Toys R Us is Closing

[Still Alive]

11 minutes ago, wingnut- said:

 

Actually it's a historical view, mingled with experience in the industry.  It has not quite been a year since I parted ways with Sears, but long before I saw the trend forming.  When the internet became a hit, it was clear they began designing their goals around an online market.  The workforce was reduced to a paltry number, so that those customers who came into the store could not find anyone to help them.  It's sad when someone has to spend more time searching for an employee than the item they came to buy.

Then slowly, over time, we stopped carrying items we had always carried.  Our instructions were to take the customer to the computer and do an online order.   Now, which do you think is safer, using a public computer to put your credit card info on, or your home computer?  If one cannot get what they need from a store, why would you go there?  This is all designed to feed the greed at the top, by allowing them to eliminate employees.  The fact is, people are being forced to shop online to a large degree, when stores no longer stock the items.

The younger generation is fine with buying things they have never seen, but the older generations are still largely composed of people who want to examine something before buying it.  As far as toys r us goes, is it any surprise they would go out of business?  We are talking about a retail store that only has a few months out of the year to sustain itself annually.  This is not a successful business model, it's amazing to me that they lasted as long as they did and points more towards a generation that spoiled their children with excess.

I think sears' mistake was not treating their stores like stores as long as they existed. It's fin to try to ween your customers off the store for some stuff, but it's a fine line between making your stores a shell of their former selves BEFORE the internet catches on with your customers and stocking stuff that nobody comes in to buy any more. 

And I'm not against this migration to online shopping. Frankly, my wife and I made a deal over a decade ago that I'm not allowed to drive anywhere near a mall during Christmas shopping season. And traffic is only getting worse. 

Why would I go to brick and mortar, with traffic, no parking, weather, loitering teens, etc. when I can pour a cup of coffee and sit at my nice warm computer and find what I'm looking for with a few key clicks? 

Shopping is not something I do as a form of entertainment. It is something I do to acquire something I need. It is a form of work. It is prudent to find the most cost effective (both time and money) way to do it. 

Online shopping is the future, and it will soon include groceries. In fact, your refridgerator (and some of the food containers themselves) will order things you are running low on and they will be delivered to your home with a receipt showing up in your email and billing done automatically. And it will be delivered by a driverless delivery vehicle. 

Welcome to the future. The corner general store is gone. Time marches on.

[Still Alive]

7 minutes ago, Davida said:

Yes that's exactly my point & and eventually one be in control of it all. There won't be competitive pricing when only one mega group owns everything.

Nah. Costco never took over. I keep thinking of Myspace and Facebook. And Jet.com, as well as costco.com are very motivated to give Amazon a run for its money, just as Facebook gave Myspace a run for its money.

 

[Still Alive]

2 minutes ago, Still Alive said:

Nah. Costco never took over. I keep thinking of Myspace and Facebook. And Jet.com, as well as costco.com are very motivated to give Amazon a run for its money, just as Facebook gave Myspace a run for its money.

What happens is if a company DOES get too powerful, it gets broken up.

 

 

[Still Alive]

Just now, Davida said:

I'm not saying Costco took over.

I know. What I'm saying is that Amazon is like Costco. They are not gonna take over either. The really great thing about Capitalism is that huge companies have too much to lose adapting to the marketplace. So capitalism has a sort of built in limiter. A company makes all sorts of risky decisions and gets really big, but then they have a lot to lose if they continue high risk, so they become the new, slow behemoth. Then a bunch of new startups come in taking crazy risks. Most fail, but the one or two that took exactly the right risks rise up to compete, or even topple, the big guy. 

It's how capitalism works. 

[wingnut-]

15 minutes ago, Still Alive said:

I think sears' mistake was not treating their stores like stores as long as they existed. It's fin to try to ween your customers off the store for some stuff, but it's a fine line between making your stores a shell of their former selves BEFORE the internet catches on with your customers and stocking stuff that nobody comes in to buy any more.

 

Yes, they made a lot of huge mistakes.  One thing I can tell you from working there, the vast majority of customers were senior citizens, many of which do not even own a computer or have any desire to.  They also have no desire to put their credit card info on one.  This is also why wall street took a disliking to them, directly stating that the drop in stock value was related to a complete lack of investment in the stores themselves.

[LadyKay]

51 minutes ago, wingnut- said:

We are talking about a retail store that only has a few months out of the year to sustain itself annually.  This is not a successful business model, it's amazing to me that they lasted as long as they did and points more towards a generation that spoiled their children with excess.

This is a point. I mean my kid wants and wants and wants toys when we go into a regular department store. No way am I going to go to a "just toy store" on a normal shopping outing. We did go there for her birthday though to let her spend her birthday money. That was it though. Then I almost didn't get her out of the store. LOL !

[wingnut-]

9 minutes ago, LadyKay said:

This is a point. I mean my kid wants and wants and wants toys when we go into a regular department store. No way am I going to go to a "just toy store" on a normal shopping outing. We did go there for her birthday though to let her spend her birthday money. That was it though. Then I almost didn't get her out of the store. LOL !

 

There is a toys r us about a mile from my house, so I drive by it often.  In November and December, the lot is packed with cars, the rest of the year, maybe one or two vehicles, which are mostly likely the employee's vehicles.  Ultimately what made them go out of business is their size and seasonal limitations.  Every time minimum wage increases, it puts a huge strain on businesses like toys r us.

[Neighbor]

4 hours ago, Yowm said:

From my understanding, various merchants can sell on Amazon so there still is competition.

But Amazon will control the branding as in the following example. Want to buy double AA batteries? Guess which ones they will send if one does not specify a brand? Amazon house brand.

As to toysRus, it is dead gone closing up bankrupt. It was always an uncomfortable feeling store, reminded my of an old Zodys or Whitefront or even Kmart.

Like Sears which I just tried to buy something at it is horribly run. Sears is a mess over priced and it takes fifteen minutes to get a receipt processed.

It is be quick or be dead in retail. I dislike Kohls for their promotions, I am expected to buy on Tuesday there in order to  get the Tuesday geezer discount, and I never know what th ereal price is to start with fo rall th eother discounts. So I can't compare. So I don't buy. I look maybe then i go to the internet and buy. I just even signed up for Amazon Prime after resisting for years evn though family uses my address for packages that arrive most every day here. Recently when needing a bathroom fan motor i ordered it by 10:30 PM and it was at my door by 9:00Am. How? Wow why should I hunt at Grainger store burn fuel and time and hope it i sin stck when i can click a few times in th ecomfort of my home.

 

Yes the economy is changing drastically. But for me so far it is all to the good. Less retail clerk jobs perhaps means more higher paying Postal, Fed and  UPS jobs. It might be  a trade out that works for everyone. Fewer giant scars  on the terrain in the form of parking lots, big box store malls, 16 lanes of surface roads with double and triple lanes turning in all directions, car exhaust plumes, and auto accidents, might not be all bad.

Perhaps we will learn to be artists and artisans, talented musicians, pastors, teachers, mentors, care givers, instead of cashiers and stock clerks. -May not be all that bad.

So amazing- My great grandmother said the greatest invention of her 94 yars on earth was the flush toilet. Think of that, she died in 1957. Can you imagine what she would think of today's computerized toilets, bidettes, and multi head showers?

As for this old geezer I still feel like the best is yet to come, I want to get my license as a drone operator for real estate photography. why I could do that from the "home" in my bed if I need to have the income then. Progress not to fear but to embrace in wonder an d in thanks to God for the opportunities our own ancestors never had.

Fear breeds inaction and excuse for failure to try. Wonder breeds excitement and the thrill of failures and successes in the hunt for life's best adventures.

May I recommend getting on Amazon and ordering Scott Hamilton's new book "Finish First", try reading a sampling that is on line I think it will encourage and illuminate toward happiness in trying  to win instead of settling for mediocrity. I ordered mine online already  for my nine year old grandson.

Praise God for these very times, such opportunity! None the less Maranatha, and may I be found at work standing my post as a soldier of Christ Jesus when He comes again.

 

[Sower]

37 minutes ago, Sojourner414 said:

I'll take the Transformers toy over the video game any day. Generation 1 please.

Maybe a few generations futher.........

 

 

[Guest shiloh357]

18 hours ago, ayin jade said:

How much more judgmental can this be?

Not everyone can get to a store and shop easily. I can barely stand for long without suffering extreme pain. There was a time when I lived in a town that was 90 minute drive (one way) just to get to the bank. Further than that to get to a shopping mall. I personally am hands on and prefer to look and touch merchandise before buying it, but I would not pass judgment on the motives of people who shop online. Certainly the selection is better and cheaper online.

she isn't judging anyone.  She made a truthful, general observation.