Maybe after World 4 Kids makes a comeback?Originally Posted by Omega Metro
So there’s no chance a ‘real’ TRU will ever come back here now?
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Maybe after World 4 Kids makes a comeback?So there’s no chance a ‘real’ TRU will ever come back here now?
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Who?
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Haha, it's a joke mate
World 4 Kids was a large toy chain started up by Myers to try and stop Toys R Us from expanding into Australia. They had a good crack at it lasting around 10 years but eventually failed.
https://youtu.be/8dc9cttz2mI
aand it looks like youtube tags don't work on this site
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
TRU liquidated their stock prior to closure, right down to the shop fittings so what we’re seeing now is another company selling their own stock under the TRU label. I don’t think we’ll see TRU in its original form, which will require millions in capital raising to start from scratch. No self-respecting financial institution is going to lend money for this type of endeavour, given today’s retail climate.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
I know who they were. Just insignificant in the grand scheme of things.Haha, it's a joke mate
World 4 Kids was a large toy chain started up by Myers to try and stop Toys R Us from expanding into Australia. They had a good crack at it lasting around 10 years but eventually failed.
https://youtu.be/8dc9cttz2mI
aand it looks like youtube tags don't work on this site
Rank 10 - Admin
Seeing the name "World 4 Kids" had me remembering Zigzag from the 90s... which I think was a name that Toyworld was using for a while (or a group of them, like Mr Toys group Toyworlds).
When you shop at Zigzag, the smile's in the bag...
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
I'm sure there's a TRU thread in the global section, however I couldn't find it. That said, it fits nicely here as an FYI:
Toys 'R' Us, Back From the Dead, Will Open U.S. Stores in 2019
Maybe American kids will only have to live through one Christmas without Toys 'R' Us.
About a year after shuttering U.S. operations, the remnant of the defunct toy chain is set to return this holiday season by opening about a half dozen U.S. stores and an e-commerce site, according to people familiar with the matter.
Richard Barry, a former Toys 'R' Us executive who is now CEO of new entity Tru Kids Inc., has been pitching his vision to reincarnate the chain to toymakers, including at an industry conference this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren't public.
The stores are slated to be about 10,000-square feet, roughly a third of the size of the brand?s big-box outlets that closed last year, the people said. The locations will also have more experiences, like play areas. The startup costs could be minimized with a consignment inventory model in which toymakers ship goods but don't get paid until consumers buy them, some of the people said.
A spokeswoman for Tru Kids said the company wasn't ready to publicly share details on its U.S. strategy.
New Rivals
It remains to be seen how much of a boost the retailer's comeback will provide the toy industry, including giants such as Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. The original Toys 'R' Us, the only national toy chain, left a huge hole when it went under. It had been generating about $7 billion in sales a year in the U.S. through more than 700 locations, including the Babies 'R' Us brand.
Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have swooped in to fill the void. They have all expanded toy assortments and marketing, including a printed toy catalog from Amazon. Other non-traditional chains jumped into the category, including grocery stores and Party City Holdco Inc.
There is also a question of how many toymakers will do business with the new Toys 'R' Us after many lost money when the former company announced liquidation in March 2018, just months after filing for bankruptcy.
MGA on Board
MGA Entertainment Inc., one of the best-performing toymakers in the world, is already on board to sell at the re-imagined Toys 'R' Us shops, said Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian, who said he has been pitched the plan. His company's properties include Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise! and Bratz dolls.
"This market needs a self-standing toy store, that's for sure," Larian said in an interview. "We will sell them inventory."
During the chain?s bankruptcy, lenders led by Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon took control of the company's assets. After results didn't improve, they opted to shutter operations in the U.S. Units in Australia and other regions also closed, with divisions in Asia and Canada acquired by new owners.
This group tried to sell the intellectual property, but opted to keep it to garner a better return. As owners of the intellectual property, they have been collecting licensing and other fees from the units still operating and selling them private-label goods. The lenders then formed Tru Kids with the goal of reviving the brand in the U.S. and other regions it exited. It has since hired several industry veterans and signed a deal to bring Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us back to Australia through a partner.
Source
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Haha, it's a joke mate
World 4 Kids was a large toy chain started up by Myers to try and stop Toys R Us from expanding into Australia. They had a good crack at it lasting around 10 years but eventually failed.
https://youtu.be/8dc9cttz2mI
aand it looks like youtube tags don't work on this site
Actually it was known as coles myers at the time it is now coles group (which is owned by westfarmers ) becuase they sold myers
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
At the time of my posting, youtube tags didn't work
Rank 10 - Admin
The new ToysRUs in America is opening up a couple of "retail showrooms" (Chicago & Atlanta), which to me sounds like interactive play centres, that basically promotes what they will be selling online... but might have two regular stores opening up soon as well (Texas & New Jersey).
With the new ToysRUs in Australia remaining as an online business for now, the interactive showrooms could be a format we might see here, if they don't want the expense and effort of opening up actual stores in Australia (particularly as Toymate are expanding into the void they left behind).
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote