It's sadly looking like the end for Toys R Us in the United States, so let's go and focus on when it was a growing company that made for an amazing experience.
This Flyer from 1980 is so jam-packed with late 1970s pop culture that every page seems to have some Incredible Hulk or Wonder Woman merchandise tucked in there somewhere, it's a real trip!
Classic Toy Store Ads on PlaidStallions
I love the toy store ads. :)
ReplyDeleteI had worked for some time, for a Toys R Us store.
I'm sad to see them go from the USA.
I'm guessing that- among other reasons- a toy store the size of a skating rink, or a big dept. store, is not as big a draw, as it once was in the US, after most US customers started buying toys on the internet.
Now, you can buy most toys, and stuff, + toy-related things, from amazon.com + such, so you don't have to take your kid to see a toy in a big toy store, anymore.
I'm going to miss the Geoffrey the Giraffe logo,
+ all of G's fictional family, and TRU's ads, and TRU as well.
A lot of the time- working at a Toys R Us, was a fun experience.
Cheers. :)
Seconding TR4's eulogy. It may be a cliche, but kids today simply don't know what they're missing. A "people who viewed this, also liked" algorithim simply doesn't compare with wandering around a toy-store the size of a Home Depot and making happy discoveries. Getting your folks to buy those happy discoveries is a different matter.
ReplyDeleteThis flyer is a who's who of stuff this Anon wanted and never quite swung my folks over to. Hornetroid? Nope. Suckerman? Nope. Mork and the Egg? Nope. My dad loathed Robin Williams. Star Wars Destroy The Death Star Game? Given a choice between that and another action-figure, I had to pick my shots, so nope. And, of course, the Kenner Alien.
For all those nopes, I can still vividly remember a blazingly bright sunny day in June when I first discovered Zoids and couldn't choose between the creepy-fantastic spider-Zoid and the incredible amphibious frog-Zoid. My dad, seeing the look on my face, solved the dilemma perfectly: we'll get both. Moments like that really made me regret setting that little goblin Timmy loose on his Lionel train collection. Then again, I knew only too well what a kid like that would have done to something as delicate as a Zoid.
Toys R Us also had the best Christmas jingles..."Fireplaces glowing, icicles growing, hearts overflowing with cheer, it's that wonderful season we all find so pleasing, the Toys R Us time of year!" That one ranked (for me at any rate) right up there with Silent Night and We Three Kings. Jesus may be the reason for the season but Geoffrey got it right. "It's the Toys R Us time of year!"
...and those hours! How many stores stayed open until midnight back in the 80s? Aside from Dennys, Domino's Pizza and a few all-night pharmacies? Even as an older Anon, Toys R Us was a wonderful place to hang out at late at night with four or five of equally over-dressed goths. At least in this area, a lot of my classmates who got summer jobs ended up with the "graveyard" shift so it was always a nice place to visit and say hi.
If you haven't already, seriously, take a walk around the nearest Toys R Us one last time just to say goodbye to a piece of your childhood. It's a bit depressing with the "everything must go" signs and the notice board at the front of the store showing the prices for the fixtures, furniture, shelving, etc. But... the prices are insanely low and it's a perfect time to buy something as a momento.
This flyer comes from November 1979, not 1980.
ReplyDeleteIt was over 20 years ago, but I also worked at a Toys R Us. It was during Christmas time, so I was very busy cleaning up after messy customers.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as we heard the sad news about Toys R Us, my mother, my sister, her 2 children, and I visited several Toys R Us stores to buy a couple of things for my little nephew and to say goodbye to the old store I had been visiting since junior high school. It's true what some of you are saying about toy stores being devalued in recent years. It was difficult enough losing Lionel Playworld, then, Kay Bee, FAO Shwartz, and now Toys R Us. Does this mean we will all be stuck with Walmart?
Many items in the flyer are very familiar tom me- they are in my room right now: Mork and Mindy, 2-XL, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Star Wars, Mr. Mouth, Connect Four, Yahtzee, Knickerbocker Spider-man and Hulk, Lego, Mego Superman, Remco Hulk, Mego Candi, Snoopy Sno-cone Machine.
I haven't given up hope that Toy R Us can make a Hostess-like comeback someday. Thankfully, many of us still have toys we got at our favorite Toys R Us location, and we also have our memories-something no one can take away.