darkSpyro

http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/1...store-flagship/

Say goodbye to the Toys R US location at Times Square. We'll miss the T Rex and Huge Ferris Wheel. People see this as "the toy market is dying"....I'm looking at this is probably a huge money sink that was there to help generate good will and a powerful brand.

Darn it, that place was so cool!

wow I really wanted to go there looks like I will never get a chance now

A shame, the Doom Stone event last year was great fun - my boys loved it.

To be honest; they probably won't close shop until summer. I don't think they'd shut it down so fast; there has to be over a hundred thousand different pieces of merchandise on the shelves and WAY MORE in their storage room(s).

....wat.

well, better go before i never can.

Wow, I was betting on this being a misleading title. Can't believe it!

Quote: skylanderkids

Wow, I was betting on this being a misleading title. Can't believe it!

I had to do a double take. Given the rent, clearly this place was a "showplace" and "loss leader" for them. It will be interesting to see how/where they go. I think I can afford 1/2 square foot of space for rent lol.

Well hate to see them go...they have been there for some time....but that is a bit costly...im sure they found a more cost friendly location close to Times Square....hence why there not renewing the lease.

The lease is up end of January 2016

This doesn't surprise or alarm me. That location and size must be an astronomical cost, for one thing. Second, they really don't make the most out of the space they have. Yeah, there is the ferris wheel and I get that, but even the floor space. I remember them having Skylanders in like 3 different areas, all duplicates.

I'm sure TRU is fine as a company and the expense will be better suited elsewhere. The interesting thing is who will swoop into the spot next.

Times Square will never be the same without them.

I will miss this place dearly...

Gonna visit it a few times, once it gets warmer

This stinks! I can't see how any of those restaurants in Times Square can make any more money than TRU can...tourists and locals alike bought tons of toys from TRU. I admit the spacing isn't the most efficient for moving merchandise, but this is a flagship store representing the brand, so it's as much an attraction as a store. Best use of space and efficiency should have been thought of long ago and now seeing astronomical rent as the reasoning to close is quite disappointing. It was always one of my favorite places to occasionally pop in and browse when in Times Square. The Virgin Mega Store was also a great place to browse, but that's long gone and now there isn't nearly as much to see other than flashy lights and restaurants/hotels at the heart of Times Square. At the end of the day, the greedy property owners will make more money by splitting up the vacated real estate into multiple businesses.

According to the article, there will be many tenants (not many people need 110,000 square feet of space) and will comprise primarily of retailers.

110,000 square feet x $2,500 per square feet = $275 million dollars rent per year, if I calculated correctly. I didn't bother with their basement or outside space. That's quite some change.

I can almost say that I'm completely positive they will find a new place and reopen there.

Glad I got to visit last year! I'd been dreaming of it all my life! I actually picked up Fryno, Scratch, and S2 Jet-Vac there.

This is sad! I've been to there three times and even rode the ferris wheel... I was always excited to go in there whenever we were in Times Square. I guess it will only live on in memories now...

Ehh....one can only hope they keep all the stuff that made this site iconic when they move to the new more afordable spot Sboy13.

Summer time I could see it closing, they have till the end of Jan but I doubt they would want to stock a store for the xmas season only to have to clear it out a month later.

They will be still in Times Square. They will be located down the street inside the Mariott but in a smaller location.

Quote: Wakeup

They will be still in Times Square. They will be located down the street inside the Mariott but in a smaller location.

Really? How are people supposed to even know it's there if it's inside a hotel? I know the current location is way overboard with their massive storefront in very high-priced real estate, but every tourist and pedestrian that passes by knows it's there and tries to make it a point to pop in. The real estate across the street at the Mariott Marquis is probably equally expensive, but I guess they're giving up the storefront exposure and getting rid of the space-consuming extras like the Ferris wheel and Lego displays. It'll be interesting to see if the new store will have the same "wow" factor.

Wow! That's awful! I was lucky go to once back in 2010. Fun! Sad to see it go.

I loved going there, it's only a few miles away from me. ;-;

I got to visit there 2 weeks ago. There was so much Trap Team stuff!!! Ended up getting the 2 dark traps I found. Only saw one light trap, but its the one I found at Gamestop way back then.

I was able to stop by the store today. Although there is a large amount of Skylanders there, it was the same old I've seen at other TRU locations. Mostly newer wave stuff and tons of Legendary Bushwhack. One other thing of note...ONLY water traps!!! Hundreds upon hundreds of water traps and none of any other elements. Somebody at Activision distribution really dropped the ball spitting out so many water traps.

I agree. Of all of the TRUs, I would've thought this one would NOT be like the others. Then again, maybe they're all about reducing inventory now.

Quote: mastermc54

I was able to stop by the store today. Although there is a large amount of Skylanders there, it was the same old I've seen at other TRU locations. Mostly newer wave stuff and tons of Legendary Bushwhack. One other thing of note...ONLY water traps!!! Hundreds upon hundreds of water traps and none of any other elements. Somebody at Activision distribution really dropped the ball spitting out so many water traps.

To be fair, launching the Water Traps with a similar appearance to the Life one that literally everyone has at launch was probably a mistake. In fact, making more than one trap was probably a mistake, as only diehard collectors went in for all of the different ones. There was really nothing special to them besides different looks, and even then, those designs repeated in different elements. They're not really the same as a Skylander, since different characters have...i guess personality to them.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

I agree. Of all of the TRUs, I would've thought this one would NOT be like the others. Then again, maybe they're all about reducing inventory now.

Actually you'd probably be surprised. I've been to the Times Square store before and really there's nothing different stock wise from a normal one. I'm pretty sure they bumped the prices of a few things up too because of its location.

D-did we ever get a concrete date of its closure? I'm assuming they're not gonna be dumb enough to close before the holiday season and their lease ends in January. So probably by the middle of January they'll have "closeouts" stuff, maybe good deals on things, and then all the stuff would presumably get picked up and sent to other local stores?

Quote: spyroflame0487

Quote: mastermc54

I was able to stop by the store today. Although there is a large amount of Skylanders there, it was the same old I've seen at other TRU locations. Mostly newer wave stuff and tons of Legendary Bushwhack. One other thing of note...ONLY water traps!!! Hundreds upon hundreds of water traps and none of any other elements. Somebody at Activision distribution really dropped the ball spitting out so many water traps.

To be fair, launching the Water Traps with a similar appearance to the Life one that literally everyone has at launch was probably a mistake. In fact, making more than one trap was probably a mistake, as only diehard collectors went in for all of the different ones. There was really nothing special to them besides different looks, and even then, those designs repeated in different elements. They're not really the same as a Skylander, since different characters have...i guess personality to them.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

I agree. Of all of the TRUs, I would've thought this one would NOT be like the others. Then again, maybe they're all about reducing inventory now.

Actually you'd probably be surprised. I've been to the Times Square store before and really there's nothing different stock wise from a normal one. I'm pretty sure they bumped the prices of a few things up too because of its location.

D-did we ever get a concrete date of its closure? I'm assuming they're not gonna be dumb enough to close before the holiday season and their lease ends in January. So probably by the middle of January they'll have "closeouts" stuff, maybe good deals on things, and then all the stuff would presumably get picked up and sent to other local stores?

There's really no issue of being fair to Activision...there is a HUGE imbalance of traps in stores and I won't be sympathetic to the situation they've created. Later wave traps are impossible to find while water traps can't be sold even if offered for a dollar. If you're going to announce and code for product in a game, you release it and in quantities where hunters (true fans) have a chance of finding that product. Quite honestly, I'd be interested in hunting for the last few traps I need if I knew there was some odd chance of me finding them in stores, but it seems like 99% of the real collectors on here are in the same boat as me being tired of the hunt when faced with a poor glut of water traps and not much else. Then there's the yawn trap situation which Activision seems to have ignored.

As far as the Times Square location, it will be closing in January after the holiday season according to an employee I spoke to the other day. As of now, there hasn't been any positive news regarding a relocation to a smaller space in Times Square. While I love the Ferris wheel, Lego towers, snack shop, and Jurassic Park area, they do a poor job of product rotation within the store. Nobody is buying Skylanders stuff right now, but they have the same tired figures and traps in 3 different locations within the lower level of the store...totally unnecessary and a complete waste of space for which they pay an insane amount of rent on. Other TRU locations have been smart in consolidating multiple Skylanders displays into one area when sales slow down and become sluggish. I guess they're just playing it out until they close without wanting to make any major changes.

I was there a few months ago and this is so sad! ;(

Pink Slips R US

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/09/24/pink-slips-r-us/