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Toys 'R' Us has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and Canada as it attempts to restructure its debts.
The firm was once a dominant player in the US toy market, but has struggled against larger rivals such as Amazon.
The move casts a shadow over the future of the company's nearly 1,600 stores and 64,000 employees.
The firm's European operations are not part of the bankruptcy proceedings and Toys R Us says it does not expect any immediate impact on its UK stores.
Toys R Us's operations in Australia, about 255 licensed stores and a joint venture partnership in Asia are also not included in the bankruptcy move.
[...] The bankruptcy filing is more evidence that traditional retailers are struggling in the US, as online retailers continue to capture market share.
Amazon marches on, or we're just at 'Peak Toy'?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @10:40PM (8 children)
Radioshack, where you can grab circuit kits and components, kaput. Toys'R'Us, it was the magic palace for kids, now kaput. Even k-mart, where you can muck around with Commodore computers, kaput. Sears, where you could pick up high-quality life-time warranted kraftsman tools, almost kaput.
All kaput. It won't be long before it's my time.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Sulla on Wednesday September 20 2017, @12:42AM (7 children)
In all fairness it is Sears own fault for allowing their tool and appliance quality to degrade.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 20 2017, @04:54AM (5 children)
Yup, it's all about short-term profit. Immediate greed, driven also by high-speed stock trading greed. I will not buy new Craftsman junk. If I can't find the good stuff used, I'll buy SnapOn, S-K, Proto, Channellock, Chapman, Klein, etc. http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/tools.html/ [stillmadeinusa.com]
(Score: 1) by Paradise Pete on Wednesday September 20 2017, @11:40AM (1 child)
Was that site designed in 1993? I think I saw it on Mirsky's Worst of the Web.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 20 2017, @03:56PM
Being that the web was born in 1994, I don't think it could have been. But I get your sarcasm.
Everyone's entitled to their opinions. I personally greatly prefer sites of that design, and hate hate hate much of the newest website design styles. I don't use the web for the fun of the ride or the artistry of the designer. I'm trying to do something, or get some information. I need it to be simple, clean, clear, functional, etc.
Case in point: I needed to log in to paypal yesterday and I had much difficulty figuring out where things are now, what is a clickable link, what is a dropbox, etc. It's a flat, functionally mushy, tiled mess. I don't have all day to keep clicking to try to find some simple thing that used to be obvious. I hate it so much I may close my paypal account.
There's an age-old battle between form, fit, and function. I have a strong artistic side and love art, but not when it gets in the way of function, especially when function is the main point of the thing in life.
Sorry- way off topic! Yes, Toys Я Us. Sad, very sad. Was great, great for America, great for China. But they Яested on laurels. Not good. Laurels die when flattened, sunlight blocked, soil compressed, not enough water. Market saturated, people tire of cheap junk, people were going to Walmart anyway, why make 2nd trip to Toys Я Us? If buying cheap junk, who cares to see it up close? Better not to see it, just buy from pretty online pictures. A few will return things; most will just say "oh well" and move on to the next thing.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Grishnakh on Wednesday September 20 2017, @04:47PM (2 children)
The best place to get hand tools now is Harbor Freight. They're pretty inexpensive, the quality is pretty good now (a lot better than Crapsman), they're made in Taiwan (not China like Crapsman, Stanley, etc.), and they have a lifetime warranty. SnapOn has gone the way of Crapsman: the quality has gone down and they're riding on their name, with a ridiculous price tag. If you want tools that really are super-high-quality, forget the USA, you need to buy stuff made in Germany. But unless you're a professional relying on that tool every day, it's almost never worth the price; just get it at Harbor Freight.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 20 2017, @06:21PM (1 child)
Thanks for that info. Yes, I have a few (too few) awesome German and Swiss tools.
I've bought a few things at Harbor Freight. Trouble is, after going into a Harbor Freight or Walmart, I feel like I need a shower.
I forgot to mention Blackhawk tools as being good. I've always liked things that are well-made and last a very long time. I really hate having a tool break, strip, etc., in the middle of a major job- mine or for others. With cheap tools you'd better buy 2 for when you have your car apart and the tool breaks and you can't get to the store to buy another tool.
I'd rather see society putting $ (productivity, etc.) into better things like disease research, rather than wasting it on cheap crap that very soon goes into landfills.
Cheapness is a huge loss overall. In spite of what people think about today's high-tech, we're way way behind where we could have been if we had focused more on quality, building on what we've done and doing better, rather than cheaper. I know it's more of a social-psychological study- why so (too) many people choose short-term cheap rather than long-term quality.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday September 20 2017, @07:15PM
I really hate having a tool break, strip, etc., in the middle of a major job- mine or for others. With cheap tools you'd better buy 2 for when you have your car apart and the tool breaks and you can't get to the store to buy another tool.
I have a lot of tools, both really cheap stuff and some decent stuff (Craftsman back when they were made in the USA, 90s-era), and I've done a good amount of work on cars in the last couple decades (including one engine rebuild a while back), and honestly, there have been very few times I've had a problem with a tool like this. There was a crappy set of ratcheting straight wrenches from Costco where the open-end side fairly easily bends if the torque is too high, and I think I've broken one Craftsman (USA) socket and one Craftsman (USA) socket wrench. Maybe if you're working on a lot of old, rusted-out stuff you'd have more problems like this. Personally, when I encounter something that problematic, I get out my impact wrench, but I don't work on anything that's more than perhaps 2 decades old, and I don't live in the northeast.
I'd rather see society putting $ (productivity, etc.) into better things like disease research, rather than wasting it on cheap crap that very soon goes into landfills.
The people buying hand tools aren't spending money on disease research directly, though indirectly they may be through their high medical bills. The last thing they need to is be spending all their money on higher-quality stuff, so they can't afford to go to the doctor or get a procedure. If the cheap alternative costs 1/10 as much and won't break for 90% of the buyers, it's a net win for society.
And again, I really wonder what people are doing to break hand tools. I have a lot more trouble losing tools than breaking them; sockets are the biggest problem, despite my best attempts to religiously replace them in their holders when I'm done. And losing a cheap tool is a much better situation than losing one that cost a small fortune.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 20 2017, @06:50PM
Sears has been "on the ropes" as far as I have been concerned since about 1985. The Discover credit card was the beginning of the end for them.
Maybe this is the precedent for Equifax's CSO having a music major?
>Ray Kennedy, Sr, father of country singer Ray Kennedy and the credit manager for Sears, conceived the card.
🌻🌻 [google.com]