"As a result of Covid, we made the strategic decision to pivot our store strategy to new locations and platforms that have better traffic,” Tru Kids said in a statement. “Consumer demand in the toy category and for Toys “R” Us remains strong, and we will continue to invest in the channels where the customer wants to experience our brand.”
I personally didn't visit one of these but I'm not really surprised this happened considering the current situation and what little I heard from people who visited these stores.
Having visited the one in NJ, I cannot say I was surprised. The days of large stores outside of WalMart and Target are coming to a close. I wish I could share with my 5-year old the same magic and excitement I felt when I went to TRU at his age, but, like so many other things, those days are long since past
On a small but positive note, both storesdid open for the 2019 holiday season and lasted for over a year and two holiday seasons.
Timing with COVID I am sure didnt help anything, but I saw nothing with those two stores that would suggest they had any possible chance of success. The product they had was limited at best. Setting up shop in malls which are a dying breed in their own right was not a good move and my guess the bad debt most toy manufactures were left with when they originally went bankrupt left a bad taste in those manufactures mouths and would make them think twice before doing business in any real way. Their online thing was a joke, with everything just taking you to Target's website. I dont think anyone COVID or no was terribly surprised this attempted rebirth of TRU here in the US failed.
Another victim of bad timing. Reaction to Covid is crippling businesses left and right. Just so happens THIS business was in the early stages of its rebirth . . . now a funeral.
I'm not surprised. From what I've seen of these stores they looked like small boutique type stores instead of the huge toy supermarket type stores that they were in their glory days.
im surprised and not surprised. Surprised that TRU still has a presence in US, but not because covid is a kind of thing that would wreck a store like TRU. They cant do things like food stores or even walmarts. Its alot more closed in and smaller.. i mean they could still operate in some capacity but I get their fear of keeping them open.
6 hours ago, Satam said:I'm kind of surprised it took this long.
Ditto =^)
A lot of stores closed down all over the world due to covid, so nothing surprising here. Maybe they should continue as specialized toy online store instead of attempting to get back to physical stores.
TRU should just pair up with another brick and mortar store and do a KFC/Taco Bell type combo that can satisfy multiple types of customers. I say go Barnes & Noble and Us, or something... Books, movies, toys, and a Starbucks all wrapped in one ?
