The Energon Pub

[No One]

Not ONE toy store in Dubai EVER has new Transformers.

[shajaki]

that figure variety!

Why cant the US have that variety!?!

There's 3 TRU's in my city, and none of them look like that

This makes me wonder... could TRU USA disappear while TRU Canada remains? And how are other TRU's fairing? I don't even know how many countries they're in, but I know they're in Japan...

I've been to TRU's in Malaysia, Korea, Germany, UAE-Dubai as well as Japan and Canada (Yeah, I travel for work, a nice perk for hunting TF's. It will be interesting to see how the TRU's in other countries fare.

So... is TRU USA the only one in trouble then?

[Jelze Bunnycat]

that figure variety!

Why cant the US have that variety!?!

There's 3 TRU's in my city, and none of them look like that

This makes me wonder... could TRU USA disappear while TRU Canada remains? And how are other TRU's fairing? I don't even know how many countries they're in, but I know they're in Japan...

I've been to TRU's in Malaysia, Korea, Germany, UAE-Dubai as well as Japan and Canada (Yeah, I travel for work, a nice perk for hunting TF's. It will be interesting to see how the TRU's in other countries fare.

So... is TRU USA the only one in trouble then?

The details specify that any TRU outside of the US and Canada are not part of the Chapter 11 filings.

[Cybertronius Primus]

The only new thing to come in near me was at a Smyth's over here in the UK and that was one step scorn, cogman and drift. Toys r us had a tiny new display piece with some of the new artwork on but that's about it for the past month.

[fenrir72]

While it came to no one's shock that Toysrus was close to bankruptcy in the US, due to all the debt woes since the early 00's, Canadians were left puzzled by Toysrus Canada being the only subsidiary to also file for bankruptcy protection. The confusion came from the fact that Toysrus Canada was known to be autonomous from its parent company, along with having less distribution woes, only 1 major competitor, along with lots of stock and product turnaround making it a haven for any toy enthusiast (all of these later attributes are mainly due to the market only being one tenth the size of the US market, and smaller markets are easier to manage).



Well, an article from the Financial Post confirms how healthy Toysrus Canada is.

The profitable Toys Canada “operates as a relatively autonomous business unit and has achieved strong financial and operational performance in recent years,” the company said in court filings. It is cash-flow positive, has had compounded annual revenue growth of 5 per cent in the past three years and has almost doubled net earnings in that time, the filings said, and it wants to keep all of its stores open and operating.

However, and here is the kicker, the article also confirms how it is linked to its US parent:

Indeed, the Canadian unit has been sending surplus cash from its operations to support its U.S. parent’s cash flow needs, making $101 million in unsecured inter-company loans to the troubled U.S. division since 2016.

So yes, while Toysrus Canada has been doing so well that it has surplus, this $101M loan is unsecured and due to Toysrus declaring bankruptcy, there is no indication that the Canadian operations will ever see that money again. Just to give any reader an idea of how massive this amount is for Toysrus Canada, this $101M unsecured loan is a quarter the size of the $400M debt coming to term soon for TRU USA which caused the later to file for Chapter 11. And this massive $101M amount was given from a subsidiary that only has 10% of the market the US has. This explains how a company which would have been autonomous is instead very much linked financially and how Toysrus going down is dragging the subsidiary down with it.

If you are interested in legal talk, the full article has you covered and you can find it here.

Filing Chapter 11 is just to protect the company's assets from being cannibalized by the creditors. For the time being.

Unless the debt is paid, the TRU name will just end as as the only part that might survive this fiasco.

And all those SALES just made matters worst. So gloat all you want (you know who you are), but Hb too will also be affected by this. For the good or bad, well...........I got online Takara shopping so no worries for me.

[OptimalOptimus2]

that figure variety!

Why cant the US have that variety!?!

I the future generations of kids in the United States are losing interests in toys. But what isn't losing profits are electronics. On multiple occurrences, I see parents giving their toddlers tablets and cellphones so they can watch YouTube or play games. These toddlers give so much attention to electronics, that they will lay down in the middle of the floor watching videos or playing games and it's up to you, the pedestrian to walk around them. So the most playful stimulus toddlers are now having is playing with electronics. This desire only increases as they get older because technology gives the most escape from reality than a plastic doll, a die cast car, or a fuzzy teddy bear.

So I think the biggest reason Toysrus and the toy aisles of Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc. are diminishing in the U.S. is due to consumers (children) lower demand for toys and higher demands for electronics and the latest technology.

[hurricane567]

My local US TRU has a 4 foot wide Transformers section. [orders Misfire from Timmy's Toy Box/Amazon.com]

[fenrir72]

that figure variety!

Why cant the US have that variety!?!

I the future generations of kids in the United States are losing interests in toys. But what isn't losing profits are electronics. On multiple occurrences, I see parents giving their toddlers tablets and cellphones so they can watch YouTube or play games. These toddlers give so much attention to electronics, that they will lay down in the middle of the floor watching videos or playing games and it's up to you, the pedestrian to walk around them. So the most playful stimulus toddlers are now having is playing with electronics. This desire only increases as they get older because technology gives the most escape from reality than a plastic doll, a die cast car, or a fuzzy teddy bear.

So I think the biggest reason Toysrus and the toy aisles of Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc. are diminishing in the U.S. is due to consumers (children) lower demand for toys and higher demands for electronics and the latest technology.

Astute observation. Btw, haven't you noticed that the reason those electronic stuff continue to sell well is because the manufacturer is getting their return on investments? Meaning, the product SELLS for FULL RETAIL!

The m0r0ns who don't buy in FULL RETAIL is basically condemning the product to extinction! Support the product at FULL COST and not on SALES!

They keep on saying that manufacturers like Hb isn't affected because they already sold the product to the retailer. Well they are CRETINS! If the retailer keeps on taking a HIT, then they will order LESS and LESS of the product resulting to the manufacturer pulling out or axing a particular product, in this case (the horror......Tfs). See what happened to the other planned box sets that were supposedly released got canned.

When TRU , who buys the products goes belly up, who fills up the vacuum? Where will Hb sell most of their wares then?

Tsk tsk tsk........

[william-james88]

that figure variety!

Why cant the US have that variety!?!

I the future generations of kids in the United States are losing interests in toys. But what isn't losing profits are electronics. On multiple occurrences, I see parents giving their toddlers tablets and cellphones so they can watch YouTube or play games. These toddlers give so much attention to electronics, that they will lay down in the middle of the floor watching videos or playing games and it's up to you, the pedestrian to walk around them. So the most playful stimulus toddlers are now having is playing with electronics. This desire only increases as they get older because technology gives the most escape from reality than a plastic doll, a die cast car, or a fuzzy teddy bear.

So I think the biggest reason Toysrus and the toy aisles of Target, Walmart, Kmart, etc. are diminishing in the U.S. is due to consumers (children) lower demand for toys and higher demands for electronics and the latest technology.

What I find cool about this is that technically kids havent changed but technology has. The reason we bought media related toys as kids was because we wanted to imitate what we saw for ourselves. Play with those characters. Well, this is still the main thing kids are doing today, but instead of doing it through toys, they can now actually become these same characters digitally and interact with whatever media based universe they like. Its pretty nuts how the pupularity of Lego Batman stems from the game and not the actual lego. To the point where they are now basing legos off the movie which is based on a game which was based on legos... all based on Batman I conclude my thesis by saying that Batman rules. Oh wait, thats not at all what we were talking about.

that figure variety!

Why cant the US have that variety!?!

There's 3 TRU's in my city, and none of them look like that

This makes me wonder... could TRU USA disappear while TRU Canada remains? And how are other TRU's fairing? I don't even know how many countries they're in, but I know they're in Japan...

I've been to TRU's in Malaysia, Korea, Germany, UAE-Dubai as well as Japan and Canada (Yeah, I travel for work, a nice perk for hunting TF's. It will be interesting to see how the TRU's in other countries fare.

So... is TRU USA the only one in trouble then?

After reading the article I newsed, it seems Canada is the one that is ultra ****. TRU USA wants to stay alive, at least long enough that the investors can flip it or sell off its debt. But to do that, they are sqweezing the still profitable TRU Canada dry. I didnt want to write it in case I misinterpreted (and thus left it to just quoting the expert) but if I read that article correctly it seems Toysrus corporate is making TRU canada take out loans they dont need (From USA banks, no less) to then loan over to the US business because the US needs it. So they are inundating TRU Canada with debt that TRU Canada because they themselves are not able to get more. Other TRUs are not touched right now aside from TRU corporate and TRU Canada. And if anyone goes down, it seems it will be TRU Canada, being sacrificed for the sake of taking all they can from it to make TRU USA survive. We are so ****.

[shajaki]

After reading the article I newsed, it seems Canada is the one that is ultra ****. TRU USA wants to stay alive, at least long enough that the investors can flip it or sell off its debt. But to do that, they are sqweezing the still profitable TRU Canada dry. I didnt want to write it in case I misinterpreted (and thus left it to just quoting the expert) but if I read that article correctly it seems Toysrus corporate is making TRU canada take out loans they dont need (From USA banks, no less) to then loan over to the US business because the US needs it. So they are inundating TRU Canada with debt that TRU Canada because they themselves are not able to get more. Other TRUs are not touched right now aside from TRU corporate and TRU Canada. And if anyone goes down, it seems it will be TRU Canada, being sacrificed for the sake of taking all they can from it to make TRU USA survive. We are so ****.

That's F***ed. And incredibly depressing.

[Epsilon Delta]

One of the problems I've seen is TRU increasing prices by 25% over the other stores. I usually price match to Walmart or Target, but sometimes Walmart online has wonky prices compared to in-store and Target says in-store only and they won't price match. Then I either try and find them in a Walmart/Target store, online, or just miss out. With, what I feel, is lower quality toys at higher prices, then marked up even more, I just don't want to drop the money. For TRU, it isn't just Transformers, it's all their products getting overpriced.

[Decepticon Stryker]

*Looks at news thumbnail*
...
*Looks at their local TRU shelf*

Why is it that all the stores that sell Transformers near me have such a poor selection? I really hope they'll be able to pull $400 million though. TRU is one of my favorite stores. Looks like I'll need to increase my number of visits.

[william-james88]

*Looks at news thumbnail*
...
*Looks at their local TRU shelf*

why-do-you-59c83d.jpg

Why is it that all the stores that sell Transformers near me have such a poor selection? I really hope they'll be able to pull $400 million though. TRU is one of my favorite stores. Looks like I'll need to increase my number of visits.

But you know, its not just my TRU. While I do preffer showing pics of TRU since it look more vast and impressive, my local walmarts arent shabby either to the point where all is not lost if I only have Walmart to rely on in the future.



Sadly though, Toysrus is the best at prices in my area due to Hasbro encouraging sales and coupons (as confirmed in another article), a practice they dont do with Walmart (since Walmart dont need no help). So while my Walmart would be a bad option, I would lose out on savings.

[Concept]

Didn't know the Canadian TRU was so profitable...we rarely see some of what is offered in the US. Many times they'll list items in advanced which aren't even in stock yet then never do come into stock and vanish off their website like they never even exist. This is what keeps me from TRU stores and I stick to Walmart. Plus I have to drive over an hour in either direction to go to a TRU to see if they actually have something in stock when the website doesn't list it. Very frustrating since TRU carries certain exclusives and we get jipped out of them.

[william-james88]

Didn't know the Canadian TRU was so profitable...we rarely see some of what is offered in the US.

Its mainly because there is very little competiton for toys in Canada.

[WreckerJack]

I think this video brings up a few good points about the state of their bankruptcy.

[shajaki]

I was hoping for some comments about the relation of TRU USA and Canada. It was rather simplistic.

[WreckerJack]

I was hoping for some comments about the relation of TRU USA and Canada. It was rather simplistic.

I have been wondering that too, I know it's harder to get toys online in Canada. Even tho I live in the states I am concerned for my Canadian pals. Wish I knew more about how that all works.

[william-james88]

I was hoping for some comments about the relation of TRU USA and Canada. It was rather simplistic.

I have been wondering that too, I know it's harder to get toys online in Canada. Even tho I live in the states I am concerned for my Canadian pals. Wish I knew more about how that all works.

You either get it cheap in a store or you pay through the ass online, thats how it works in canada.

And yeah, the video was just about the US segment. Shajaki, Canada is just tied to the US in the fact that the US owns it 100%. It runs independently but it is still owned by the US, just like how Takara is run independently from TOMY but TOMY owns all of it.

So if TRU USA says Jump, TRU Canada says how high. And right now TRU USA is indebting TRU Canada so that TRU Corporate can get more money. Yay.

[Bounti76]

Fellow Seibertronian d-maximus_Prime has pointed us to an article on CNN's Money Section, regarding Toys "R" Us' bankruptcy, and how it's expected to affect toy sales this Christmas shopping season. Hasbro's CFO, Deborah Thomas, said that while 3rd quarter sales and profits were above forecasts, 4th quarter sales were now expected to be only slightly higher than last year, which is a significant drop from where they had been expected to be.

You can read the full article by clicking here. What do you think of this latest development? Discuss it in our forums below!

[Sunburnninja]

Im pretty sure their prices are taking part in this too, not just TRU

[Nightbeat339]

Makes sense. My local TRU only has TLK wave 1, a couple of Triggerhappys and Twinfernos, and some random RiD figures. I've been waiting for them to get the latest waves of Titans Return for months now.

[Megatron Wolf]

Im pretty sure their prices are taking part in this too, not just TRU

Took the words right out of my mouth, any lose they have is not just because of TRU. High prices alienating people from buying and terrible distribution making people who want to buy unable to is going to lose you money. Just hope its enough to get them to rethink what they're doing otherwise the lose is just going to get bigger.

[fenrir72]

Simple answer. Either you buy at retail cost or the company goes belly up. What's so hard to digest with that? If them toys are too dang expensive, it shelf warms. Then the store stops ordering the items. Less orders, less drive for the manufacturers to R and D leading to the toyline's eventual demise.

Market forces PEOPLE!

Also, buyer preference now has convenience as a priority over the rush and tumble business model of shopping real time. Stores must adapt to these trends. Mall type models are really taking a hit on this.

For TRU, the confluence of these factors equals...................this!

[Carnivius_Prime]

Makes sense. My local TRU only has TLK wave 1, a couple of Triggerhappys and Twinfernos, and some random RiD figures. I've been waiting for them to get the latest waves of Titans Return for months now.

Yeah my nearest Toys R Us only got in wave 4 of Titans Return a short while ago after shelfwarming previous waves for months and TLK stuff hasn't moved past wave 1 even after DVD of the film has been released. I bought my TLK Prime and Barricade from Toys R Us when Wave 1 first came out and would have bought more waves if they had been available to me. As it is I had to get Megatron and Sqweeks elsewhere and recently ordered W3 Bee and Cogman online too.