Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We are gathered here to pay respects to a dear friend. A friend who has been with us from birth, childhood, and even when we had children of our own.
Ok, I think you probably get the idea by now. Toys R Us is dead, much like its competitors before it. It will find space in the retail mausoleum between Lionel Play World and Kay Bee toys.
Lots of bloggers will try to find reasons for the demise. Was it Amazon, or just bad management; was it kid’s “screen time” with iPads and video games. I will throw my hat into the ring with my own explanation.
A ToysRUs store from 1988 is pretty much organized the same way a store in 2018 is. Some item categories are moved around or expanded, but essentially you could blindfold someone and they would navigate to where they want to go without bumping into anything. Familiarity is good, stagnation is bad.
A friend of mine recently posted a picture on his Facebook page of a ToysRUs store in Houston, on Westheimer to be precise. The trash can out front was overflowing with its contents spilling out on the ground. I have visited this particular store back in 2016 and the same trash can was barfing out refuse the same way even back then. The store was in rough shape and the floors didn't seem like they had been mopped in a while. The ToysRUs in Goodyear, AZ always had an overflowing trash can out front as well. Parents aren’t going to want to spend too long in a toy store with the sanitation level of a 3rd world country. Strike two, ToysRUs.
This one is for collectors, and some parents too. When was the last time you went to ToysRUs and found exactly what you were looking for? Don’t worry, I’ll wait while you try to remember. I am prepared to wait a long time for an answer. For the past decade, I would say, the shelves at the world’s number one toy store look like the streets of Detroit. Empty. That vinyl envelope that holds those slips of paper you take up to the register to buy something big is usually empty too. No one wants to drive all over to find that one thing your kid wants. A collector doesn’t want to spend their free time driving around just looking for disappointment either. Strike three, ToysRUs, you’re out.
For Us GI Joe Collectors
It has a been a year or two since our favorite American hero has been spotted on the shelves at ToysRUs. Sure, there may be those Funko style big head things, but those have a very niche following. That leaves True Heroes or Sentinel 1 toys. Let’s not forget the Animal Planet line either, with all its customs potential. Numerous collectors have used them to fill gaps in the Joes vehicle roster. There was the awesome C130 cargo plane, a destroyer, a submarine, a deuce-and-a-half truck, CH53 helicopter, and scores more over the years, all made by Chinese cheap toy maker Chap Mei. We don’t know if another retailer will sell these offerings.
Most GI Joe collectors have one or two other lines they love to collect as well. Marvel Legends figures (in the 4" style) have always been hit or miss at TRU. If stores had them at all, the supply was usually limited to Hyperion, the super powered peg warmer. The Hyperion clog often meant stores did not order the following waves of figures, so you ended up missing out on Lady Deadpool (yes, years later) because they were holding onto that stock, and not selling them out to Ross or the TJX companies. Don't even get me started on Star Wars (although most of that is Hasbro's doing).
Remembering The Way it Was
During the summers, when my parents were working, I would stay with my grandparents (See my previous article about the basement wars). Multiple times a week, my Grandma would spoil me with trips to ToysRUs. I had to wait what seemed like an eternity for her to do her hair so we could go. I remember sitting through countless episodes of Sale of The Century, while saying "Are you done yet?" Yes, the staff at Westridge ToysRUs knew who we were after a while. There was a seemingly endless supply of GI Joe on the shelves then, as well as just about every other toy. Sure it was different times, but it seemed like the company prided themselves on customer service and keeping shelves stocked. Back then, they truly were the world's number one toy store.
The Future
After the doors close for good on ToysRUs, there will be no more dedicated toy retailer in business. Except for smaller independent operations, you know, those expensive places where you bought your kids that Melissa and Doug wooden stuff, the only choice left are multi department retailers. There are rumblings of an investor who wants to bring back Kay Bee toys by the end of 2018, but there is just not enough information out about that yet.
Kids are growing up quicker than ever, and seem like they are done with toys by the time they turn 8. Is it that they are more enamored with video games, or are the toy lines not compelling enough to spark their interest? Do kids care about articulation, or is it just collectors shunning the lame figures of today?
Have you been into a Target lately? They are about as sloppy as ToysRUs is at keeping their shelves full. They don't care though, they have a million other things to keep shoppers in the stores. Walmart is only slightly better. Some stores are well stocked, and others are almost always empty. I think it depends on the priorities of the store manager. For the GI Joe enthusiast, Walmart carries Lanard's "The Corps!" line, which has been derided in the past for their cartoonish action figures. Lanard is the only game in town now when it comes to mass market, 4" scale military figures. The articulation has been improving, with ball jointed hips and other advancements. They have always done vehicles very well. You can buy a small battle tank for about $5, meaning you can build some serious firepower with just $20 and some change. You just can't compete with that.
The Final Word
Efforts have been made to try and save the company from the hangman at the 11th hour. They have all failed (except in Canada, where the company was in better financial health).
The world has changed. Our shopping habits have changed. Kids have changed. Change is sometimes not a pleasant process. ToysRUs is expired, but GI Joe will be back. When the new film comes out in 2020, I am sure there will be some product to go along with it. If the film never gets made, I would expect to see a smaller, collector focused line being offered online, perhaps through a partner like Amazon or Big Bad Toy Store.
Way off topic, but I mentioned in the previous paragraph about the GI Joe movie never getting made. A few years ago, I made a prediction that the superhero movie genre will eventually collapse in on itself. It hasn't happened yet, but with the deluge of these movies that have been released in the last 10 years, the public, with their short attention spans, will grow weary of them. Now, GI Joe aren't superheroes, per se, but I would include them in that genre. If the genre fails, GI Joe will not get made. 2020 is two years off... keep your fingers crossed.
