Legendary retailer Toys ‘R’ Us is to shut down completely in the UK, after administrators failed to find a buyer for the flagging business. A whopping 105 shops will close over the next six weeks, with over 3,000 jobs lost as a result. Any remaining stock will be discounted in the remaining stores that are open, so it may be worth visiting one of the outlets if you live nearby.
In addition to selling toys and stationary, Toys ‘R’ Us was also a pretty prominent games retailer back in the day, with this particular author getting his first taste of the PlayStation 2 in Birmingham’s gigantic megastore almost two decades ago. For us, though, we’ll always remember the retailer for its catchy jingle that used to play around Christmas time:
It’s been a rough 2018 for the British high street, with Maplins and Claire’s also falling into difficulties. All the best to those who find themselves out of work.
[source bbc.co.uk]
Comments 33
I'm curious to know what Geoffrey says about all this.
Damn Sorry for the people affected but it's not surprising though bad management was the fault imo.
I remember the days when taking a trip to the nearest Toys 'R' Us was like a holiday for me. As a kid I couldn't believe a toy shop that huge actually existed. Used to spend a small fortune on Pokemon figures.
Nostalgia aside, they really had lost focus. I remember when they were video games mecca - glass cabinets of NES and SNES games next to each other and you had to choose and get someone to open the case for you. I went to one a couple of months ago and the place was a complete mess. Always feel sorry for the employees when management drops the ball.
They had the best selection of Transformers and Action Man figures in the 90s. We used to go to Birmingham on a Sunday and we'd go to the Wimpy over the road for lunch, then I'd get to go in to Toys 'R' Us and browse all of the toys. I used to spend hours browsing, and sometimes I'd even be treated to something to take home.
Happier times TBH.
@Rudy_Manchego I don't know if it was the same in the UK as in the US but buying a video game during the NES/SNES era was such a cool experience.
They use to have sleeves with slips of paper in it for each copy of a.game along the wall. You would take this slip up to the register pay for your game then take the receipt and slip to this booth where an employee would take it and go into a room.moments later the employee would come out game in hand and give it to you. For a 9 year old it was such an awesome experience.
Sad now future generations won't know what it's meant to be a Toys R Us kid.
I got my first ever console that was "mine" in the house, a Game Boy Pocket, from the Bham superstore as a kid. Waiting from them to pull it from the back was awesome. Good memories. Still, it's a sad fact that we buy differently now. Some places just can't compete.
I'm still shocked Argos is still around.
Great place that had a lot of memories for many people, shame Geoffrey has to go the way of the Dodo.
Hope all those involved soon find a new job.
What about the online store?
Damn why do all the good stores closes yet trash stores like gamestop/game are still open. R.I.P Toys R' US
I used to love going to the Toys R Us at the Metro Centre when I was a kid. I don't remember buying any games from there. I do remember buying a boglin once though.
@Tasuki Exactly that with the paper but they kept it in a cabinet so you could see the stock behind the paper slips and they would go to the cabinet and unlock. Got my copy of Street Fighter 2 on SNES that way. Solstice and Elite on the NES too.
It really was special.
Yeah I remember the paper slips thing now you mention it.
I hope everyone who is affected by this find jobs soon.
Never bought games from toys r us, gi joe, action man, pocket monsters, pogs and other random crap.
The one around me is closing, but they only had certain games part of the clearance areas, as many (Switch, XBONE and PS4...games and consoles that aren't part of the deals) will probably be taken back to the rightful companies. I did get some nice Amiibo figures and found Rock Band 4 for PS4 at a good price...$17 for Rock Band 4 with a guitar. Other than that, it's a big shame, as there's no other toy stores around for kids, and this and Kaybee was ones that I went to as kids. I still remember going in and seeing all the NES and Genesis games hanging up in the background! It was good times! Going to miss it, just like I did with Circuit City, and hopefully we don't lose Best Buy...looks like there's only going to be a few stores that will carry games galore (gamestop and elite).
As a kid it was a decent shop and experience from memory but its long been on its death bed.
You walk in to a shop understaffed by school leavers who on my last visit said to me after struggling to work the till for 10 mins and asking a colleague for help that then barely knew what they were doing either said to me and the row of customers "I hate working here. Cant wait to get another job hahaha" - Might want to keep that to yourself pal instead of making yourself look like a complete muppet.
Kids cant play with any toys with nothing left out for them and its just a warehouse full of boxes. A rubbish, overpriced experience from start to finish.
Good riddance.
I feel sorry for the folk losing jobs but the store in my area was an absolute mess.
These stores were huge. I used to love playing basketball in the nets they had set up and razzing up and down the aisles on scooters from the bike section. I felt like Tom Hanks in BIG.
@solocapers It's clearly a business that's been on the decline since we were kids, but as the comments here express, it was an amazing store in the 90s.
Time moves on, though, unfortunately.
If you do not evolve and stay stuck in the past then business are doomed to failure. Gone are the days where you need a huge store showing off your products. I forsee Game vanishing from the high street as well in the next 18 months.
The local one to me had a Childrens World next door, had a big slide and ball pit, now kids have to buy their crap from amazon. Very sad.
@dryrain they don't advertise enough in the case of toys r us, every game I ever went into had a terrible layout, a cramped mess, my two cents
@get2sammyb Absolutely, its like they just stuck themselves in a timewarp and just did not bother to change with the times.
Shops like Smyths put it to shame.
I just hope Geoffrey doesn't go down the drink and drugs route. We've lost too many ex-celebs that way.
Only thing I ever got from a Toys'R'Us was a Star Wars Action Fleet TIE Bomber when I was... oh, it was whatever year the Lost in Space movie came out.
As an unbearable child, my parents wisely avoided taking me anywhere near them other than that.
@Rudy_Manchego Yeah we didn't have a cabinet here (at least at.the stores I went to near where I lived at the time). Instead there was a booth at the front of the stores kinda reminded me of like a box office booth at a theater where you would give an employee the slip with your receipt. The slips were just on the wall in these plastic sleeves with the front and back of the box attached to it. We never saw how many were in stock just assumed that the amount of slips matched how many they had in stock.
1998 my parents bought me a PS1 with 2 controllers 2 memory cards and 5 games I got Rayman, True Pinball, Total Driving, Worms and Actua Tennis. Which I traded in the tennis and pinball for Ultimate Doom and FF7. TRU back then was huge for games you could play consoles like Game UK has but now it's a shadow of its former self. Prices are way to much for anything and sales didn't really cut anything off they just didn't match online or other shops. Shame that 3,000 will lose there jobs really is I hope they can find work elsewhere.
True story this.. I actually pre ordered and got my PS4 from the store in Warrington. I made my wife get up early and keep me company in the queue. I was second in line but also last in line as there was only the two of us there! I felt ridiculous cos I’d been bigging it up all week and she just looked at me like I was stupid. A rare occasion when I would rather have queued for something!! It just didn’t feel exciting.
@Tasuki
I remember those days fondly. If they had that ticket for the game you wanted, it was almost like hitting the lottery. At least that's what it seemed like to 8-year-old me.
Man, I worked at a Toys R Us for 6 years. It was my first job. Sad to hear about this.
My mom took me to Toys R' Us alot as a child....remember spending my allowance on toys I wanted or gift cards/cash from family members.
Shame to see them go, wish the best of luck to employees being let go.
I visited Toys 'R' Us on Times Square, the store was really impressive, I spent hours checking the action figures and games. It's really sad what's happening, best wishes for all the people affected.
The internet is great but it rally takes down a lot of stores but to be fair a lot of stores are terrible. Here in the Netherlands we have Gamemania great gamestore a little more expensive but i dont mind. They give me a lot of preorder stuff for free even I did not preorder the game. And atleast they dont damage my collector edition like the mail here. 😁
Lets hope the people find another job soon good luck to everyone affected.
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