5 ms·

Take the same building, reduce the space dedicated to toy sales, open up a series of indoor playgrounds and gymnasiums. Heck maybe carve out a daycare facility.

Take the same building, reduce the space dedicated to toy sales, open up a series of indoor playgrounds and gymnasiums. Heck maybe carve out a daycare facility. Maybe some sort of toy lab for kids to try before they buy. Refocus the concept on being a real place for kids to grow and I think you'd see customers coming in the door again.

JamesCoyne 9y ago
Retailers like Toys R Us usually lease their stores.
devmunchies 9y ago
A place to try before you buy on amazon.
- dmix 9y ago
  As an analogy, I visited a weird Ikea experiment like this in Toronto at a popup in an old retail store building. But half the store was some (not very fun) carnival games and some products on display. The products were available to purchase but the variety was (severely) limited and somehow felt like an afterthought. A portion of the retail center was a place to buy the food that is popular at the suburban retail outlets, but a little out-of-place in a downtown area with plenty of alternatives. I feel like this was a failed approach to this idea. That said, the try-before-you-buy combined for a primarily eCommerce company with a playground for kids approach makes a lot of sense to me. But I'm doubtful it transfers well to other submarkets. Unless they are living (but welcoming) examples of say a fashion lookbook or home furniture example displays by interior designers, similar to what Ikea has in half their maze-like suburban stores.
- CodeTheInternet 9y ago
  I used to go to Borders constantly, like a hangout. As Amazon grew, I found myself doing exactly this: going to check out the latest releases, flip through the pages, pull out my phone and check Amazon prices. 99% of the time it was cheaper there. Add the book to a wishlist or my cart, put the book back on the shelf and leave empty-handed. I felt horrible when Borders went under, but I do the same at B&N. If brick-n-mortar want to compete with Amazon, they need to compete with their prices. However, they also have a lot of additional overhead that makes it untenable. This trend of resellers is going to occur until Amazon dominates the market, or we start buying direct from vendors which doesn't seem likely for many items.
  - tolien 9y ago
    Where it's impossible to compete on price, bookshops (and other segments of retail) need to compete on features, for example a number of retailers have seen a huge growth of people collecting online orders in retail stores [1]. I've picked up an Apple store order within a few minutes of ordering it online (obviously it depends on stock). Considering how much Prime Now costs, there's evidently money to be had for offering rapid gratification. Unfortunately a number try to have it both ways with high prices, uninterested staff (not helped by low wages) and terrible service. Little wonder Amazon's eating their lunch. 1: http://internetretailing.net/2017/01/evidence-points-click-collect-christmas/ http://internetretailing.net/2017/01/evidence-points-click-c... - "John Lewis has said that 52% of online orders were picked up via click and collect this Christmas, with use of the delivery method up by 14.5% compared to last year"
  - 8ytecoder 9y ago
    This is not true any more btw. Amazon has lost a number of advantages after they started increasing the number of warehouses and placing them close to consumers. The only advantage they retain is that because their distribution is a warehouse instead of store, they can stock and restock any time they want - and not have to pay the additional labor cost of restocking during after-store hours, and also to keep the place functional but not necessarily presentable. Don't forget that shipping costs are not neglible and Amazon also provides free returns ...etc. Stores can try a new model where they charge a little extra for customers who want it right away and then aggressively price match online for those who don't mind receiving the item in a day or two. That way, they can keep their labour cost low, and operate like a showroom. However, they need to really aggressively market their touch and feel factor at the same cost as online.
  - joshvm 9y ago
    This is why many bookshops teamed up with coffee shops. Even Blackwell's in Oxford has Caffé Nero upstairs. Several indie bookshops do it too. Nowadays I just go to the Oxfam bookshop near me. It's cheaper than Amazon marketplace (£2.80 shipping). I'm working through the old Hugo/Nebula winners and pretty much every week there's a new classic sci-fi I haven't read. That and cookery, you can pick up lovely books that would cost upwards of £20 for £2.50. I'm also very wary of buying on Amazon, because it's been flooded with cheap crap from Aliexpress. The exception are a few brands like Anker which are reliably OK.
- icelancer 9y ago
  Charge rent/visiting fees.
JimboOmega 9y ago
It sounds like from reading relevant articles it's not so much business model as staggering debt loads from being taken private that is hurting the company. They have no money to do anything with right now.
- ChuckMcM 9y ago
  This was the impression I got as well, and 10 years later, balloon payments to come due, and you've got a real squeeze on your hands.
reviewmon 9y ago
http://badlandsplayspace.com http://badlandsplayspace.com
- dforrestwilson 9y ago
  Interesting thanks

JamesCoyne 9y ago

Retailers like Toys R Us usually lease their stores.

devmunchies 9y ago

A place to try before you buy on amazon.

dmix 9y ago
As an analogy, I visited a weird Ikea experiment like this in Toronto at a popup in an old retail store building. But half the store was some (not very fun) carnival games and some products on display. The products were available to purchase but the variety was (severely) limited and somehow felt like an afterthought. A portion of the retail center was a place to buy the food that is popular at the suburban retail outlets, but a little out-of-place in a downtown area with plenty of alternatives. I feel like this was a failed approach to this idea. That said, the try-before-you-buy combined for a primarily eCommerce company with a playground for kids approach makes a lot of sense to me. But I'm doubtful it transfers well to other submarkets. Unless they are living (but welcoming) examples of say a fashion lookbook or home furniture example displays by interior designers, similar to what Ikea has in half their maze-like suburban stores.
CodeTheInternet 9y ago
I used to go to Borders constantly, like a hangout. As Amazon grew, I found myself doing exactly this: going to check out the latest releases, flip through the pages, pull out my phone and check Amazon prices. 99% of the time it was cheaper there. Add the book to a wishlist or my cart, put the book back on the shelf and leave empty-handed. I felt horrible when Borders went under, but I do the same at B&N. If brick-n-mortar want to compete with Amazon, they need to compete with their prices. However, they also have a lot of additional overhead that makes it untenable. This trend of resellers is going to occur until Amazon dominates the market, or we start buying direct from vendors which doesn't seem likely for many items.
- tolien 9y ago
  Where it's impossible to compete on price, bookshops (and other segments of retail) need to compete on features, for example a number of retailers have seen a huge growth of people collecting online orders in retail stores [1]. I've picked up an Apple store order within a few minutes of ordering it online (obviously it depends on stock). Considering how much Prime Now costs, there's evidently money to be had for offering rapid gratification. Unfortunately a number try to have it both ways with high prices, uninterested staff (not helped by low wages) and terrible service. Little wonder Amazon's eating their lunch. 1: http://internetretailing.net/2017/01/evidence-points-click-collect-christmas/ http://internetretailing.net/2017/01/evidence-points-click-c... - "John Lewis has said that 52% of online orders were picked up via click and collect this Christmas, with use of the delivery method up by 14.5% compared to last year"
- 8ytecoder 9y ago
  This is not true any more btw. Amazon has lost a number of advantages after they started increasing the number of warehouses and placing them close to consumers. The only advantage they retain is that because their distribution is a warehouse instead of store, they can stock and restock any time they want - and not have to pay the additional labor cost of restocking during after-store hours, and also to keep the place functional but not necessarily presentable. Don't forget that shipping costs are not neglible and Amazon also provides free returns ...etc. Stores can try a new model where they charge a little extra for customers who want it right away and then aggressively price match online for those who don't mind receiving the item in a day or two. That way, they can keep their labour cost low, and operate like a showroom. However, they need to really aggressively market their touch and feel factor at the same cost as online.
- joshvm 9y ago
  This is why many bookshops teamed up with coffee shops. Even Blackwell's in Oxford has Caffé Nero upstairs. Several indie bookshops do it too. Nowadays I just go to the Oxfam bookshop near me. It's cheaper than Amazon marketplace (£2.80 shipping). I'm working through the old Hugo/Nebula winners and pretty much every week there's a new classic sci-fi I haven't read. That and cookery, you can pick up lovely books that would cost upwards of £20 for £2.50. I'm also very wary of buying on Amazon, because it's been flooded with cheap crap from Aliexpress. The exception are a few brands like Anker which are reliably OK.
icelancer 9y ago
Charge rent/visiting fees.

JimboOmega 9y ago

It sounds like from reading relevant articles it's not so much business model as staggering debt loads from being taken private that is hurting the company. They have no money to do anything with right now.

ChuckMcM 9y ago
This was the impression I got as well, and 10 years later, balloon payments to come due, and you've got a real squeeze on your hands.

reviewmon 9y ago

http://badlandsplayspace.com http://badlandsplayspace.com

dforrestwilson 9y ago
Interesting thanks