The first I bought is a five-figure Ren and Stimpy set. I found it fitting to get something based off a 90s Nick property as one of the last things I bought from Toys R Us. Why? Well, remember Nickelodeon's Super Toy Run?
Second, is of course, Kirby Star Allies. I was going to buy that digitally, but it made sense to buy a video game from Toys R Us, as that was where I got some of my games from as a kid. Not to mention the poster they had for the SNES Classic gave me a nostalgic flashback, as it felt like an ad I'd see at a place like Toys R Us back in the day.
As for why Toys R Us shut down, some have pointed to e-commerce, and tablet devices as the main culprit. And while that may be a big part of it, the biggest reason is because of debt. In 2005, Toys R Us went through a leveraged buyout, where they shifted to being a private company, and were bought by Bain Capital Partners (which, by the way, was owned by former presidential candidate, Mitt Romney), Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Vornado Reality Trust for 6.6 Billion dollars... all of which were paid through by loans. And when you make loans to buy a big company, or even a house payments, then you better be damn sure you have enough money to pay it off... hence where the debt comes from.
On top of all that, the market of toys has been changing, as the world was shifting to smartphone apps and e-commerce. And because the suppliers needed to be paid to supply their products to Toys R Us, it was much harder for the company to do so. In other words, they were royally screwed.
But then, the part that I absolutely hate the most is that the executives are going to be receiving payout bonuses, despite them doing a very crappy job running Toys R Us. So in other words, they're receiving a golden parachute, including the CEO of the company, where they're basically fired from their jobs, but they receive millions of dollars to stay fired. Can you imagine working a 9-5 job, and you receive a bonus like that where you would never have to work another day in your life? Well, that's what the Toys R Us executives are receiving. And I guarantee you the average worker is barely going to get anything after Toys R Us is completely gone for good. But that's crony capitalism for you.
Either way, it's very sad to see Toys R Us go away. While I haven't shopped there a whole lot as a kid, I remember at the occasions when my parents would take me, it felt like a wonderful place to look around in. My biggest memory was probably when my parents got me this Fisher-Price house that I kept in my room for the rest of the time I lived in that old house, though I would later use it as storage.
