BY THE WAY.....

The Gold Coast ToysRUs store is closing down in July.

The Pacific Fair is being renovated (they look to be demolishing part or all of the outdoor part, probably to expand the multi-storey complex into that area just to fit in more retailers per square meter of land), and that 2-storey section is being demolished as well... so maybe the new complex was not able to incorporate the existing building.
The staff-member I was talking to said that they were offered temporary locations, but none were big enough for them, so they decided to close down when the lease ran out, and the stock will be transferred to other stores (probably Aspley and Garden City). They may return to the Gold Coast again, but not in the foreseeable future (according to the staffer... but I might ask Head Office if they have any plans to re-open somewhere on the Gold Coast).


Target is underneath TRU, so I imagine that they would be closing down as well... but Target are not as rare as TRU in SE QLD, so it isn't as great a loss.
This will leave just the two Brisbane stores now, to cater to the 3 million people in the SE corner of the state... making limited edition figures even more difficult to fight over.

I know that we are still better off than those in regions or even states that don't even have a TRU anywhere near them, but it is unusually low ratio in this third-largest population cluster in Australia...
(Greater) Sydney (4.4 million) has 10 stores = 1 per 440,000 people
(Greater) Melbourne (4.2 million) has 6 stores = 1 per 700,000 people
Brisbane (2.2 million) has 2 stores = 1 per 1,100,000 people
Perth (1.9 million) has 4 stores = 1 per 475,000 people
Adelaide (1.3 million) has 3 stores = 1 per 433,000 people
Gold Coast (0.6 million) has 1 store (closing soon) = 1 per 600,000 people
Canberra (0.4 million) has 2 stores = 1 per 200,000 people
Newcastle (0.4 million) has 1 store = 1 per 400,000 people
Central Coast (0.3 million) has 1 store = 1 per 300,000 people
Wollongong (0.3 million has 1 store = 1 per 300,000 people
Geelong (0.2 million) has 1 store = 1 per 200,000 people
Townsville (0.2 million) has 1 store = 1 per 200,000 people
Cairns (0.15 million) has 1 store = 1 per 150,000 people
Mackay (0.08 million) had 1 store (burnt down, might return) = 1 per 80,000 people


That's all 35 existing stores (if Mackay comes back), and Brisbane is 2-3 times the ratio of most other locations, with Melbourne being next worst with stores per capita.
(it'd be nice to have one in Hobart, Darwin and Sunshine Coast as well... to cover the 15 largest population centres here, and the two states/territories that don't have any)

(I get distracted by numbers way too easily... )