Real interested to see where this goes.

 

Im not a business major so im not even going to try to come up with a solution for their potential comeback/revival. My first thought though was be an online retailer only.

But i will say this, people might say retail is dead, but every holiday season malls and stores are packed, people still prefer to look/touch/feel what they are buying. Part of the inconvenience of online shopping is if something goes wrong is having to repackage and ship back. Or crooks casing neighborhoods waiting for the fedex guy to drop off your package. If they go brick n mortar, i think small is better. You dont need every TRU to be a superstore, maybe have one or two superstores in major markets. It's better to have stock run out then to be stuck with inventory that isnt moving.

It was sad when i walked out of my TRU for the last time, that gut wrenching feeling, as if a family member died. If they come back i hope they know what they're doing this time and dont f*** up again.

 

Just hope they don\'t overprice their toys.

 

Just proves that nothing ever really dies anymore...it just regenerates.

 

FTFY

 

Is it just me, or are a lot of people ignoring that:
1) The supply agreements from manufacturers/wholesalers are GONE. those contracts will all have to be renegotiated. (There are no toys to sell.)
2) From all indication not only are the retail stores gone, the warehouses and shipping depots are gone. (Even if there were toys to sell, they have no place to keep them.)
3) And one would assume that the transportation capacity forming a USA-wide network is also gone. Either they had a fleet which was liquidated, or they had shipping contracts which will have to be renegotiated. (Even if they had a place to keep the toys, they'd have no way to get them to the non-existent stores/pop-ups.)

Seems like the only way they can set up a retail operation in less than a couple years, unless they start very small and very regional, is to run as an online fulfillment operation. And (given that TRU.com wasn't generating sufficient traffic for them to survive) likely sell via someone else's website. That seems to be the exact thing that they decided to stop doing with Amazon.

Smells like a branding deal through and through with no intention to be a direct toy retailer again.

 

I liked having online and in-store for options, especially for the upcoming holidays. Online is great for getting what you know you want but in-store is where you find the gem that you chance across.

 

Has anyone not been able to purchase any toy they wanted because of TRUs departure? People act like what we lost earlier this year was the same TRU from the 80s or 90s which clearly it was not. This was not the store that you test-played your favorite classic video game, or got an autograph from your favorite tv character. Its just a business that sold overpriced toys. The same toys you can get at walmart or target but for more. Granted im biased because im just a Transformer fan, not a toy fan. Plus I dont have kids so there is no adventure or family moment for me. But in retrospect, when I was a kid, I knew what I wanted and ran right for that aisle. I didnt give a crap about the other 99% of whatever they sold, I was just happy to be getting the toy I wanted. I didnt care wheter it came from Lionel Playworld, TRU, Service Merchandise, Sears, or JC Penny back in the days when department stores had toy sections. I just wanted the damn toy. I still just want the damn toy. Yes I admit shipping sucks. But when you take into account things we didnt have to worry about like gas money or time away from other responsibilities we pretty much break even. TRU is dead man. And every one of you who live close to a TRU, but still chose to shop at walmart or buy online to save money helped kill it. You guys put a bullet in Gefforys dome. Let that fool RIP already.

 

Even Circuit City is still out there in some form, and everyone knows about that one Blockbuster that was still open for the longest time. It's like in the movies when they chop off the zombie's hand, and the hand starts slowing crawling away.

 

This ^^^^^^

TRU comes back likely as brand recognition (not stores),maybe a website to sell some toys online or if lucky a small store in a mall somewhere. People are really jumping the gun here because they want a toy store (that they likely won't buy from or will just complain about) to walk into.

 

It would be very nice to see them. No guarantee they'd show up here, but still.

 

Nonono, don't you get it, if they just stop being so greedy and charge $7 for deluxes that cost $12 they'll be fine!

 

Gong

 

I don't think the question is about access, but what products get made in the first place. TRU was the US retailer for larger stuff like Metroplex and Trypticon and more boutique items, like G1 reissues and limited-edition box-sets. Will we still get that kind of stuff without TRU? The Walmart G1 reissues, and Titan Predaking/Omega Supreme suggest we still will...but I get why people were worried.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/1507832002

I apologize if this has been posted. As someone who was skeptical over this toy stores return (just because there wasn’t anything set in stone), I've gotten pretty excited after reading this article.

 

I would argue that the G1 reissues and Predaking would have to have been well along the design and production process before the news of TRU's closure could have affected the decisions to be made. Even Omega Supreme (which won't be out yet for some months yet) might have been that far along.

And no one's saying that none of these kinds of figures or exclusives will be made. We're saying that, with fewer outlets, there may well be fewer of these kinds of things... especially figures that don't fit neatly into the main line, will be made.

And when something is never even made, we'll never even know it might have been a possibility if only things were different.

 

As long as people will keep buying them Hasbro will keep making them and find an outlet to sell them. Honestly the only thing ill miss about TRU is swapping out Hasbro products when an online retailer sends me a dud. Its quicker than waiting 2 weeks. Disclamer: I let the employee know its broken so they dont put it back on the shelf. Then I tell them I already found a good one at another location.

 

Thing is, exclusives aren't necessarily Hasbro-driven. Sometimes they're done because an outlet says "we'd like something exclusive. What've you got?"

The fewer outlets, the fewer times that question will be asked. Even if Hasbro had some plans drawn up, ready for the request, we'll likely never know about them.

 

I totally get what youre saying, but it seems Amazon has taken TRUs place with the exclusives. Walgreens too. Hell even BBTS got the box set that TRU canada got. A toystore doesnt keep the brand strong. Fans do. Fans of all ages. Get ready for the Amazon Skywarp tetra jet exclusive. You already know its gonna happen.

 

I don't think we can say that, just because those outlets (which have had exclusives in the past, remember) have picked up some exclusives in the months immediately following TRU's demise (exclusives that might have originally been intended for TRU, but we really don't know that), it means that they have "taken TRUs place" longterm. It's simply too early to tell.