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My thoughts on why they failed, I feel, are a lot more simplistic. Maybe oversimplistic and based on my own anecdotal experiences, but I don't see myself as an outlier here, so I feel a connection to others that went this way. Simply, Toys 'R' Us did it the best, but their competitors, Walmart, Target, etc. did it at all. Sure, I couldn't go play a Nintendo Gamecube at Walmart like I could at Toys 'R' Us, or see all the neat Lego models and peer at them... it was still competitively priced and super convenient. They were doing as a specialty what Walmart made a department. Home Depot and Lowes seem different to me. There's an air of skill needed in a lot of what they sell, so the added friendliness and help is a great value-add. But Toys 'R' Us, I believe, lacked that. What kind of value can you add to a toy that another big box retailer can't very easily? Other than the odd collectable that popped up here and there, TRU never really gave me a good reason to add them as a stop to my trip. Only reason they failed? I highly doubt it, but I feel it was a big reason. I think they would have worked pretty well if they leveraged their experience and connections and joined with one of the big retailers like Target or K-Mart. EDIT: And I know they sorta joined with Amazon, but I mean more in terms of a place where they could set up displays and let kids really go to town with feeling the atmosphere of the store. That, to me, was their game and they did it well. |