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TRU Series 26


DSTZach

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So with the news now official... It begs the question, what becomes of this series specifically? Future sets are out but these were far enough along that there was sample figures made at the very least already. Guess best case. it gets canceled and shows up at specialty? Worst case it goes the way of the Ghost Rider movie wave... Any insight you are able to give at this time Zach?

Edited by Chigarillo
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Well the 3 breaking articles I just read that said things along the lines of, "Toys R Us told employees Wednesday that it is planning to sell or close all of its U.S. stores" sure make it sound like it is.

Many however, mention that there's still room for other companies to step in and buy some of the stores to keep them operational... but who knows if/when that will happen.

As far as the current ownership regime it's... sounding pretty done. As much as we'd all like to deny it.

Edited by Gillbob316
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The 'Bluntman & Chronic' TRU SDCC exclusive Minimates never saw the light of day at a TRU store ( as far as I am aware & I could be wrong) but they found their way onto US eBay .......so in the worst possible scenario somebody somewhere will get these proposed Minimates onto the market if they are already made.

I'm always ready to be corrected but TRU minimate 2 packs rarely if ever have any reference to TRU on the packaging (except for the exclusive sticker) .  TRU series 26 could therefore easily (IMHO) be renamed Marvel Wave 80 or 81 etc. ....... it might not be easy as that & I'm sure somebody will tell me that it isn't ;) 

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4 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I'm always ready to be corrected but TRU minimate 2 packs rarely if ever have any reference to TRU on the packaging (except for the exclusive sticker) .

pack1849bk_lg.jpg

Top right corner. TRU25. I'm sure it could be covered with a sticker but I doubt any clearing house would have a huge problem with it as is.

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12 hours ago, Chigarillo said:

 Worst case it goes the way of the Ghost Rider movie wave...  

I don't see that happening. The Ghost Rider assortment was tied to the film release. This series isn't a slave to such timing. I'm far more concerned about the Infinity War assortments.

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1 hour ago, MisterPL said:

I don't see that happening. The Ghost Rider assortment was tied to the film release. This series isn't a slave to such timing. I'm far more concerned about the Infinity War assortments.

Being that the Walgreens sets are already on shelves, and the specialty ones are imminent, I'm guessing Groot & Rocket at the very least are already manufactured in a warehouse somewhere, and will see the light of day through one avenue or another (possibly even Toys R Us itself, as while plans have been announced to shut down all stores, it's not as if they're shutting down all stores TOMORROW... it sounds like they'll be staggering shut downs gradually over an undefined amount of time. By most reports.)

As for Wave 26 and beyond (Including Infinity War Wave 2)... hard to say without knowing how far along in production they are. Wouldn't surprise me if the plug got pulled. Hopefully it's still early enough for Infinity War Wave 2 to shift gears on whatever the planned assortments are and get all the same figures out there.

The last few waves TRU has had 1 exclusive, while Walgreens has carried 2, and each store had 2 shared sets. Theoretically, if Walgreens was willing to take on 3 exclusives instead of 2... we could get all the same figures we were supposed to originally with only some minor lineup tweaking. But only Diamond knows if such a change would be possible.

OR... I fully admit, they could just get cut and never find a new home, like Fandrall & Hogun. Twice. *Sigh* But I'm trying to be hopeful and optimistic, haha.

Hard to say what makes the most sense given we don't know the current state of Wave 2 behind the scenes (nor its exact lineup)

I'm frankly glad we don't know the lineup, because through not knowing, IF those 2 figures get cut... we won't know what we're missing.

If 2 figures need to get chopped, I'd hope they sacrifice ones w/ Minimal difference like Black Panther or perhaps Vision.

Edited by Gillbob316
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I would think that without a retailer like TRU to purchase product, DST (and other manufacturers) would either have to cut production on lines, or raise the price to make up for lost sales. DST has a lot of other product besides minimates that depends on TRU that doesn’t have a presence at Walgreens. Product reduction seems likely.

On a personal note, I’ve made a lot of friends at and thru TRU over the decades. Some of them have become lifelong friends even long after they left TRU. My memories aren’t of the toys, but of the relationships I’ve built. I feel sick for them and all the others who are losing their livlihood. I’d give up the whole minimate line if it meant those 33,000 people could keep their jobs. This sucks on more levels than the loss of plastic hanging on the pegs.

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31 minutes ago, MrClean said:

On a personal note, I’ve made a lot of friends at and thru TRU over the decades. Some of them have become lifelong friends even long after they left TRU. My memories aren’t of the toys, but of the relationships I’ve built. I feel sick for them and all the others who are losing their livlihood. I’d give up the whole minimate line if it meant those 33,000 people could keep their jobs. This sucks on more levels than the loss of plastic hanging on the pegs.

Beautifully stated.

For us, this is a hobby.

For some of these people, it's rent, bills, healthcare, tuition, or their next meal. 

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1 hour ago, Padrino said:

Beautifully stated.

For us, this is a hobby.

For some of these people, it's rent, bills, healthcare, tuition, or their next meal. 

Amen. This is impacting a lot of people in various ways including Mattel/Hasbro even American Girl Doll. 33k people are losing their jobs directly and thousands more will be losing them indirectly (I.e. companies that work with TRU) one of my friends for example works at Netflix and was told their job was on the line because they deal with toy line associated properties. 

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Sorry, But barnes and nobles is currently being set up to dive bomb into a worse doom than TRU by its executive team. They are literally milking the last of its money for investors while putting up the face of fixing the issues, but they are not remotely concerned with trying to fix the brand and revitalize the chain. They Are Next.

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Summer 2018:

Every Toys R Us store is a barren ghost town.

The coveted TRU 26 wave sees an extremely limited release. It is said the wave was only distributed to five TRU stores, which were soon thereafter shut down.   

Despite this, Menagerie's store has 10 in stock of each pack. 

 

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2 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

Amen. This is impacting a lot of people in various ways including Mattel/Hasbro even American Girl Doll. 33k people are losing their jobs directly and thousands more will be losing them indirectly (I.e. companies that work with TRU) one of my friends for example works at Netflix and was told their job was on the line because they deal with toy line associated properties. 

 

I worked at Toys R Us for about three years, so my Facebook feed is full of friends of mine giving their eulogies. It's a huge bummer for sure. The management there has worked at that store for practically forever, so I can't even imagine how they are taking it.

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4 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

Amen. This is impacting a lot of people in various ways including Mattel/Hasbro even American Girl Doll. 33k people are losing their jobs directly and thousands more will be losing them indirectly (I.e. companies that work with TRU) one of my friends for example works at Netflix and was told their job was on the line because they deal with toy line associated properties. 

Agreed.  As has been stated by many on this thread, my heart goes out to everyone impacted by this rather sudden news.  I'm still hopefully that we see the Canadian brand and the 200 top performing US stores remain, in hopes that it someday reclaims its former luster.  Unfortunately, that seems to be a long shot.  On a more selfish level, I'm disappointed that the minimates line (among others) is losing a strong advocate and ally, while my kids lose one of the few remaining toy stores around.  I doubt Zach has any idea what the size of the impact will be at this point, but I'm looking forward to any information he can share and what DST is looking at right now.

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1 hour ago, Padrino said:

I read that between 10% and 30% of the entire toy industry will be affected by this.  It’s like the stock market crash of this industry. It’s almost inconceivable. 

Those ranges seem accurate. It really a depressing time for the toy industry.

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Sorry I don't have info. We were business as usual fairly recently, so I'm not sure what the plan is. Obviously, we have larger concerns than this one wave. 

These were packaged samples a month ago, so they may have shipped by now, not sure. That may mean they are distributed and sold as part of liquidation or sold off to... not sure who buys this stuff now that Kay Bee is gone.

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Hopefully Luke's can manage to get some of these at liquidation prices. I'm not sure if Diamond would be interested in buying back some and offering them through Previews simply for fear of flooding the specialty market with an extra, unexpected assortment. There are plenty of places out there like Ross that will take what they think they can move. The trick will be finding them.

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11 hours ago, DSTZach said:

Sorry I don't have info. We were business as usual fairly recently, so I'm not sure what the plan is. Obviously, we have larger concerns than this one wave. 

These were packaged samples a month ago, so they may have shipped by now, not sure. That may mean they are distributed and sold as part of liquidation or sold off to... not sure who buys this stuff now that Kay Bee is gone.

Thanks for the answer Zach! I know it's got to be tough with the uncertainty of the situation with TRU in general. Appreciate the response.

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1) I'm the assistant manager at my Toys R Us and I want to thank the lot of you for being so much more considerate then the customers walking through our doors and calling our store asking "How long till the sales start?" as opposed to "How are you handling this?" Your compassion is truly appreciated. 

2) That said, i shake my head at ANYONE who works for the company and didn't see it coming. For AT LEAST the past five years, the business had been run like it was going out of business. As AZ described of B&N, corners were being cut to insure maximum profit margin while maintaining bare minimum operating standards.

3) Big Lots, Ross, Marshals, and TJ Maxx are just a few retailers that still buy Warehouse stock. And, having purchased a box boldly emblazoned "Toys R Us exclusive" from KB Toy works when I still worked there, i can say with confidence most retailers won't care WHAT the package says, especially if the store it's referencing is long gone. 

4) While I've already been seeking alternative employment because i felt this was inevitable, Zach, my heart goes out to the DST team as regards any hardships this brings to the company as a whole and the individuals who have made it what it is. 

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I appreciate the vote of confidence. It's true, I CAN do stuff. I'm a great cook, a decent writer, and a passionate customer service/sales manager. But if TRU going out of business is sending waves through DST as well, the last thing they may need is another mouth to feed LOL

But hey, correct me if I'm wrong, Zach. If you need a combination CSR/chef/copy writer, you know where to find me

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