Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us/Kids "R" Us

[XISMZERO]

Here's the now closed/vacant Toys R Us in Hamden, CT. Taken today (8-15-09).

[XISMZERO]

Here's the now closed/vacant Toys R Us in Hamden, CT. Taken today (8-15-09).

[Marc82]

Originally posted by dmx10101
By NICHOLAS CASEY

Toys "R" Us Inc. said Wednesday it was acquiring FAO Schwarz, a specialty retailer known for its high-end toy catalog and two big stores in New York and Las Vegas. Toys "R" Us didn't disclose the terms of the deal.

In an email Wednesday night, Toys "R" Us Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald L. Storch said he wished to maintain the "distinctiveness and integrity of FAO Schwarz's stores and brand."

In a subsequent statement, the company said it planned to keep the company largely intact, continuing to operate its two stores, catalog and electronic-commerce Web site. The stores will keep the FAO name.

Recent years have proved difficult for the small retailer as it has tried to compete with growth in the toy aisles of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp.

Sales declines at FAO were followed by two bankruptcy filings in 2003. In 2004, the investment firm D.E. Shaw & Co. purchased the company, then winnowed down FAO's stores to its current two. In May 2008, FAO announced a deal with Macy's that would bring small store-within-a-store operations at 600 Macy's operations nationwide. This arrangement will end in November as part of the sale.

In the past two decades ownership of FAO has changed hands several times. Two years ago, it tried diversifying its offerings by acquiring Best Co., a fashion-oriented children's clothing company, but the economic downturn posed a number of challenges, people familiar with FAO said.

Toys "R" Us will lend its extensively larger buying clout to offer a slightly broader appeal to FAO's toy offering, the people said.
—Joseph Pereira contributed to this article

FAO used to have a small store at The Westfarms Mall in West Hartford, CT. Their toys also used to be sold on the QVC shopping Channel. There are also rumors that FAO was the toy store used in the movie Home Alone 2 Lost in New York.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Originally posted by XISMZERO
Here's the new Toys "R" Us in North Haven, CT. Taken 7-24-2009. The one is Hamden is supposedly now closed (I'll have to get some images soon!)

Also, the one in South Shore, NY has been remodeled into a TRU/BRU combo.

That store is so fancy-looking! I like it. I wish we had something like this in my town. It is better than the unattractive TRU store we have. I miss the brown roof and colored planks, but I still like the newer more upscale look.

[videogamer75]

Here's an old-school Toys R Us in Montgomery, AL (home of the Flea Market - It's just like, it's just like, a mini mall!)

[XISMZERO]

Originally posted by videogamer75
Here's an old-school Toys R Us in Montgomery, AL (home of the Flea Market - It's just like, it's just like, a mini mall!)

We knew about this one. Dan visited this one last year I believe. Check it out, it's a few pages back.

[videogamer75]

Ok. I didn't know.

[dmx10101]

By Allison Abell Schwartz

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Toys "R" Us Inc., the largest U.S. toy-store chain, will open more than 80 temporary locations across the country starting next month, a year after the worst holiday-shopping season in four decades.

The Holiday Express "pop-up" stores will open in malls and shopping centers on short-term leases, along with more than 260 temporary stores within Babies "R" Us locations, the Wayne, New Jersey-based company said yesterday. That represents an additional million square feet of selling space, according to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Storch.

"This is a great time to reinforce our authority position in the toy marketplace, a great time to increase our brand penetration and a great time to drive incremental sales," Storch, 52, said in a Sept. 11 telephone interview. The stores will open in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, among other cities, the company said.

U.S. retail sales of toys generated $21.6 billion in 2008, a 3 percent drop from 2007, according to researcher NPD Group Inc. The International Council of Shopping Centers reported a 2.2 percent decline in total holiday sales last year, the biggest drop since it started tracking the data 40 years ago.

Storch said he sees opportunities this holiday season. The Reuters/University of Michigan index of U.S. consumer sentiment climbed to 70.2 in September from 55.3 last November, which was the lowest since May 1980.

Toys "R" Us, which opened a Holiday Express store in New York in 2007, reported a 1.9 percent increase in sales last December at stores open at least 13 months. The chain hired about 35,000 seasonal employees to help customers make gift purchases last year.

'About the Worst'

"Last year we were in about the worst era for consumer confidence you can imagine, and we still had one of the highest comp-store sales increases in December of any retailer," Storch said. "The last thing parents will cut back on is that trip to Toys "R" Us to buy the holiday present for their kids."

Storch has focused on expansion for the past year, scooping up physical and online retail space. He acquired FAO Schwarz in May, gaining control of FAO's New York and Las Vegas stores, as well as its Web site and catalog business. Closely held Toys "R" Us also purchased Web sites KBToys.com, BabyUniverse.com, ePregnancy.com and eToys.com.

Toys "R" Us agreed to be acquired in 2005 for $6.6 billion by an investment group including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Bain Capital LLC and Vornado Realty Trust.

The holiday pop-up stores will be about 4,000 square feet each, while the shops within Babies "R" Us will be about 2,500 square feet, on average. The stores will open in early October and close in mid-January, the company said.

Toys "R" Us operates 847 stores in the U.S. and more than 700 international locations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Allison Abell Schwartz in New York at aabell@bloomberg.net.

[EddieJ1984]

Yea, I saw one last week in the franklin mills mall here in philly!

[nims57]

RadioShack does the same thing

[XISMZERO]

Geoffrey has been removed from the Woburn, MA store! Surprisingly, still not remodeled! Taken today (9-26-09).

[dmx10101]

Originally posted by XISMZERO
Geoffrey has been removed from the Woburn, MA store! Surprisingly, still not remodeled! Taken today (9-26-09).

That is an ugly paintjob.

[gu4ever]

Originally posted by XISMZERO
Geoffrey has been removed from the Woburn, MA store! Surprisingly, still not remodeled! Taken today (9-26-09).

I worked at the Osco Drug for their category management back in 2001, at that time the Toy R Us still had that cool rainbow paint job I remember from when I was a kid. I'm not sure when they updated the facade with that aqua paint job, but I agree...... that is quite a color choice!!

[d_fife]

Originally posted by videogamer75
Here's an old-school Toys R Us in Montgomery, AL (home of the Flea Market - It's just like, it's just like, a mini mall!)

I went to this Toys r us 1.5 years ago. I really liked it due to the old school look.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by EddieJ1984
Yea, I saw one last week in the franklin mills mall here in philly!

I went there last month

[XISMZERO]

Originally posted by gu4ever...back in 2001, at that time the Toy R Us still had that cool rainbow paint job I remember from when I was a kid. I'm not sure when they updated the facade...

I visited twice in 2006, it still had the rainbow facade. It was painted over later that year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10073060@N00/518219594/

[d_fife]

Toys r us in Brookfield Wisconsin. a left behind one

[d_fife]

a Toys r us in DAllas near the Southwest Center, it opened in 1981

look at the left behind look

[d_fife]

Originally posted by d_fife
a Toys r us in DAllas near the Southwest Center, it opened in 1981

look at the left behind look

more of the DAllas one that looks left behind

[d_fife]

Toys r us in Waco.

I do not want this one to be on the CHOPPING B LOCK AS appearently this and that one in DAllas are the only left behind Toys r us' in Texas.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by XISMZERO
Geoffrey has been removed from the Woburn, MA store! Surprisingly, still not remodeled! Taken today (9-26-09).

and I dont want it to be remodeled this one and Bangor are the only Toys r us' in NEw England left with left behind looks!

I hope there are more "left behind" Toys r us that I dont know about

[d_fife]

Toys r us in North Miami Beach Florida

[d_fife]

Originally posted by d_fife
Toys r us in North Miami Beach Florida

more of North Miami beach store

I am still upset at how I missed that one in Topeka Kansas

it looks like the one in Tallahassee will no longer be old school soon, based on these pics in this http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferret111/page2/
The store's roof (not brown roof) was damaged due to a storm!

[d_fife]

Toys r us in Bradenton FL

[d_fife]

Originally posted by d_fife
Toys r us in Bradenton FL

 

more Bradenton

[d_fife]

Toys r us Charleston South Carolina.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by d_fife
Toys r us Charleston South Carolina.

Toys r us GAinesville FL

[d_fife]

Toys r us in Augusta Georgia, another left behind store, and the last one in Georgia after the one in Savannah that was remodeled last year into the awful Toys r us / Babies r us  combo.
This one probably opened in the 2nd half of the 1980s.

[d_fife]

XISMZERO  here is this other great one: Toys r us in Grand Rapids Michigan in the north side on Alivene RD and opened 1989 and 44-45,000 sq.ft. another left behind store! at Target is in the plaza.
There is another one in Grand Rapids thats older but remodeled.

XISMZERO  here is the PICTURE Of the left behind Grand Rapids Michigan store

[d_fife]

XISMZERO what is your take on all these Toys R us?