Are you joking, @rockroadpix?

The reasons for Toys R Us closing are pretty well-understood and while competition from online retailers was definitely an issue, the inability to handle it was a symptom, not the root cause.

The main reason has to do with a huge debt-financed buyout by a few private equity firms (including Bain), which jumped their debt from 1.6 billion to something like 6.5 billion - which with generally flat sales (about 11 billion). With so much debt, paying back interest consumed 97% of their operating profit.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/toys-r-us-bankruptcy-private-equity/561758/

Whenever you hear of a retailer closing and people start blaming Amazon for it, do a quick google search to see if they were bought out buy a private equity firm and how much it increased their debt. Then check how much the people in charge of the equity firm payed themselves for completion of the acquisition. Then get disgusted at how the people in charge gave themselves hundreds of million of dollars while 30k people lost their jobs.

Didn't miss it, but sometimes for monopolies to rise, other companies fail to grasp the what is next down the road and they don't move quickly enough.

Toys R Us failed to keep up with a strong online presence. They should have started closing the smaller stores and put more $ into net sales and teaming up with ebay or the like. Couple that with horrible management, you have 30k people losing their jobs.

It also didn't help that Toys R Us was dealing with 250 million in payments per years toward 5 billion dollars in debt due as a result of private equity firms taking it private.

Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N), the No. 1 U.S. consumer electronics retailer, on Wednesday said it will shut 250 small mobile phone stores in U.S. malls as it looks for ways to operate more profitably and turn around its business amid intense competition.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-best-buy-stores/best-buy-plans-to-shut-250-small-u-s-mobile-phone-stores-idUSKCN1GC3D2

Sears has another 63 stores targeted for closure early next year.

Sears Holdings has already closed more than 350 Sears and Kmart stores this year. An additional 45 Kmart stores and 18 Sears stores will be closing in late January 2018, the company said Thursday.

Official PR

WAYNE, NJ – September 18, 2017 – Toys“R”Us, Inc. (“the Company”) today announced that the Company and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries and its Canadian subsidiary have voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, VA. In addition, the Company’s Canadian subsidiary today intends to seek protection in parallel proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”) in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The Company intends to use these court-supervised proceedings to restructure its outstanding debt and establish a sustainable capital structure that will enable it to invest in long-term growth and fuel its aspirations to bring play to kids everywhere and be a best friend to parents.

The Company’s operations outside of the U.S. and Canada, including its approximately 255 licensed stores and joint venture partnership in Asia, which are separate entities, are not part of the Chapter 11 filing and CCAA proceedings.

https://www.toysrusinc.com/press/toysrus-inc-commences-court-supervised-processes-to-implement-financial-restructuring

@robertGL

Amerzon about to build a 5 billion dollar facility.. somewhere, probably where the biggest tax breaks reside

Yep, just business here is simple, first they force to close 4x amount of such facility volume retail, and after this will build it using special agreement with local government that give them 10-25 years of tax breaks and special subsidy for construction.

New updates

Sears Holdings — the parent company of Sears and Kmart — announced on Friday that it will shutter eight of its namesake Sears department stores and 35 Kmart locations, adding to the list of 236 stores Sears has announced plans to shut down in 2017.

Sears warned in March that the company has “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain in business.

also

Ascena Retail Group — which owns the Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Loft, Lane Bryant, Justice, Maurices and Catherines stores — plans to shutter between 250 and 650 locations over the next two years.

Another look in the future