Toys 'R' Us Australia goes into administration

[SMHFConvoy]

Hopefully it's bought by another company, I don't want people to lose their jobs

[Starscream77]

Note if you have a gift voucher for TRU as its in administration you must spend the equivalent of the value of the card in cash to be able to claim the value of said card.

[UltraMarginal]

Didn’t baby bunting and baby wrehouse also close down in the last two or so years???

How can stores that have such a prime market Keep going out of business? What are they all getting so wrong?

I know the Baby Bunting in Castle hill closed down but I'm pretty sure the one in Chatswood is till going strong.

BRU is a bit like TRU in that a lot of their prices are slightly higher than some easy alternatives. All baby stuff is expensive, a lot for good reason. A lot of testing and performance rating goes into a baby products to ensure they are safe. In Castle Hill there is a Baby Kingdom a few blocks from the TRU/BRU and they are always very busy, I wouldn't be surprised if they had at least 15 staff on at any one time.

Note if you have a gift voucher for TRU as its in administration you must spend the equivalent of the value of the card in cash to be able to claim the value of said card.

that's a bit shit.


I think part of TRU's problem in Australia is nearly all of their stores are remote to shopping centres. I can only think of the Parramatta store when trying to think of one that's inside a westfield or similar. all the others (Moore Park, Bankstown, Castle HIll) are in home maker centres.

I honestly hope they find a buyer.
I wonder, if I walked into a bank and asked for a loan that would allow me to buy TRU Australia what they would say

[dsaint]

Very sad news for those employed by TRU. I hope they find a buyer - I talked to staff at one a few months ago and they said they had been reassured there wouldn't be repercussions from the shutdown in USA/Canada/UK.

The reason they moved from major shopping centres was survival - Westfield's rents are horrifically high and they can get more floorspace at a homemaker's centre for cheaper. Not sure if that move hurt them - I often see familys at the homemaker's centre at Casula and the children almost always succeed in dragging their parents for a run through TRU there.

Best regards
Dazz

[i_amtrunks]

My apologies in regard to baby bunting, although I am sure that another major baby chain did shut down recently.

I think opening all the new TRU stores in ex Masters buildings has probably hurt them too, it cost alot to fit out and supply all these new stores that are a fair way from their competitors and that cost an extra 20% than the normal toy prices at big w and kmart. Their saving grace should've been a wider range, but it always seems that they have the same old stock for a long time and only a smattering of new stuff that goes quickly, leaving the old wave one stuff behind. (The Tf Movie affect!)

[UltraMarginal]

I know Pumpkin patch went out of business and I'm pretty sure another baby/toddler clothes store did too. they have a similar problem to TRU though, their prices are very high compared with equivalent garments at a department store like Target or big W. There might be a quality difference, but not enough to justify the price, especially when the clothes only fit for a couple months at most.

It's also odd the BRU don't stock certain items at all. I think it's contractual, it's the only thing I can think of. eg: Pigeon baby bottles are, according to popular opinion (and I'd have to agree), by far and away the best bottle you can buy. Only a few of the specialist baby stores stock them. the same for Nuk brand dummies, undoubtedly the best dummy on the market, the best place and one of only few places to buy them is chemist warehouse.

I really do hope they find a buyer, unless it's someone like jerry Harvey, that probably wouldn't go well for anyone.

[ChlorHex]

I hate to be an alarmist but the mp shadow panther listing on the tru website is gone.

Shall we start killing pre-orders or hold fire?

I'd suggest finding another source for that.
Was a deposit required for the preorders?

[millhouse]

Payment was in full on the credit card at time of order.

[millhouse]

I've emailed their customer support. You can do so at auscustomerservice@toysrus.com.au(.)

Will update when I hear anything.

[millhouse]

After requesting (through their call system) a callback, Nathan called me back.

I provided my order number and enquired about the process from here. He advised that refunds weren't possible (which we knew already) and went to discuss the matter with some team other team members while I was placed on hold.

Prior to that, I advised him that I am a member of an online forum that would have a number of other people in my position and I would update them accordingly.

Upon returning to the call, Nathan advised that they do not know what is going to happen yet.

I've requested further information when it comes to hand. My details have been taken and I was advised it might be a few weeks.

All of that is, IMHO, a reasonable response in a shit situation.

I'd advise you all to contact auscustomerservice@toysrus.com.au with your order details, requesting an update in due course.

If/when I hear of anything, I'll update here as well.

In the event that TRU are unable to fulfil, I'd assume that someone with the Premium Collectables-experience in chargebacks might have some guidance. As I understand it, all orders for Shadowpanther have it listed as a pre-order for October delivery in the order receipt.

If so, I'd suggest raising that in due course to your bank once we find out what TRU are doing on it.

Hope that helps.

I didn't mention OTCA (other than the generic "an online forum" description) and remained polite with Nathan while I had him on the line. It's got to be a shitty week for them all there and I didn't want to make his day any worse than it already is.