Toys"R"Us

[acumpton]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...npbN2aPyECYuVG

Two stores will be closing in the Metro area, including the one in Norman. That's going to be another hit on Ed Noble Parkway.

[macfoucin]

<-- from my 5 year old

[Soonerman]

Who's truly surprised to see the Crossroads location on the list??

[jonny d]

Apparently Fort Smith is in OK ��

[Jeepnokc]

Apparently Fort Smith is in OK ��

Fake News

[stile99]

Who's truly surprised to see the Crossroads location on the list??

Two things surprise me. One, that this location has even lasted this long. Two, the company waited this long after the holidays to announce what we've all known was going to happen since months before the holidays.

Slight digression: During the holidays Toys R Us was running a 'new' ad, that was mostly a compilation of 'classic' ads, with a new line added to the famous "Toys R Us kid" song that was something to the effect of "We've always been your store and we'll always be here". It was a little bittersweet, since everyone knew that was a straight up lie.

[jn1780]

I don't see Toys R Us as a whole lasting that much longer. If you go any other time besides Christmas, its dead. Getting killed by Amazon.

[stile99]

i don't see toys r us as a whole lasting that much longer. If you go any other time besides christmas, its dead. Getting killed by mismanagement.

ftfy

[John1744]

This really hits hard for me. I have a five year old and seeing the joy on his face when he get's a good report from Kindergarten or he's done something exceptional and I get to reward him with taking him to Toys R Us to pick out a toy is just so awesome. It's something the toy aisle at Walmart, Target or shopping online can never capture. Being able to take a kid to an entire building full of toys and seeing the wonder on their faces is so great. Not to mention all my great memories of Toys R Us growing up. Saving allowance for months on end to get the latest greatest Transformer.

[Martin]

[LocoAko]

ftfy

Yeah. Last time I went into the location at Quail Springs it was in total disarray. Empty sections of shelves, toys on the floor, not a whole lot of organization, etc. I cut them some slack because it was right after Christmas, but the place was dead and I didn't get the vibe things were going swell for them.

[BLJR]

Sad to see them go. I have great memories of the Norman one, taking my son and shopping... good times. Amazon and the rest of the internet is killing them, coupled with the fact that kids playing more games and apps on digital devices. Waiting at a restaurant the other night, I saw a 3yr old playing something on the mom's phone, and you could tell the kid was a regular.

[bchris02]

This really hits hard for me. I have a five year old and seeing the joy on his face when he get's a good report from Kindergarten or he's done something exceptional and I get to reward him with taking him to Toys R Us to pick out a toy is just so awesome. It's something the toy aisle at Walmart, Target or shopping online can never capture. Being able to take a kid to an entire building full of toys and seeing the wonder on their faces is so great. Not to mention all my great memories of Toys R Us growing up. Saving allowance for months on end to get the latest greatest Transformer.

I agree with this. Going to Toys R' Us as a kid was an experience I'll always remember. For me, it was the Crossroads location. Another one I miss is Kay-Bee Toys. Both were far superior to the toy section of Wal-Mart.

[bchris02]

Sad to see them go. I have great memories of the Norman one, taking my son and shopping... good times. Amazon and the rest of the internet is killing them, coupled with the fact that kids playing more games and apps on digital devices. Waiting at a restaurant the other night, I saw a 3yr old playing something on the mom's phone, and you could tell the kid was a regular.

I was wondering...do kids even play with traditional toys anymore or is it all video games these days?

[Ginkasa]

I was wondering...do kids even play with traditional toys anymore or is it all video games these days?

My kids will either be playing physical games, like tag and stuff, or they're on an iPad/Kindle. They have some traditional toys, but they don't play with them too often. My daughter more than my son.

[chuck5815]

Don't worry guys. Jeff Bezos will have plenty of toys in stock at Amazon Go after he's run all of the traditional retailers out of town.

[tfvc.org]

Don't worry guys. Jeff Bezos will have plenty of toys in stock at Amazon Go after he's run all of the traditional retailers out of town.

Not far off, last time I was in Whole Foods they had toys and teddy bears and all other kinds of crap stuffed in isles and end caps.

[John1744]

We went by the crossroads location last night, our youngest turns one today and we were getting some toys and party supplies. Staff was in surprisingly good spirits and said most of the stock will get sent off to other stores but they will start having some clearance sales in the next couple of weeks.

[warreng88]

Toys were us: Brokers will fill big-box vacancies

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record January 26, 2018

NORMAN – The Parkway Plaza Shopping Center already had two vacant big-box stores, but another is looming.

The center is home to a Toys R Us. On Wednesday, the company announced it would close 182 stores, including the one at 560 Ed Noble Pkwy.

A closing date didn’t come with the announcement.

The Woodmont Co., based in Fort Worth, manages the shopping center. Broker Erik Coslik said the center has a history of stores with record-high sales. But that was before there was extensive work on the three bridges that lead traffic into the center. In the last five years, the Main Street exit has been redone, the Lindsey Street bridge was widened, and the Highway 9 bridge was realigned.

“We don’t want to say it’s causative, but it’s correlated,” Coslik said. “The decline in traffic on Ed Noble has corresponded to the road construction.”

The center is on the west side of Interstate 35 and has 85,000 vehicles pass it per day, according to Coslik’s sales brochure. The average household income within 3 miles is about $74,000.

The center has lost an Office Depot and a Michaels as well. The Office Depot space measures 23,500 square feet. The Michaels measures 23,786 square feet. There are several small shop spaces available, as well as a 3,000-square-foot restaurant pad site.

Coslik said the Ross Dress For Less has maintained healthy sales, often beating the national chain average.

He said he was in lease negotiations to fill the existing anchor spaces. While it may seem like the list of big-box stores is dwindling, that’s not exactly the case, said Daniel Taylor, CBRE’s managing director for retail for the south-central U.S.

Brands like Aldi and At Home are expanding, as well as discount retailers, such as Marshalls. He said the retailer that will backfill a Toys R Us will have to be considered on a case-by-case basis and will require looking at what’s missing in each market.

“There’s always interest for good locations,” he said.

Nationwide, fitness centers and grocery stores have been known to take some empty places in retail centers. But at Parkway Plaza, those are on the prohibitive uses list, though there is some flexibility, Coslik said. If he can get all the parties to agree, they could sign a waiver to allow such a use.

Woodmont recently brought in three new tenants for a former Kmart. Coslik said it was a complicated process, especially with three companies involved, but Woodmont was successful.

“The art of the possible requires time and money and diligence,” he said. “Hopefully as traffic patterns return, the fundamentals will improve.”

Taylor said he had a meeting with several of CBRE’s retail brokers this week, and they told him there are still companies seeking the large space, though they will likely fill an empty spot rather than build new. New construction is down a little, he said.

While he and other brokers are optimistic the Toys R Us spaces will get filled, it will likely take longer than it did in the past.

[jn1780]

Not looking good for Toys R US. Makes me sad. Sad that they didn't have better forward thinking management and sad that kids are more interested in video games, tablets, and cell phones.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...u-s-operations

[T. Jamison]

It's not exactly Toy's R Us' fault. The private equity firm that purchased Toys R Us used a significant amount of debt, and then put it on their books. It is a common theme in the numerous retailers that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years.

https://www.marketplace.org/2018/03/...ory-about-debt

[Richard at Remax]

Not to pile on to Toys R Us, but having 2 small children I frequent it a good amount. The in store experience is terrible. Terrible management, rude and uninterested employees, very unorganized. With so many better options out there for buying, esp online, it's no surprise to me. Like a lot of the stores I grew up with, some decided not to change with advances in technology. Most of those are out of business.

[SoonerDave]

Not looking good for Toys R US. Makes me sad. Sad that they didn't have better forward thinking management and sad that kids are more interested in video games, tablets, and cell phones.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...u-s-operations

The whole definition of "toys" changed in a single generation. I vividly remember going through the halls of older-style toy stores right here in OKC from Toys by Roy in Crossroads, Toy City (IIRC) next door to Wehba's on SW 74th and Walker, Kiddie City at SW 59th and Western, and even the toy department of the old TG&Y at SW 74th and Penn. Toys, back then, ran the gamut; puzzles, models, games, magic tricks, home versions of game shows, building sets like Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, and Legos - back when imagination was more important than building something to match whatever picture was on the boxfront. You could get small pool tables, toy pinball machines, miniature bowling sets, backyard gyms -- everything.

Now, all those things are increasingly reserved to niche stores and specialty shops, if you can find them at all. And that started before Amazon emerged. Combine that with the age of electronic games and cell phones, and you've changed a whole industry in just a few years.

For older (not yet old, mid-50's) fogies like me, that's really sad. Games and toys of that generation required thought and imagination, and both sem to have fallen out of favor these days.

[mugofbeer]

CNBCs early morning crew briefly mentioned the possibility the entire chain would possibly be liquidated. Asvhas been mentioned, Wal Mart was the first sword stabbing but Amazon's finishing them off.

[BBatesokc]

I have to buy toys from time to time for cousins, grand baby, friends kids, etc. Every time I walked into a Toys R Us I could beat their price fairly significantly by shopping online. That and the fact I'd have to drive across town to get to their closest location and they just were not on my list unless I had to have it right now.

As for kids habits in toys changing.... If they are toddler to pre-teen, and they prefer an electronic game or videos to more imaginative and physical toys, then that's the parent's fault. Most parents I know personally don't allow their kids to play video games or watch YouTube videos for more than about 45 minutes a day. If you don't condition kids for that, I find they actually prefer the Legos, playing outside, etc.