There are signs if you know what to look for. Sky high rental costs and lack of paying traffic are a fatal combination. Unfortunately, economics often involves politics so the rules would shut down many relevant points of discussion. But in general...jobs left, people left, and stores left.

 

I think some of it is investment. Both of our malls had water features for some nice feng shui for your mall experience. In the early 90's, these features were pulled - but one mall was nicely renovated for its troubles while the other just had the fountains ripped out and replaced with seating. As purchasing habits changed, the nicer mall kept most of its stores while the other slowly lost its stores. You can blame newer ritzy outdoor malls but the nicer of the two indoor malls is still managing to stay alive while the other is near the brink of closing its doors...anchored only by JCPennys and a Dillard's Outlet Store.

 

No they perpetually shelf warm like everywhere I go. Some how Lego is #1 in the world. Maybe they sell better outside the US? Maybe Lego gouges and sells 200 dollar sets that cost 15 to make. IDK but what ever it is, it is working.

 

Pretty much this. The average Transformers toy is, typically, a 100% new sculpt. Lego literally mass-produces all parts and has a massive stock they draw from, with only a few new elements per set if even that. This means manufacturing costs are a fraction of other toys because production lines feed multiple products instead of just one, and there's very little labour involved compared to assembling a full toy.

 

Maybe back in 1985 but Lego produces far more unique parts now than they used to. Additionally the tolerances are in another league compared to toys that ship with sprue marks, visible seams, stress marks, and floppy joints. Lego doesn't seem to have anywhere near the distribution problems either; availability is like video games are and movies used to be.

 

Lego has very expensive manufacturing for each part, a Lego piece is extremely durable.

 

If that Netflix docu is actually accurate, Toys that made Us, Lego went into their own ups and down phase.

As for distribution issues, maybe TF fans are more "noisier" with boards like this hence our awareness?

And Bane Venture Capital totally killed TRU. 90% primary cause of its demise.

This latest incarnation is but a shadow of its old self. C19 ain't helping and try searching for the latest wackjob law on toystores in Kalifornia  it will make your head spin.

 

Not quite, Amazon welshing on the "Exclusive Toy Provider" deal was the crippling wound and Shitt Romney just administered the final deathblow.
Amazon Killed Toys 'R' Us – But Much More Dishonestly Than the Way You Think

If I owned a company, I would rather burn it to the ground than let so much as ONE Bain Capital foot on any of its properties. Better to liquidate everything and see what benefit I can get for investors/creditors, employees and myself than to let them do another Leveraged Buyout that transfers all the capital to them and leaves only a shell company so deep in a debt hole God Himself couldn't make enough money to dig it out.

 

I’ll believe it when I see it. It feels like there’s been rumors of TRU reopening since 2019 or so. It is rather exciting. I hope, if they do come back, they’ll go back to the old TRU store that’s in my city. Interestingly, the TRU sign hasn’t even been taken down yet.

 

Without BaneTRU would have had another 3 to 4 years to course correct as they had a great sum of funds yet. Bane bled them dry too early. Without funds how do you course correct?

 

You have to admit, being shut out of the e-commerce revolution for 5-10 years was a pretty nasty kneecapping. Even now, one of Amazon's favorite tricks is "give you a platform to sell your product, then if it takes off come out with their own knockoff version, undercut you and run you out of business."

I'm not sure even five years would've been enough to pump out the sinking ship, but it would have at least given some chance to show the creditors a return to stability. Stores would have been lost no matter what, but at least they might have been able to keep a core to rebuild around.

 

  The death of TRU and its repercussions are being felt BIG TIME! All our issues with the shiiEEET distribution of a fave bots to those nasty "exclusives deals" that never show up? Or shelf warm later (Traget and Walgreens). C19 not helping too.

 

Hey, us Jurassic peeps are getting it up the wrong 'un too... a stabilizing TRU would have meant more pressure to keep Target and Walmart honest, at least until the large-scale lockdowns of last year.

 

You've got the order wrong there. Let them get both feet far into the property and _then_ burn it to the ground.

 

But still not anywhere close to the number of new-mould parts for regular toys.

Doesn't change the fact that bricks are produced in incredible quantities compared to other toy parts, and there's a fraction of the labour involved getting them from mould to packaging. Nothing I said implied Lego bricks weren't high quality, but it's still just plastic injection moulding, and on a huge scale which reduces relative costs. A single Lego mould can produce a huge number of parts for dozens of sets where a single TF mould produces few parts for only one Transformer, for example. And again, said Lego moulds are reused for years, decades even, whereas Transformers have an obligation for a certain number of toys to be new each year.

 

I fully believe if Toys r us had made it to the Pandemic they would have survived. The demand on toys and collectibles was nuts.

 

I'm inclined to agree. They're thriving up here in Canada, even after repeated lockdowns and delays in new stock.

 

Not sure where to drop this but I'll put it here. Toys R Us opening 400 toy shops in Macys. Here's a link to the USA Today article.
Macy's and Toys R Us team up with new online shop, opening 400 shops

 

Tie a dead rat to a dying cow and see what happens.