Amazon is more expensive for TF. I wish they weren't, but they are. HTS seems to be the way to go for new releases.
I saw that on msn and said "oh they are running that story again." they have listed that story off and on for like the last two years.
To lump TRU with Sears, Kmart, Office Depot, is highly inaccurate. They're not a fast growing retailer anymore, but they're not closing anytime soon either.
Why would anyone pay their ridiculously marked up priced (especially on LEGO) if one can go right down the street to Walmart, Target, Meijer or any other big box and buy the same thing for, in many cases, much less. I would think that a good strategy would be to match those prices with some other added incentive for coming in the store that makes them stand out. Maybe they have too many toys and their attempt to be that store that offers everything may be hurting their bottom line.
The point, of course, is to get things that you can't get at the generalized stores. Legos are a poor example for supporting a specialty store-- Lego is the single biggest toy company and toy line, in the world. It's not a good idea to buy such a ubiquitous item at a specialty store. Rather, places like TRU have to survive by drawing people in for the things that they can't get elsewhere. They HAVE to offer too many toys-- they can out-compete on the core stuff, where generalized stores can beat them out with both volume and the ability to offset with high-profit, non-toy items. Of course, the decline or death of specialty stores would lead to less diversity in toys, including TFs. Honestly, I think TRU's biggest mistake is mishandling their loyalty/rewards program. It's weird and unpredictable how that thing works. They need to target and cater better to collectors and other high-volume buyers of toys--- they'll always lose on the infrequent buyer who only gets a few toys a year and does so while they're picking up the milk.
I work there part time, and I talk very candidly with my regional. TRU is in survival mode right now. They will not be closing anytime soon. Although they DID just close a store in Toledo, and we are getting a few people from that store. New stores have been announced. If they were in the death throws new stores would not be announced. Internally, I have seen P&L's where TRU is up over 200% on previous year's with deptments like the R-Zone selling tablets and hi tech stuff. Believe it or not, they ARE doing really REALLY well there. They are making money with the Protection plans as well. Don't scoff at those..they are actually REALLY good services. We bought my son and iXL computer when they 1st came out, and bought the protection plan. It Broke a month before it ran out and they sent us a check within 3 days of the full purchase price, PLUS the case, and game that was purchased with it. Imaginarium was up too, I think 20% Lego/building toys is really where TRU makes money on the retail toy side. Lego Corp gives TRU a VERY nice cut on cost, and as far as I know, TRU buys Lego cheaper than anyone, has MORE on the shelf than anyone, and just by seeing my store's numbers (southgate MI, supposedly #1 in MI) We cant keep the hot lego kits in...THEY MOVE. LISTEN UP For all you people that could give a shit less about TRU closing...you better think twice about that. You can EASILY get a price match now. I COULD tell an insider trick here with TRU but im not, but you DO NOT have to pay what the price tag says...TRUST. This blew me away...and plz don't PM me asking what it is.. I have kids..I have FOND memories of walking into TRU as a kid..it was "MY STORE" I LOVE TRU. I will pay them a bit more, just because I understand what it takes to keep a national toy shop open. If you have kids, or think you may someday..STOP AND THINK...about the only place to take your kids to buy toys is walmart. THINK about THAT shit and let it sink in. EVERY damn adult collector on this site should at least TRY to patronize TRU. They give us MP exclusives..They have the closest ties to ALL toy companies around the world. If you want to see every toy manufacturer shit their pants and drastically scale back on EVERYTHING, then don't shop TRU and let it run out of business. I love TRU..I love taking my kids there...its the only place that is a dedicated national toy brand that made it through the 80's. If you want to tell your kids about the "good ol' days when you could walk in a GIANT store that had NUTHIN' but toys and stuff for kids" then shit on TRU. Me? My former job was a fortune 500 company, and now I watch my kids during the day, and work at TRU building bikes at night. I hardly get paid shit, but I feel im giving back to a company I love.
The things they do for kids now is awesome. If your kid has a birthday, they send them a nice coupon, and when they get to the store, they get a ballon, a crown or princess hat..and sometimes the manager will personally lead them around the store if they want them to. Add to that all the special dates they do..lego build days...Halloween parades...I could go on and on..but I think a lot of the single people here with no kids have no idea what its like for a kid to go to TRU these days. When I was a kid..You had Childrens palace..KB...Child world..im sure im forgetting some. ALL GONE. If you want to talk about "what TRU is doing wrong" I will tell you..its NOT about Price..its about customer service. They need to DRIVE sales, but they are forced to hire from the bottom of the barrel because the margins are SO slim they cant afford quality help. This past Christmas I was on the floor for a bit, and yea..Im a sales guy..I REALLY put on the treatment for EVERY customer I met. Black Friday I seen this woman wearing $300 shoes and personally led her around to get everything she needed. I knew she was serious money..I didn't know she was a local syndicated network exec. We had a MASSIVE influx of positive reviews, directly towards me on the FB page (I told every custo "make sure you say Dave helped you!" and there was a TON of positives with my name attached, among MILLIONS of negative posts about black Friday stories.. My Regiaonal comes in specifically to talk to me...to ask me what the hell I was doing to get them so much press. I simply told him..Im killing them with kindness, and SELLING. No one in the entire TRU organization knows ANYTHING about selling. NADA. Their BIGGEST mistake these days, is not to offer a concierge or white glove service for grandparents or people who REALLY just don't know about toys. I told them they should advertise a white glove service for anyone not sure on what to buy, and a manager or sales specialist will lead them down the road to a sale. WAY to many times I see a grandma with a $200 purse and a $200 outfit ask "where video games are" and an associate just walks them to a spot, points, and goes back to picking his nose behind the register, only to have that grandma get discouraged and LEAVE with NO money made from her. I offered to my regional, Get authorization for a pilot, and I will design a local advert for them, broadcast it on social media, and Ill do it myself...I even said Ill bet this pathetic job on my success of %20 uptake in sale per month. you know what my regional said? "I don't think you understand TRU's customer base." REALLLLY? MANAGMENT is the REAL problem at TRU....
Awesome. I'd love to see someone like Amazon pick up the Masterpiece line and the rest of their exclusives rather than trying to hunt them down in store.
God, this story has been popping up in various forms for the past 10+ years. I am not worried about TRU disappearing. Besides, sure you can get some stuff for cheaper at Walmart or Target, but two things keep me coming back to TRU constantly. 1 - Selection. They have MASSIVE sections devoted to various lines, where Target will have a few feet of space for them, and Walmart might have one column of pegs and a shelf. Even if that space is crammed with a lot of the same products, your odds of finding what you're looking for are better than the other two. 2 - Customer service. The local TRU has the nicest employees of any store I shop for toys at. We are legitimately on a first-name basis with at least three of them, two of whom even keep their eyes open for new product we might be interested in (and, on occasion, will even try to make sure there's some available when we stroll in). More than that recognize my wife and I and will greet us and strike up conversation. That happens with one or two cashiers at Target (mostly since that's where we grocery shop), and that's about it. I like TRU, and have ever since the day that an employee pulled out a box of TMNT figures from the back room and let a little Boy Blunder buy Slash and Panda Khan fresh from the case, before that wave had even been stocked on the shelves. They permanently have my business, and I'm certain that I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Part of TRU's problem is that Walmart and Target have way more stores and can cover WAY more area. It can be a long drive to get to a TRU and the odds of them having an item I want is no better or worse than Walmart having it. Its nice that they carry exclusive TFs and Joes sometimes and the action figure market would be a lot worse without TRU. But they need to refocus and get with modern times. +-MWG-+
Maybe it's the way TRU does things on this side of the Atlantic that makes it pretty much impossible to recognise the glowing praise for them on this page. Shopping at TRU here is a soul crushing experience if you care in any way about the toys we are all interested in. Action figures huddle in a couple of aisles that barring the smattering of new product every time a movie hits pretty much stay as they are from year to year. Toys go to this store to die. Clearance is not a routine thing as it is in the US and rarely do you ever find items that you actually want with meaningful discounts. Star Wars stuff will rot on pegs for two years and over and then magically clear overnight......not on discount or to discount-retailers but to landfill. And their base prices are ALWAYS higher than pretty much anywhere else. And Hasbro (F)UK are a perfect partner for TRU UK's way of doing things. Stupid, counter-productive exclusivity deals have kept TF Generations out of the big retail chains here and in TRU, who usually manage up to Wave 2 of any given line (if we are lucky) before dropping any further distribution. All those Generations Springers I read about clogging US retailers.......well we can only dream of figures like that here. We've got FOC Grimlock and Soundwave and that's ALL we will ever see. Now action figures aren't their key/core retail component for sure.....but as a microcosm of how they run their business it speaks of complacency and disregard for a segment of the market - and as that market segment contains me they can go fuck themselves. If they stay afloat selling pampers and IPads and extended warranties then great for them......but as a "specialist" toy retailer they fucking suck and if they disappeared overnight I could not care fucking less. If that sounded like a rant.........yeah, 20 years of shit retail will do that to a collector.
