Toys R Us - The Final Chapter

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My Original Video: • The Decline of Toys R ...
We are in the final days of Toys R Us. A company that's been part of our lives for the past 70 years is nearing its end. Exactly 9 months ago I made a video about their decline that talked about their core issues. It essentially told the story of Toys R Us, with the exception of the final chapter. This video completes the story and talks about what's been happening over the past 9 months and why they weren't able to recover.
Twitter: / mikecompany17
Patreon: / companyman
Website: companyman.squarespace.com
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Intro Made By - / @jombo1

[@companyman114]

Here's the link to my original video if you're interested in how they got here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anu8hqJvjLCel9E

[@jeanson3172]

Company Man This video just makes me sad about most retailers.

[@ianf9974]

Company Man, In my local mall in The Philippines, Toys R Us is still open, don't know why

[@CC-sv9fs]

Company Man I went to a few visits there was once a blockbuster near my house and it was one of the last blockbusters to and the toys r us is over there to it’s closing soon I should go tomorrow

[@SudeepKS]

Hey Company Man, it's growing in India we already have 4 news stores in Bangalore

[@geckoniner5625]

Company Man toys r us deserved to close. They donated to planned parenthood. They killed their customers. No sympathy for them on my part

[@HebaruSan]

If a company drops sponsorship of this channel you should immediately do an episode about their decline

[@deacong17]

Haha, yes.

[@dfgyuhdd]

It's not a threat Blue Apron, it's a promise. RIP bro.

[@chaschuky999]

What started their decline: not sponsoring me

[@melindagreer4177]

So petty. So great. I'd support it.

[@jc.1191]

😂

[@AmericanPride1234]

The founder died March 22nd ‘18. Next day they announced they are going out of business. Damn timing. 6-26-19

[@JRGProjects]

My birthday 🎂

[@amieutermoehl9366]

Wow. There it is.

[@dd-wq4do]

RIP...

[@lovelydolltime8006]

Guess March 22nd is an unlucky day after all, but then again, MCR is back as of October 2019. Still, R.I.P. founder of Toys R Us (aka my childhood).

[@kingtimotio229]

It seems that the company died with him

[@whammo5779]

walks into Toys R Us* "Yo, can I buy that cash register"

[@JoelJames2]

Oi. Point of Sale system. Appropriately initialized as POS

[@whammo5779]

@@JoelJames2 what?

[@JoelJames2]

@@whammo5779 A more technical name for a cash register is "point of sale system". And after working in retail, I can say that a good number of them are pieces of shit.

[@whammo5779]

@@JoelJames2 why would you correct me if I’m correct

[@cursedmailman3999]

You laugh but when Sears closed where I live they sold literally EVERYTHING. Only a very few items were put in storage or on the trash. Even the "going out of business" signs were sold.

[@english-unionpartyoftheuni5062]

It's actually sad I remember I used to circle all the toys I wanted for Christmas

[@Crankiebox99]

:(

[@bigray2859]

We did too!!

[@SonicWasTaken]

Omg me too

[@maya-ik5xc]

Same

[@rey._rose]

Same 😢

[@timothymclean]

Well, even if Toys R Us is gone, they'll still have left one thing that will never leave...the naming scheme of "Something R Us" for fictional stores.

[@chase1146]

its not gone, come to canada XD

[@itachimaster645]

I got this jewish toy story around where i live and they called it Toys4U in the toys r us style.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

Haha reminds me of Something to Wrestle With, they always do that on the show.

[@DragoonCenten]

Dicks R Ass

[@EpicEmberOriginal]

Roninakuma That's actually the name of the gas station at the end of every level in the game heavy weapon. I know some really useless trivia.

[@ImPyroChad]

1998: Toys-R-Us 2018: Toys-Were-Us

[@CTCTraining1]

I think you need to torture the English more ... perhaps Toys-Woz-Us ?

[@MeetMeatMo]

Showhost: Are you a Toys-R-Us Kid? Me: I’m a Toys-Were-Us Nobody

[@shadowclonetrooperleigion7385]

One in bowling Green KY is still open

[@adrianacedeno4389]

You stole that from me!!!!!😠😠😠

[@thomasgoodwin5636]

Too soon

[@keithcramer8194]

My cousin stole a bike from there, Road it right out the front door back in 1982

[@nykytamcdonald]

Well at least your cousin is no snitch.

[@nykytamcdonald]

Oh wait he is.

[@keithcramer8194]

@@nykytamcdonald lol

[@Anonymous-eo2er]

Now because of your cousin, TRS went out of business 🤧🤧

[@tjs2014]

What happened after that?

[@AmanKhan-bc3me]

Kids nowadays won’t have that feeling of walking into a “toys R us” with their mom or dad and picking out anything they want:) kinda sad.

[@sdoe7381]

Now they can do it on a computer!

[@Hi-nu6sg]

If they live in New Jersey they would experience a brand new Toys R Us

[@Canev821]

Why they won’t know what they miss

[@Hi-nu6sg]

greenpanic6, I went to the brand new Toys R Us in New Jersey and I got a Geoffrey plush

[@griffinbird3000]

I never got that feeling because any toy I wanted I had to BEG AND PRAY

[@gpaje]

Forget Amazon, they were too expensive compared to Target and Walmart. When your out of business sales price is more expensive than the regular everyday price at Walmart, then you have an issue.

[@nunyabiznis817]

This is about TRU, not Amazon.

[@Milesco]

@@nunyabiznis817 : No, you missed "gpage's" point. He's saying "Forget about not being able to compete against Amazon -- TRU wasn't even able to compete against brick-and-mortar stores like Target and Walmart."

[@EngineerOfChaos]

I went down to the beach and there's a small open air mall near it but off the boardwalk. The individually owned toy stores in it sold toys for about the same price as Toys R Us. That is a small business which doesn't have the buying power as Toys R Us in an area where price gouging tourists is rampant is selling toys at prices comparable to Toys R Us. THAT is a real sign of trouble.

[@ydcee3123]

@@Milesco Exactly. I thought gpage made his point pretty clear.

[@The101Point1]

Amazon is garbage

[@atariboy9084]

The worst part is Toys 'R' Us founder Charles Lazarus dies days after the chain says it's closing:(

[@OkGotem]

John Calcano I know right I felt that the month of March was the worst month for not just Toys R Us but I bet everyone😞

[@Yahriel]

A true captain goes down with his ship ;_;7

[@hobojoe9337]

He was over 90 years old. That's an age where most anything can kill you. Even emotional shock.

[@KingRandor82]

no....the worst part is that he had to see the chain go into severe decline almost as soon as he stepped down as the CEO; TRU has been in trouble pretty much since after he left, in the mid 90s, and no one seems to remember this.

[@TheDr502]

He died of a broken heart. :(

[@unknownboi8683]

"Don't cry because it's over... smile because it happened"

[@AlmostNamedOne]

:')

[@AlmostNamedOne]

:')

[@mariacristinaadel]

Dont cry but its over Just remember because it happened

[@stephburdick]

I have some great Toys R Us memories. My favorites include checking out tons of Lion King plushes in 1994, going out with a friend to buy my first post-childhood Cabbage Patch Kid, and getting a stuffed koala bear who came with me to my first hospital surgery. I also enjoyed checking out Care Bears, Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake stuff, and everything E.T. could only be found at Toys R Us in 2002. I’m totally blind, so when I go shopping I ask someone in customer service to help me shop. Everyone I shopped with at TRU seemed to love their jobs, and they sometimes gave me an hour or two of their time. The bottom line is that I’ll really miss Toys R Us too. Thanks for bearing with my need to wax nostalgic!

[@JustinY.]

Sorry to say it again, but could you please do the decline of yahoo? It'd be cool to see their rise and subsequent downfall.

[@jimrichards7014]

Yahoo is making money powering the back end email systems for many ISP's

[@Peek935]

Yeah I'd love to see a video about this also hey Justin Y.

[@canonnetwoek]

I see you everywhere!

[@nickrustyson8124]

Or what happen to AMC (American Motor Company) from what I have seen from other people, they say, "Their small cars were shit, and no one wanted a big car in the 70's" And than I lose some faith in humanity.

[@jimrichards7014]

canonnetwoek who?

[@NotHPotter]

I wish the cable stations had your kind of dedication to following up on a story.

[@ryanjohnson4565]

Coming next: the decline of cable stations

[@tommack352]

Toys R Us failed to anticipate the biggest trend of all, people are having fewer children and those having children have less money to spend. They failed to adjust their business model to accommodate these trends and became a dinosaur company. They also did not find a way into the computer/phone market and lost out on multiple opportunities. When they "went private," they lost their flexibility to move with the times. Most banking executives know money, not marketing, so they will not be willing to accept a lot of changes to their business model. That was a formula for disaster.

[@nunyabiznis817]

People may have less real money to spend, but that doesn't stop them from buying like there's no tomorrow. They go into debt for their kids all day long. But when this happens, they become more price conscious because they know they are spending money they don't have. So TRU was a no-go for many because they could not compete on prices.

[@kspfan001]

They were bought by Bain Capital, who had no intention of keeping the company around. Bain buys companies, saddles them with the debt from the loans they used to buy the company, then forces said company to cannibalize itself to pay back the debt + bonuses. Bain has done this to a lot of companies but it was so egregious with Toys R Us that there was even some congressional hearings about it. Changes in the market is not why Toys R Us died as they were still making over $10 billion in profit in 2017.

[@ericm242910]

So birth control was the downfall of Toys R Us?

[@greatomeister675]

How can there be less children when there are 1 billion more people on this earth

[@3am-gamer]

Older generations still living alongside the current newer generations as a result of modern medicine and slightly better health care?

[@EeoGamer137]

In January of 2019 I was visiting Japan on a school trip - it seemed that Toys 'R' Us was still alive there. I can't say if it was still healthy or soon to suffer the same fate as here in the US, but it was officially the last time I visited the store.

[@griffinbird3000]

Its still around in malaysia and Singapore as well to my knowledge

[@nagraj24pl]

in Poland Toys "R" Us also still exists

[@ndmgold4768]

Toys R Us is still in Asia and some parts of Europe. We have many over here in India

[@emperorhaya5351]

Im from the Philippines and we still had them here in 2018 in small stores at malls, never saw a giant one like the ones in old american pictures

[@5BBassist4Christ]

I was visiting Israel that same year and they also had one.

[@JulioLopez-xz5kx]

Company Man seems really broken up about this.

[@Tokuijin]

I think we all are

[@goldwinger5434]

It is always a bit sad when a long established business goes down the tubes. One thing is that we have fond memories of shopping at the store. However, that is minor to the ruined lives of the long time employees. There are many people who put in years of their lives working hard to make the company go. Now, they are cast out onto the street and need to compete with their former coworkers for new jobs.

[@nasirb3914]

I hate to see Walmart doing well, and toys r us disappearing forever.

[@meritamity]

It was bought by Wall St. 'Capital Management' firms. Companies like that will drain and extract value from good Brands and saddle them with debt.

[@JStorm13]

Well they did pull out $200k and are refusing severances

[@AllieRX]

Can you do a video on The Decline of GameStop? They just announced they're up for sale.

[@hm12874]

Maybe after this buyout, they could start to make employee conditions better!

[@hm12874]

Jesse Newton I don't work there, but I know some who do.

[@PacketWrangler]

I recommended this in one of his first videos. I was an EB Games assistant manager during the merger, then got promoted to Store Manager at a GameStop. It was a night and day difference.

[@SilverStarBlaze766]

Damn really, I'm still a bit old fashioned and I like to buy physical copies of games if I can and for me GameStop has always been pretty reliable (never had any issues with them) but maybe that's just my local gamestops, I've heard a lot of people have had issues with them in the past, but I've never seemed to have had any

[@mr.marino1120]

Allie-RX b

[@maya-ik5xc]

I'm watching this in 2020 and this is so sad..... It's too late.....😢😞 Edit: Guys if you live in or near Texas, this is good news for you. They just opened a Toys R' Us in Houston. You can look it up, I'd recommend still practicing social distancing though. 😊 We can be hopeful that maybe they will open more stores, Toys R' Us was my childhood..... So sad to see it slipping away...

[@sleepdeprivedemoji]

ohh i get it now! I heard about the store reopening some buildings in problaby 2020 or 2019

[@chelseajordan6693]

Toys R' us is not dying anytime soon in the place where i live in Canada

[@astraightfemalewhodoesntma674]

Toys R us is toooooooo expensive and going on a vacation to Houston is toooooooo expensive why me :[ my family's cheap

[@realmadrid149]

There’s a Toys R Us at the Galleria mall in Houston

[@jc.1191]

@YourCommentIsntFunny 2 It's the experience, if you want that. Seeing selection and things you may otherwise not know about. The internet isn't good at that.

[@sawyerdalawyer2254]

2018 company man: this is the end of toys r us 2020: toys r us is back

[@Capuma_lover]

Wait there back

[@sweatybeef5407]

@@Capuma_lover yeah they are actually, but they've only opened two stores as of now. One in New Jersey and the other in Texas. Both are way smaller than the old stores though.

[@randomperson.5858]

Hey, thanks for reminding me of toys R us, and also to encourage me to go.

[@alexthetiger7806]

But wait, he isn't dead. Shia surprise

[@nothingtoseehere3602]

Me: cries in UK

[@joechill9747]

Man this is just so sad, i feel like one part of my childhood dying, toy r us feels like dreamland when i was a kid, a whole building filled with toys and games, i remembered spent hours in their looking trough collection and playing lego, my mom bought me toys to clothes from there, what a life, thank you Toy R Us, i think the one in my town already closed up long ago, never visiting again since highschool

[@mechajay3358]

I seen videos of people crying after leaving the store one last time. It's that heartbreaking

[@PaulGilmore44]

Jay 2.0 if it was real

[@harrisonofcolorado8886]

Jay 2.0 were they kids?

[@mechajay3358]

Harrison La time traveler Some were. Though I did saw one adult tearing up a little.

[@brandonmckenzie1637]

Sputterbugz yeah over a store. Its a huge childhood blow. Most kids grow up in love with this store, and its a place that was full of everything kids dreamed of having and playing with. It was the more modern day version of a kid in a candy store. Its killing me too because I used to be so happy every time I went there and now that thing that made so many smiles is dead. Its a tragedy

[@JF-qz5dk]

I do remember when I was about 7 years old and if my mom would say were going to toys R us I would go crazy but now it’s closing it’s very sad and I just wish that toys R us will be cherished for ever

[@jc.1191]

@Joshua Macias Maybe look around for the next closest thing. Maybe there's something out there.

[@ambidex1250]

You know that one kid that’s birthday was right around the time they went out of business and got so much because everything was on sale. That lucky kid

[@DrEarthwormRobotnik]

Depends on what was in the store really. I went to my Toys R Us the week before it shut down and almost everything was gone. I just grabbed a Heihachi Pop Figure since it was practically the only thing in the store.

[@ambidex1250]

Dr. Earthworm Robotnik your not wrong, when I went all I could really find was a Bruce banner pop

[@Dr-Random]

Like me? Lol

[@krocodile469]

Fun Fact: My closest ToysRUs was actually the first one to receive that Toy Lab concept and had a huge remodel. Sad to see that go

[@Yahriel]

Toy Lab? What was that?

[@krocodile469]

SkyWolfAlpha, It was this new layout that allowed space for exhibits and areas where you can play with new toys before purchase. It expanded to more store on the east, but this was the first to receive this new look.

[@Ferdoe]

Burning Blaze Mine had a similar sort of thing they did. But only for Thomas the Tank Engine. I liked that area.

[@JustinY.]

It's the end of an era.

[@dodgeramloverchevyhater5274]

It's you again

[@thenumberfour2432]

I see you're a man of culture too

[@adigarg3485]

Me to thanks

[@zacharykusievich1010]

Justin Y. Sup

[@AnvilSP]

the least covert ninja in the universe

[@prestongarvey3383]

It just feels like in this century every old company’s are falling due to the digital age and are trying to keep up.

[@haughtywillow2499]

Company Man is a great channel. I’m always impressed by how well he analyzes these companies.

[@dragonsblood23]

What's sad is that Charles Lazarus, the founder of Toys R Us, died this year as his creation is crumbling down.

[@jonjl96]

dragonsblood23 The man died of a broken heart.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

dragonsblood23 Wait, seriously? Aww...that's just awful.

[@DragoonCenten]

Fitting that it dies along with him.

[@alex-sv8ru]

Visible AIDS Yeah...

[@dirbrody]

I remember when my mom bought me Resident Evil on PS1 back in 1996 when I was 10. Good times...

[@ravenstar5376]

dude for us OLD SCHOOLERS , a sega genisis cartrage was 80 dollars , a snes cart was 90 the fact that this happend to drop and switch to cds is a shocker to us . but the price remained the same Oo

[@migsdemesa2270]

I can't fathom the thought of Toys R Us not being around anymore for future generations. Like, THEY OVER! This was my childhood!!

[@christmas8]

7:53 that is literally THE toys r us i used to go to when i was a lot younger. 😭 that one hit a little different

[@jc.1191]

😔

[@geleneceline2310]

Wow that's sad😭

[@Lithilic]

Toy R Us always had the best selection but it was almost always the most expensive.

[@abdulrahmanx2900]

The sad part... Expensive. But happy moments! Childhood, and sharing the bond of happiness with my child. As well, the demise. Caused by Walmart. Internet. eBay. Amazon. Would like to see original companies make a comeback. Kb toystore, Woolworth, Kmart, Sears, I hear Macy is having trouble. What is wrong with America business today?

[@johnspera8369]

i may be old-fashioned - i'm 65 - but when i heard this i was shocked! they seemed to be the place for games and toys?! my last purchase was the game "Risk"; for myself and friends\family...

[@StinkyBlack1]

theyre the place to go if you like paying twice as much as other retailers.

[@Dr.MantisTobogganMD]

My baby cousin only needs his I-pad and internet connection, toys in general for kids above the age of 2 are dead. If you want a Nerf gun or Monopoly or whatever is out parents will get it on Amazon regardless and they should, Walmart is a pain in the A for Xmas shopping and then u have to plan your schedule to buy and hide. Amazon and any other online store is and always will be the best option except for stores with discounts and coupons.

[@rhysjonsmusic]

Yeah I remember growing up with toys r us, it was part of what made the holidays special. But in a digital age were children are more interested in tech and extravagant gifts can be purchased from the comfort of your sofa, it's no longer a market place were traditional toy shops can thrive

[@PseudoRhythm]

John Spera The Future is now, old man.

[@slipinslider]

John Spera your joking? Lmao

[@ADreamingTraveler]

And now we've got Geoffery's Toy Box. Great idea to fire all your employees and not have to pay them while resurrecting the company into a smaller entity.

[@Hi-nu6sg]

Toys R Us closed Geoffreys toybox and opened a brand new store in New Jersey

[@mattyian1208]

@@Hi-nu6sgYes they reopened Toys R Us at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey

[@MusicSparkleStar09]

Back when they closed, I actually bought one of their display cabinets, the kind made of particle board finished in white, with sliding glass doors. I think they originally wanted like 200 for it? But by the time I checked out they gave it to me for 40. I cleaned it up a bit (it'll still need some work eventually) and put an LED strip inside. I left the stickers on the front that warn of surveillance cameras because why not, it amused me and trying to get the stickers off would be a pain anyway. TRU was definitely a big part of my childhood as a kid growing up in the 90's, and it was quite influential in introducing me to the collectible hobby I still enjoy to this day. It will always have a special place in my memories.

[@Jared_Wignall]

It is truly sad to see Toys R Us stores are going out of business. I remember going there as a kid and loving to see what was there. They say all good things come to an end, and it seems to be true for Toys R Us.

[@hobojoe9337]

Good things like this only come to an end if people let it end and a lot of very bad people let it or, in some cases, made it end.

[@GarrettGaudet]

Canada lost Sears and keeps Toys R Us USA lost Toys R Us and keep Sears

[@CharlieND]

Canada got the better deal

[@7Marx7]

At the rate things are going for Sears, the U.S. won't be keeping them for much longer, either.

[@ghrayfahx]

7Marx7 when K-Mart bought them it was the beginning of the end. The only thing I’ll miss is Craftsman tools. Of course, the quality of those went into the toilet when the purchase happened as well.

[@mcprol2467]

My closest sears in garden city KS closed. It's the only one less then 3 hours away.

[@Traysandor]

Don't worry - Sears won't be around much longer either with the way things are going for them.

[@KingShade1]

I lived in California when I was a kid and I have so many fond memories or going to Toys R Us to look at the exuberant amount of GI Joes and TMNT action figures they used to have. Every single action figure was in the Toys R US store and I used to dream of having them all, and playing with them aaaaall day... My family moved to Canada later on and while we do still have Toys R Us in the Great White North, the toy selection is so much different. I dunno, the US Toys R Us seemed much more 'grand', but that might just be old memories. Watching this video made me feel lucky that we still got this store here in Canada. I think I'll take the kids there this weekend, just because I'm still able to do that and for some nostalgia.

[@matthewwynne939]

I never took the opportunity to check out one of their stores when they were closing. I've been to enough store closing over the past few years (Sears, Kmart, Orchard Supply, Sports Authority) to know that those liquidation operations that usually run going-out-of-business sales (future topic?) have the price markdowns to a fine science.

[@nicksullivan4994]

My Mom and I just got home from our Final trip to Toys R Us Today! I’m Really gonna miss Toys R Us, it’s one of my Most Favorite stores, Ever! R.I.P.☠️Goodbye Toys R Us, We’ll Miss You!😭1948-2018

[@Hi-nu6sg]

Rise and shine new Toys R Us (2029-)

[@feynman9959]

One time I went in a Toys R Us to buy some trading cards that were not available at my local trading card shop. I went in asked for he price and was told that the boxed set cost $40. This astounded me since the MSRP of the cards was $25. I asked them about the huge price difference and an employee said it was that price because I was buying at a Toys R Us store, which was supposed to explain the 30% price markup. I sure won't miss Toys R Us.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Axel Brito And this is similarly why I don't have any memories of Toys R Us. I'm sure my mom shopped there a little but mainly it was Walmart or other stores that were cheaper. KB Toys comes to mind, where I got my 101 Dalmatians Gigapet. She had three children to shop for and overpriced toys just didn't fit the budget. Christmas was always amazing all the same. Seeing this place close is only sad for me because it's a name I grew up with but I have no personal anecdotes from there.

[@redey1290]

Thank god there are other people with memories like these lol. I almost never went to Toys R Us when I was younger just because of the ridiculous markup like that.

[@DalmationProductions]

It's a shame that we loss Toys R Us but we're also losing Sears (in some states) and even Herbergers is suffering the same bankruptcy fate as Toys R Us was. Herbergers is closing their doors as well :'(

[@jenniferclark9842]

Dalmation Webkinz /KCS Productions I noticed the same, except Herbergers is Carson Pirie Scott in my state.

[@julianbell9161]

I must be from somewhere else than you, because I’ve never heard of Herbergers.

[@JayboCorp.2014]

I've been to Toys R Us a few times each time was exciting and fun. I once found a bunch of Pokémon cards outside of a Toys R Us I no longer have any of them but it was awesome while they lasted. I'm really sad to hear they're going to be completely gone from most of the world it's very upsetting and a little depressing rest in peace and we will remember you always.

[@JustinsEpicVoiceRecordings]

I just paid them a visit yesterday for one last go and grabbed a handful of things. Toys R Us was one of the best shops in the world to me when I was a kid. It used to be my go-to place when my biggest loves were Beast Wars figures and Nintendo products. All this makes me wish that I had shopped there more since becoming an adult, but my tastes moved on to other things. I haven't yet had any little ones of my own to share in the experience. RIP, Toys R Us, and thank you for the fun experiences.

[@QianBing]

Rip toys r us. I remember going there as a child to buy so many toys... It's been a staple of so many US childhoods

[@faeriemachine]

Canadian viewer here- just stumbled upon your channel today and have been having a great time binging your content! This also means that we still have Toys R Us here, which I frequent often due to being a hobbiest toy collector. I will say that a lot of their stuff can still be pretty expensive- I sometimes even wait until supply moves to chains like Dollarama to buy them at a discount, but I also think that the Canadian important rates don't help much, and often there's not that big of a different in price between TRU and Walmart. Even so, I'm still glad that Fairfax has kept it alive as they often carry toys that I wouldn't be able to find elsewhere, and I don't quite mind their website either (Though I wish it was updated more frequently). Not sure if this was a thing in the American locations, but I know that since the acquisition, TRU has begun carrying novelty figurines as well, and have a small section dedicated to the more high-end and "adult" collectibles. There's a lot of things that I wish they'd do better, but the Canadian market isn't an easy one to get a good footing in. I'm just glad that they're still around over here even after all of this haha

[@deadpoolnerd]

Whenever I think about Toys R Us I always flashback to this memory of when I was 5. I was doing well in school school at the time, my grandmother tells me to throw on my sneakers we were gonna go for a walk. Me just happy to be a with abuelita I didn't realize it was actually a surprise trip to the nearby Toys R Us by her apartment. I remember being so excited to look through all the aisles. Memorizing which aisle had what genre of toy. I remember being so excited when I found this Mario kart 64 toy of Donkey Kong. It was a big DK in his yellow go-kart you wound it back and watched him zoom, and he had a button to shoot bananas out the back of his kart. As we were leaving there was a fire truck just chilling in front of the store for whatever reason, it wasn't an emergency at all it was just there. So abuelita had a disposable camera she bought from the store also, her and I took a picture in the back of the truck as I had the biggest cheesy smile on. It seemed like the perfect day, but then abuelita had more in store. She treated me then to my favorite place to eat taco bell. She got me the kids meal cause of course I wanted the toy that came included. As we shared a soft taco together. I remember her holding my hand as we walked back to the apartment and I was absolutely the happiest kid in the world that day. Good times.... thanks to anyone who read all this.

[@AllieRX]

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[@atlasb7705]

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[@jakegriff6851]

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[@tanman.]

Press f to pay debts

[@janedoe3043]

I did stop going to Toys R' Us on principle when they had a sale where they sold three Video games for the price of 2. I went home with the three games and when I opened them, one had a random demo disk in it's place. Everything I did to try and get the problem fixed was rebuked by the company. They insisted that I had no rights after I opened the game. Even though I would have never known it was disc switched. They also remarked that it was a free game, so I shouldn't complain. I gave up and told them I would never shop there again. I held that promise to the end. I loved that place as where I would go to pick out birthday gifts. It eventually was completely replaced by other businesses. Now it is yet another empty complex in the land of many empty buildings. Yet they still are ripping down all the woods they can to build new empty buildings....

[@Ferdoe]

jane doe You should have sued them for misleading you with the wrong product. Then they would have died years ago.

[@templeofthemonkeygod9047]

The light has stopped shining. The book has been completed. It's finally 12 o'clock, the hour that Toys R Us dies.

[@camilleaigail902]

As a kid, I always saw Toys R Us commercials on TV, but being raised by a single parent, we were poor. My mom never shopped there for us kids. I always wanted to go there, but literally never did. When I became a mom, I wanted to give my daughter everything in life I had to do without. (Not complaining...I appreciate all my mom's hard work, and what she tried to do for us kids!) Anyway, from the moment my daughter was born, I made multiple trips to Toy's R Us, and for many years in her childhood went there for every birthday/Christmas and took her there to watch her check toys out to find out what she'd like to have. It was truly a magical place for me and her for years! She grew up, and lost interest in toys and moved on to video games and the iPod. Eventually she just outgrew Toy's R Us, and I haven't stepped foot in one for years. I drove past the store my daughter and I always went to, and saw the "Going out of Business" sign a few weeks ago. The weight of that didn't really hit me until just now in watching this video. I find myself feeling so very choked up and sad, realizing that very special place, where I shared so many memories with my baby girl, is gone. The silver lining, however, is to truly be able to celebrate the fact that they stayed in business over 70 years, and made so many children happy in the process. Kudos to you Toys R Us. You'll be missed by this "kid" for sure! :-(

[@schregen]

Filing for bankruptcy is not something you can postpone for a few months. In some countries like Germany it's illegal and CEOs could be held responsible.

[@altrag]

Sure you can. You just have to alter your definition of what "bankrupt" means a little bit. "Not enough money" is not necessarily the same as "no money." As long as they can continue making minimum payments (or talk the creditors into a deferral) then they can hold on. Of course they'd have to convince shareholders that holding on is the better option, but if they wanted to go the bankruptcy route then they'd have to convince shareholders of that too so that's a six-of-one situation. Now I don't know German law but I'm guessing what you mean is that if the shareholders vote to accept bankruptcy that the company would get in trouble if they just ignore the vote and failed to file.. which I imagine would be the same in the US or pretty much anywhere.

[@jezily]

I've been a Toys R Us kid for my whole life. I'm sad they're closing. Maybe I can sneak over to Canada and live in one of their stores.

[@mariesantos6361]

neffy we will be happy too! ( just as long you can hide from the employees)

[@lucky_ratz]

Toys-R-us closing marks a big shift in my life. Walking into a Toys-R-us made me feel a sense of wonder and looking back it's like a bowl of nostalgia. I have fond memories looking to see if they had the toy i was looking for because i saw someone review a sonic toy or i watched a re-run of the first two seasons of thomas the tank engine. For me Toys-R-us reminds me of my childhood and specifically my "dad". Long story short I have a memory with him when it was my birthday and he said i could pick out as many toys as I wanted. I grew up a broke latino kid in chicago, making Toys-R-us a privilege. Point is i went Crazy with buying toys.I Swear i destroyed his wallet. My dad and I came outside and we had a bag full of toys and we drove home with a golden sky to gaze onto. A year later we came back on my next birthday to look for items in the jazwares sonic line of toys. Once i got to the section I realized the line got discontinued, we left without buying much, but me and my "dad" were still glad we spent the day with each other. That was my last memory in a Toys-R-us, later that year my "dad" lost contact with me because of Abusing my mom. I knew he wasn't the best person, he was a achoholic but i still missed him and it had a impact on my mental health, I've recovered but some stuff still keeps me up at night. few months later I saw him for the last time. Then I year later i found out her isn't even my real dad, the actual guy didn't really care about me or my family until like a few months ago. Toys-R-us is a big part of my nostalgia and it's closing marked a brutal end to my childhood and a final goodbye to those memories of being a kid, a Toys-R-us kid.

[@Aaron-from-BroTrio]

I was always a "ToysRus Kid" growing up. They had the best selection of Transformers, Lego, and NES games. (Yes, I'm old) I had the unique experience of seeing the downfall firsthand. I started on as holiday help in November 2017 as an assembler for bikes and power wheels. I did a good job, so they kept me on staff. A few months later there was a lot of confusion when the shutdown was announced, and the staff meeting that night was not fun. The manager who had been working there for decades cried when he told us that it was not just just our store closing, it was all of them. Putting up the going out of business signs was a really strange experience. Watching the merchandise slowly dwindle away into empty shelves kind of hurt, because I remembered "the good old days". It was a surprise every day the last month or so. Things would just vanish from one day to the next. Shelves, registers, light fixtures, and everything else were being sold. Then one day I walked in and there was nothing left to do. We gave the store one last clean up before we left. The manager bought some pizzas and we had a little going away party for the rest of the shift.

[@alec4672]

"That part didn't age well" 😂

[@westsenkovec]

I usually don't care too much if a company goes bankrupt but in this case I do care. I'm from Europe and to this day nowhere near me is there such a big, dedicated toy store. Growing up I would see Toys R Us in movies and shows and I hoped that one day I would go to a real, American Toys R Us store but I guess that will never happen. The kid in me is crying.

[@xenite_]

You can still go to the ones in Canada

[@maxfi878]

I live in Finland, we have Toys R Us and it's not closing

[@Lomaherp]

Stores in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and in Finland are not closing. Those stores are owned by danish company TOP-TOY.

[@alex-sv8ru]

West Senkovec There's stores in the UK! I don't know about the others, but my local Toys R Us is closing down soon!

[@alex-sv8ru]

DankFin Lucky!!

[@elisakrivas]

I'm an adult toy collector and Toys R Us was close to my work. I was very sad to hear about it's closing. I was there buying stuff for me and my boyfriend during the last week (he loves Pokémon and I love toys in general; toy stores were/are our thing). It has more sentimental value to me because it was the first location we went to on our first date. He was dressed casually and I was dressed in my normal cosplay-like fandom. We went to Toys R Us, bought a few toys and bought a Battleship game. We went to a non-fast food restaurant with a bar, chose a location in the center of the room, put up our battleship game, ordered our food and alcoholic beverages, and played while we ate. Nice first date. Unforgettable 💖. Of course, I also went as a kid, but it was rare. Toys R Us was a treat to go to as an expensive toy occasion. For example, a birthday gift where I would choose my present, or a scary doctor's appointment day where Toys R Us was a "pick me up," etc. I've always loved the store. Very sad 😢

[@scottpeterson7500]

I always liked shopping at Toys R Us. I still can’t resist a good toy store. Still just a kid at heart.😎🌈☮️🎄☃️

[@brie5547]

Sammeee

[@Seenospidey]

I used to go to Toys R Us when I would go to my grandmas house. Sure things there were a bit more expensive but it was a kids dream. A store dedicated to toys. Sad I’ll never be able to take my kids there

[@melaniejonas7084]

Same!

[@amandaengelman5168]

I'm more sad about Babies R Us. I bought so much of my son's stuff there when he was a baby 10-11 years ago. If I ever have another baby, I don't know where I'm going to go to find that kind of selection of car seats, high chairs, strollers etc. Walmart and Target just don't carry big a selection of that sort of thing. We don't have any other large baby store near us.

[@amandaengelman5168]

Yes, I know I can order online, but I like to see and handle items like that before I buy them.

[@Rovers1783]

I agree. I feel like the Babies R Us portion of the company could still be the profitable portion and they could have just relaunched as a newborn/baby store only.

[@sasukeuchiha998]

have you tried Amazon?

[@amandaengelman5168]

I know I can order online, and I did order a car seat online when I found a good deal, but that was after seeing and handling the seat at Babies R Us first. It's a moot point since my kid is 11 now and I probably won't have another, but it was a nice place to get gifts for friend's babies.

[@BeckyAnn6879]

What about Buy Buy Baby? Is there one near you?

[@lovealwayswins6784]

It hurt my soul to hear they were closing. They were like Heaven on earth when I was a kid. The neighborhood kids used to load up on super soakers in the summertime. 💔

[@DisneyFan1978]

I use to work at Toys R Us for a few months during the Christmas season of 2014 and left at the beginning of April of 2015 to go work at Disney. When I worked there I even during the Christmas season it never really felt extremely busy. Plus the workers were judged on how many batteries, warranties and how many people we could get to sign up for a credit card. If you couldn't meet the weekly quota most of the time then you had a chance of getting fired. As a worker I felt like I was forced to sell things people didn't want like the Credit Cards. It got to the point where I didn't really like working there because of the fact that I could get fired for not getting enough people signing up for Credit Cards. It felt like they were more focused on the sales end of things than making the customer happy. That's the one thing I loved about working at Disney. We focused more on the customer and making sure they were having a great time cuz when they are happy and the cast members are happy there's more of a chance that the guests would buy more or at least come back again at a later date. Toys R US didn't have that feeling when you walked into the store or at least that's how it was at the one I worked at. It was always about making money and NOT having that connection with the guest.

[@EcoMouseChannel]

I was a "Toys 'R' Us Kid" and never grew up. But the store never seemed as magical as it did during that time period. Doesn't seem right to visit. RIP But what really sucks is that there are no more competing toy stores anymore. I loved all the competition, and dragging my parents to all of them! KB Toys, Zany Brainy, FAO Schwarz, Natural Wonders... I'm sure there were more that I'm forgetting. But they all died, little by little. And you'd think that Toys R Us could hold out and remain king of toy stores since the others caved. I hate the fact that Wal-Mart has become the defacto toy retailer. Their selection is junk, and the quality of the toys is really sub-par now-a-days.

[@splitsee2526]

NOPE TOYS R US IS COMING BACK AS A SMALLER STORE! (It changed its name)

[@insertfunnyname3478]

Shane Lynch no it didn’t

[@genaeyoung180]

Wow, the toy stores that you mentioned took me down memory lane.

[@AngelPerez-dw8ou]

Lol Alaska still has Blockbuster and Canada will still have Toys R Us...WHY IS IT SO FAR AWAY

[@mikelonas4508]

MonsterJamShows Alaska still has Blockbuster stores because internet prices are so expensive that they can't afford to stream movies. Canada still has Toys R Us because another company bought them out and is now owned by another company that can keep Toys R Us afloat for the time being

[@Ferdoe]

Mike Lonas I hope their Canadian stores do well enough to return to America.

[@alistair4909]

That'd be nice. However I think it's reasonable to say that's not happening.

[@johnnyscifi]

I did not know about Alaska...

[@AngelPerez-dw8ou]

Alan YaKnow Same I live in Texas so its a long journey if I ever wanted to go to blockbuster or Toys R Us in the future

[@cnrsfilms]

You touch on subjects that are pretty interesting, consider myself SUBBED!

[@CocoHutzpah]

Companies from my childhood are all fading away, which is largely to be expected. That image of Geoffrey with his cabana shirt and packed suit case waving goodbye amongst the empty shelves really got me, though.

[@nicoleonyx9186]

It’s not just Canada, Toys r us is doing just peachy in Japan and other Asian countries as well 😊 I buy a lot of toys and clothes for my son at Baby’s R Us!

[@YuukoEnjoyer]

Yeah but no one cares about Trash Japan

[@Mancan76]

Greg Gutfeld {Lyra} Japan is cool. If you like Nintendo or Sony, you have Japan to thank.

[@alyfepoisonbunny2716]

Greg Gutfeld {Lyra} if u like ur phone, computer, videogames... You have to thank Japan.

[@YuukoEnjoyer]

I mean Japan's culture is one of the most cucked things in the world

[@spookyperfume]

Don't respond to the troll. They don't get enough attention on /pol/ and they're fishing for it here.

[@levitateexploits9899]

This made me so sad. Toys R Us was my whole childhood. My first bicycle was from Toys R Us. My first toy was from Toys R Us. Literally all my toys were from Toys R Us.

[@rickbernard9183]

When I found out that Toys R Us was closing forever. I shed a tear. I loved this place. I had a blast going every chance I got. I will say this; the biggest thing I remember & never ever forget for as long as I live is there catchy tune. I sang it all the time. Last thing I want to say is 🎶🎵” I don’t want to grow up cause if I did. I couldn’t be a Toys R Us kid.”🎵🎶 😢😢

[@Latrodectra]

It makes me sad. My first job was at one during Christmas '88. As a kid I went pretty often and it was always fun to explore and run around in looking at all the stuff. I went to the one in Joplin MO as it was liquidating, all the shelves that will be empty forever was a sad sight indeed.

[@AqwBroders]

RIP childhood!

[@OkGotem]

Press F to PAY your RESPECTS

[@AqwBroders]

bluelight special F

[@Thekingofgodofwar]

The final chapter as in... Chapter 11?

[@TheCandoRailfan]

More like chapter 7.

[@certifiedhoodclassicguy5213]

It’s sad to hear in my 13th birthday that year that toys r us was closing there doors in June 30th in my birthday my childhood just left me when I turned 13

[@michaelbcohen]

Well Toys R Us just opened their first retail store in the US since they shut down, the current owners of the company name and trademarks is planning a comeback

[@skinwalkerzorgo915]

Can you do a video about GameStop

[@IJoeAceJRI]

why does gamestop need to fail?

[@Dave102693]

JoeAceJR it gives you pennies for selling games and consoles to them

[@Mondos2001]

colin moore what's eb games?

[@LouisSubearth]

Blizzy EB Games was bought by GameStop.

[@DioDiablo702]

Pc master race

[@amandawittenstein1873]

My husband and I went to Toys’R’Us about two weeks before I watched your first video. We were looking for dinosaur action figures to turn into book ends for my best friend. They turned out rad. Anyway! I remember we talked about how empty the store was, and living in a thriving city like Austin how strange that was. We also discussed how the company couldn’t have been doing well. I’m three months pregnant, and my kid will never know the joy of walking a mile down to Toys’r’Us, like I did. Stranger danger is real, but besides that it’s just gone, and that’s simply sad. Additionally, Babies’r’Us would have been really nice right now. Oh well. I couldn’t bring myself to visit as the stores emptied out. It was just too depressing.

[@ryanthompsonthompson820]

I lived about 1 mile from Toys R Us for last 14 years. I am going to miss them.

[@Hi-nu6sg]

New Jersey got a new one

[@thecatnat3574]

I remember as a kid going to Toys R Us was such a wonderful thing. This saddens and depresses me. Darn it. 😭😭😢😥

[@jurassictyrantkingYT]

*Toys R Us was expensive for the same type of Toys that Walmart and Target sell for a cheaper prices and not to mention their website was not that good at all. It's a bummer but this is the world we live in I guess?*

[@DMSDJ1]

If a big fish jumps into a pond and eats all the little fish, eventually the big fish runs out of food. Then it has no choice other than wait to be eaten by an even bigger fish. Moral of the story, feed all the fish accordingly and evenly share your business with big and small retailers. Shop local, support small business and mom & pop shops more often. Thus ensuring healthy, balanced and fair competition without killing off all the little fish.

[@MoneyManHolmes]

I guess the problem is when one pond will give you the exact same fish for less money, and they’ll even catch it for you and drop it at your doorstep. I hate seeing the death of B&M. I know it’s just a matter of time before the online juggernauts jack up their prices because they’ve killed all the competition.

[@illudineye4469]

As of December 2019, Toys R Us is NOT done. The company re-opened their first store in New Jersey on November 27, 2019, according to northjersey.com . Ten more atores are planned to open, not sure when but I imagine their rise to retail iconic status again is in the works. The old stores were depressing to begin with. Low lit fluorescent light, cold and unkept shelves and fixtures made me want to walk oit as soon as I walked inside. Welcome back, Toys R Us! Waiting for your west coast return!!

[@americanoperator3147]

The old toys-r-us that closed down near my location still has the sign up, from what I heard, they’re trying to settle their debts to re-open

[@loganmiller7827]

Since they announced closing, I've been twice. The first time I actually found some stuff I was looking for. I got a 3DS game that is now in my top 5 favorites. The second time was today. My store doesn't have a count down listed saying when it's closing. But it was just so sad in there. I remember going there as a kid and playing with the trains. My mom was sad about it too. It was so empty and they were selling literally every thing. Even the cashier computers and receipt pronters, the counters they were on, clothing racks, anything they could get a price tag on had one. It was sad seeing the workers there too. They're just hanging in until they get cut off. This kind of thing is why I don't like Amazon. I prefer the actual store experience so much better. When I was little I couldn't've played with the train set on a computer. My sister got all her dolls there. The prices were more expensive than other places, but I still liked the feel of the store.

[@jasiahcisco8710]

Toys R Us closing where I live made my Target's toy sales go up 👌👌👌

[@long060]

On it's final day I went to the Toys R Us I used to work at when I was in my 20s. I walked around the store and reminisced and cried a little bit as I felt a part of myself die. It still hurts watching this video.

[@bigray2859]

They had a brilliant set up. I remember walking through the door and once the door closed, you couldn't exist the store through the same door. Had to keep walking, passing toys along the walls, around the many cash registers, passing more and more toys to reach the exit door. Brilliant, couldn't pass something a kid wouldn't want back then, or see a sale on a toy you'd know so and so wanted. My last experience was in my early twenties, me and a friend went there out of curiosity. There was a cargo box filled with plastic swords and we played princess bride, en garde! Or however it's said, we didn't know, but our swords clashed throughout the store. Thing is, even as an adult, Toys R Us brought out the inner child, and it's disappointing so many kids don't get to experience that. I once bought a cousin a yoyo. When I was a kid, I'd be thrilled and grateful. He looked as if I handed him a bag of dog crap. I went out and bought a yoyo for myself. I'm 33 as of writing this, I don't really understand the craze of video games when you could use your imagination, everyone's different. Still, I feel bad that kids won't truly understand what they're missing out on, or the teenagers not understanding the loss of malls. This video made me cry, but I appreciate you making it.

[@AnkleBiterVibes]

I remember it being such a treat going to toys R us, it hurts me so much to see it like this. When ever I went there I wanted to live there. R.I.P :C

[@crabbuckets7506]

Man I just watched these toys r us videos good job. I'm from Australia and I'm pretty sure there is a toys r us near the mall. Was last time I checked but I will check it out 👍

[@adamv242]

Toys R Us was a staple of my childhood... remember picking out many birthday presents there. Bought my first computer (an Atari 600XL) from them... buying gifts for my younger siblings.. many fond memories of Toys R Us.

[@CarsSimplified]

I was in one of the stores a day or so before they got in trouble with Lego (they didn't want TRU putting such a big discount of their sets) and I saw their giant Technic Porsche for $199.99, and I regret not getting it. The next time I saw it, they were only taking a measly 5% off the original price.

[@DarkIzo]

yeah but thats still 200 though

[@Anti4skingang]

Fuck it man, The licensed technic shit is wayyy too overpriced, both the Porsche and the new bugatti

[@Captain_Brown_Beard]

Lego does that to all vendors. They dont want people resaling them online and making a profit

[@cactusjack1381]

Cars Simplified i found cases transformation for 10 dollar and I got 3 brickhead Rey’s for 2 dollars each

[@Patrick_Spack]

When I was a kid I loved going to Toys R Us. Untill they decided to cut 70% of my local Toys R Us to include a Babies R Us. This was the exact moment where I didnt care about visiting anymore, since most of the good stuff was gone.

[@Epicytper]

Totally different case for me, I searched for a bit and got some good deals. I got the game "Dropmix" and all of its add one for $35. The original price for all that was near $150

[@christinamorrison7593]

My mom and dad and I went there around Christmas of ‘17 or ‘18 I think and it wasn’t bad we found a lot of cool stuff for my nephew but everything was so expensive and the staff experience wasn’t great and the place was a mess. Definitely not the same that I remember from my childhood. It was heartbreaking and depressing for sure.

[@darthgamer6080]

I haven't been in a Toys R Us since I was about 12. I remember it being busy and lively. Then about two months ago we took a trip with my 3 year old nephew to look for a toy for him. What made this trip special was this location was my childhood and was the one my father took me and my sister to for a long time and is where we bought all of our toys and gifts. I loved Thomas the Train (and still do) and that's where I always bought my Thomas toys and DVDs from. I remember in his section they had a table covered by a plastic lid that had the Tomy toys always running around. Well when we went there it was about 2 weeks before they were scheduled to close but it was so depressing. Although I remembered where everything was exactly it wasn't the same. And to top it off, I only saw a single Thomas toy left on the empty Thomas aisle. I took a picture of it but I wish I would've bought it ;-;

[@dylanrakosnik9705]

I paused Drake and Josh for this

[@drink15]

As long as you never unpause it, i'm with you.

[@RealMasterpieces]

While I love Company Man, I would only pause Drake and Josh if I was about to dump in my pants lmao.

[@FutureNow]

I feel so sad about this. But also I don’t really visit any brick and mortar stores besides grocery stores and CVS.

[@TimidTortoise1988]

Barnes and Noble is one brick and mortar store I’ve always loved going to. I’ll be incredibly sad if they ever close them down.

[@certifiedfinest5065]

Keirnoth what do you mean? How have they responded to this changing market

[@cleatrampler]

CVS is demolishing everything in sight here to build their overpriced stores Am waiting for their bankruptcy in the future.

[@stevequincy388]

I have great memories of TRU as a child, going there with my mom to look at all the cool new Star Wars toys, etc. I think a couple of things really hurt them, first they were always more expensive than online retailers, heck they were more expensive than brick and mortar places like Walmart. Second, I can tell you from experience, kids just aren't into toys and play sets like they once were. I grew up with video game systems like Atari, but they sucked after about 5 minutes of playing (Atari Pac-Man was awful). Kids nowadays have so much entertainment within their reach, the options are endless. My wife and i have always tried to limit electronics as much as possible and encourage analog "off-line" play with our kids, but in the end their Christmas lists were always full of electronics and video games. Hard to fight against that, the days of the huge Star Wars and Masters of the Universe play-sets are pretty much gone. Sad to see these once great toy stores fading away. I'm not a business expert by any stretch, just my observations.

[@ValkyrieGunnr]

One thing that was missed in your summary- there was no language in the bankruptcy guaranteeing severance for employees. That made it much cheaper to liquidate the company than to keep it going. That’s another major reason the liquidation came on fast and hard on top of the poor sales.