers, and I don’t even remember the last time I saw a Toys R Us advertisement, I think people forgot about them. Although I’m sad that Toys R Us is shutting down, given their inaccessibility and outdatedness, it was inevitable that they would go under.

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  20. Our economy has significantly improved because of the development of online shopping. For example, almost every item you purchase can be found on Amazon.com. This quick and easy way to shop has made the hustle and bustle of shopping easy but it jeopardizes businesses like Toys R Us. As a kid, I always remembered going there and picking out things I may want for Christmas, my birthday, etc, but now it's clear that the age of online shopping is gaining control and slowly retail stores may go out of business because of the blatant fact that they can't compete with the efficiency and reliability of online shopping.

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  21. This is a very sad time seeing as Toys R Us is closing becasue it was a huge company that had a lot of people with find memories. There is also a lot of people becoming out of a job. This is also going to change where some people go to buy things such as toys, so other companies will get more profit and they might expand needing more employees.

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  22. Being one of the biggest toy suppliers defiantly was a good thing for a while for the company, but all great things must come to an end. With technology constantly on the rise we are so distracted by the newer developments than the old less intriguing things in life. It is sad to see a business so well known go under so quickly and for those losing their jobs I am sure it is even more devastating. Some kids and generations will never get to experience the in store beauty of a toy store however there are other toy stores just none as well known as Toys R Us, online shopping is a thing of the now and will be even bigger in the future. We all have to accept the fact that not everything lasts in a world that is constantly developing more and more with technology.

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  23. It’s sad knowing a store I went to a lot is closing down, but I didn’t know that one of the reasons why they were closing was because of themselves. It is sad knowing that a lot of people are also impacted by their closing, going from jobs, history, etc. The employees can at least get the experience in and get hired at other retail jobs to get paid, although I have seen a lot of other stores closing as well.

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  24. I agree that toys r us is closing because the technology side is booming with video games and other electronics. I don't like that the people that got laid off will not be getting the benefits they should be.

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  25. I for the longest time had no doubt in my mind that Toys R us would be closing sooner than later, it's just a fact that there are now other stores out their that are better, it it sucked, most parents would go christmas shopping here for kids and be able to do all there shopping in one place, and they would be done. I have not been there for a very long time but last time I was I went to buy some baby toys for my cousin's kid, and when I went in there was no one their. All the employers just standing around. And I asked them how often are they this dead. And they said they can't even remember the last time they had a big rush, because most people would do there toy shopping elsewhere. So Hopefully the remaining stores can get some business and they earn more money than they have been. And to read that so many people will be losing there jobs because of it, that sucks because those people have only 60 work days left and they will all be looking for jobs. That's to many people, they should of took one store down at a time and not just close them at once.

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  26. It’s honestly surprising how strong of an effect online shopping has had on Toy “R” Us. This, personally, makes me sad because this is where I first got all of my toys and video games. However, the closing of the company was foresable for most because of the rise of Amazon. They offered the same toys, but at a lower price, and it was more convenient. Also, the government should be able to protect the 401k accounts that were closed because of the bankruptcy. Toy “R” Us would’ve done fine had it competed more for online shoppers with Amazon.

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  27. As sad as this is because it was such a large part of this generations childhood I knew that this would happen eventually. There is always bigger and better things being invented. Many stores have toy isles and departments with good and cheap selections so it was only a matter of time before they pushed Toys R Us to bankruptcy. Kids these days more technologically advanced so the toys at Toys R Us weren't really meeting their needs. Plus it is so much more convenient for parents to go to a place like Walmart or Target to buy groceries, clothes and toys all at once so that is more appealing to the consumers.

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  28. Its disappointing that a business that has been around for so long is now bankrupt. The digital age comes with improvements in technology, however, affects many other businesses. Some of the businesses that are around today may disappear due to these technological improvements as it has for Toys R Us. Online stores like Amazon have better deals, but leave other companies suffering. I’m surprised Toys R Us finally filed for bankruptcy.

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  29. This topic is quite relevant as times are changing and the forms of entertainment of children are much different. It would be very interesting to see the sales of technological devices such as Apple products compared to the sale of original toys for toddlers and young children. This has also probably contributed to the downfall of this chain of stores.

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  30. It's sad to see that a store I always used to go to when I was younger is closing down. With the new age of online shopping especially with Amazon, it seems like a lot of stores are closing down. This will affect the economy because all the people working there will be out of jobs and this will raise the unemployment rate.

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  31. I think that the demand for electronics is the real kicker in the situation given the fact that actual toys and physical products are becoming less and less popular. I think that the company its self has failed to adapt to the market and when more companies updated online purchasing options they did not. I believe that there was a lot of things they could have done to adapt and this failure turned Toys R Us to Toys Were Us.

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  32. This is the same thing that has led Sears and Kmart down the tubes and will likely be all but gone by the conclusion of 2018. Sears, instead of expanding their online presence, opted to build big box stores where customers have to explore the entire store. They, like Toys R Us, were unable to predict how the market would evolve toward easier online shopping. I feel more companies will fall soon.

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