3 ms·

Problem is PE stresses a company out such that they don't have runway to adapt. In the end, the consumer is still less well served by fewer choices and higher

Problem is PE stresses a company out such that they don't have runway to adapt. In the end, the consumer is still less well served by fewer choices and higher prices.

gosub100 1y ago
if the market existed, then a new toy store would appear. I'm saying the market for what TRU provided had disappeared.
- jtuple 1y ago
  > I'm saying the market for what TRU provided had disappeared The market still exists, doesn't it? Kids still exist, kids still play with toys. People simply buy toys from Amazon now, not TRU. Just like people buy electronics from Amazon, not Best Buy/Circuit City. And shoes from Amazon/Zappos, not Payless. Seems like most retail markets still exist, they've just been cornered by the giant "Everything Store". IMO, physical toy stores should be competitive to e-commerce with the right strategy. Simply going to the store could be an exciting adventure into itself, with higher fidelity discovery than a screen provides. Esp. post-COVID where people are opting more for analog/offline options after online/lockdown burnout. Claiming TRU's market disappeared feels similar to claiming the bookstore market disappeared, yet Barnes and Noble had a well documented and surprising comeback by shifting strategy: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34165960 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34165960
  - lotsofpulp 1y ago
    The market exists at a far lower valuation. 90% of the sales will go to Walmart/Costco/Target/Amazon/Aliexpress/Kroger/etc, 10% will go to the remaining businesses. You might go to the local toy store every now and then and pay 2x or more for the same toy just so your kid feels the ambiance of shopping in a toy store or supporting a local business, but the majority of your purchases will not happen there, certainly not enough to supporter the huge Toys R Us stores of the past.
  - gosub100 1y ago
    > , kids still play with toys. meaningless statement without quantity. kids don't play outside or with each other at the same rate as they did 35 years ago. video games and smart phones are vastly replacing physical toys.
  - Sohcahtoa82 1y ago
    > Just like people buy electronics from Amazon, not Best Buy/Circuit City. I've heard Best Buy referred to as "Amazon's Showroom". People would go there to look at a TV, then buy from Amazon or ask BB to price match Amazon.
- OccamsMirror 1y ago
  As a parent, I can assure you that the market for Toys 'R' Us still exists. The problem is that to become a TRU requires a lot of capital. More than anyone is likely to risk in 2025. It's sad. I would love to take my kids to a 90s TRU.
  - solumunus 1y ago
    Worthwhile high capital business models are pursued all the time. The problem is that the business model is no longer competitive. If it was competitive it would be competing.
- beowulfey 1y ago
  Small mom and pop toy stores have replaced the big box toy stores of yesteryear, quite successfully I would say (at least in our area)
- nicholassmith 1y ago
  In the UK the toy chains The Entertainer and Smyths both expanded to fill the market, both usually seem to have a decent amount of footfall. Toys are an interesting product as the target market is, for the most part, not an online shopper.
pfdietz 1y ago
PE isn't trying to turn the company around in these cases, or at least only trying to do that; when the company is truly doomed PE is trying to maximize the value obtained before it expires. They're serving a useful role in the capitalist ecosystem.

Problem is PE stresses a company out such that they don't have runway to adapt. In the end, the consumer is still less well served by fewer choices and higher prices.

gosub100 1y ago

if the market existed, then a new toy store would appear. I'm saying the market for what TRU provided had disappeared.

jtuple 1y ago
> I'm saying the market for what TRU provided had disappeared The market still exists, doesn't it? Kids still exist, kids still play with toys. People simply buy toys from Amazon now, not TRU. Just like people buy electronics from Amazon, not Best Buy/Circuit City. And shoes from Amazon/Zappos, not Payless. Seems like most retail markets still exist, they've just been cornered by the giant "Everything Store". IMO, physical toy stores should be competitive to e-commerce with the right strategy. Simply going to the store could be an exciting adventure into itself, with higher fidelity discovery than a screen provides. Esp. post-COVID where people are opting more for analog/offline options after online/lockdown burnout. Claiming TRU's market disappeared feels similar to claiming the bookstore market disappeared, yet Barnes and Noble had a well documented and surprising comeback by shifting strategy: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34165960 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34165960
- lotsofpulp 1y ago
  The market exists at a far lower valuation. 90% of the sales will go to Walmart/Costco/Target/Amazon/Aliexpress/Kroger/etc, 10% will go to the remaining businesses. You might go to the local toy store every now and then and pay 2x or more for the same toy just so your kid feels the ambiance of shopping in a toy store or supporting a local business, but the majority of your purchases will not happen there, certainly not enough to supporter the huge Toys R Us stores of the past.
- gosub100 1y ago
  > , kids still play with toys. meaningless statement without quantity. kids don't play outside or with each other at the same rate as they did 35 years ago. video games and smart phones are vastly replacing physical toys.
- Sohcahtoa82 1y ago
  > Just like people buy electronics from Amazon, not Best Buy/Circuit City. I've heard Best Buy referred to as "Amazon's Showroom". People would go there to look at a TV, then buy from Amazon or ask BB to price match Amazon.
OccamsMirror 1y ago
As a parent, I can assure you that the market for Toys 'R' Us still exists. The problem is that to become a TRU requires a lot of capital. More than anyone is likely to risk in 2025. It's sad. I would love to take my kids to a 90s TRU.
- solumunus 1y ago
  Worthwhile high capital business models are pursued all the time. The problem is that the business model is no longer competitive. If it was competitive it would be competing.
beowulfey 1y ago
Small mom and pop toy stores have replaced the big box toy stores of yesteryear, quite successfully I would say (at least in our area)
nicholassmith 1y ago
In the UK the toy chains The Entertainer and Smyths both expanded to fill the market, both usually seem to have a decent amount of footfall. Toys are an interesting product as the target market is, for the most part, not an online shopper.

pfdietz 1y ago

PE isn't trying to turn the company around in these cases, or at least only trying to do that; when the company is truly doomed PE is trying to maximize the value obtained before it expires. They're serving a useful role in the capitalist ecosystem.