Toys R Us bankruptcy filing?

dannyrww

I read it that way too...the store within a store, and reviving some of their in house brands sounds like it is a first step to bringing the store back as I read it. I did try contacting the press e-mail they listed on their site and all I got was a bounce back form e-mail about their closing.

MrShinyAndNew

I gotta say I'm not really clear on what good a "Store" brand is. They don't make anything. They only sell things other people make. A new business doing things completely differently than the old business, but operating under the same name? This doesn't really mean much and I think consumers are smart enough to notice.

It's different if they actually manufactured stuff. Then their brand would stand for the quality of that manufactured thing. But Toys R Us literally sells the same junk as every other toy vendor. Why would anyone care about the brand? The only value they offered was huge stores with lots of selection.

Hanzo

It's just name recognition.  If you asked what store people thought of when they hear "toy store", you'd hear Toys R Us 99% of the time.  That's all they mean.  It's why most iconic companies often retain their public name (or at least part of it) despite being bought.

The odd part here is the changing to Geoffrey's Tox Box.  Sure, if you shopped at TrU you likely know who Geoffrey is, but it doesn't have anywhere near the recognition.  It's quite baffling.

PapaBear

I assume they changed the name to attempt to separate themselves from their bankruptcy brand, the same name that owes millions in severance to it's employees.  The one positive I see about the store in a store is it will surely cut down on wasted money to thievery and useless employees.

Hanzo

PapaBear said:

I assume they changed the name to attempt to separate themselves from their bankruptcy brand, the same name that owes millions in severance to it's employees.  The one positive I see about the store in a store is it will surely cut down on wasted money to thievery and useless employees.

I mean, if a company owed me money I don't think a name change would make me forget.  It can't be public optics either since they aren't trying to hide their roots.

PapaBear

It's just an attempt, kind of like how Puff Daddy changed his name to P. Diddy long after he was associated with a few murders.  Some people don't even know it's the same guy now.  If successful, it would be more helpful years down the road when more people forget and some never knew.  Of course the people they owe money to will never forget.  They would say it's better legally and for business to try to hide themselves in a new name.

You would be surprised how stupid the majority of the public is as well.  A lot of people know who the Energizer Bunny is, but in terms of brand sales that mascot helped Duracell more than Energizer.  People liked the bunny so they wanted to buy the batteries, but they couldn't remember the name ENERGIZER even though it is in the title of the mascot.  Duracell also adopted a pink bunny mascot to make it even harder on the public.  A lot of people don't pay attention to names, they just like the bright colors and graphics.

datsunrobbie

^Fun fact, the Duracell bunny predated the Energizer bunny by over a decade, but Energizer got a trademark for it in the US so Duracell had to stop using pink bunnies in ads.

SumoLego

PapaBear said:

A lot of people don't pay attention to names, they just like the bright colors and graphics.

Huh?  I like bright colors and graphics.

Astrobricks

^ & ^^ Thanks for throwing all my battery bunny purchasing motivations into a blender! Now how am I supposed to function as a human being (who needs batteries)?

560Heliport

Just buy whichever brand is on sale this week.

PapaBear

datsunrobbie said:

^Fun fact, the Duracell bunny predated the Energizer bunny by over a decade, but Energizer got a trademark for it in the US so Duracell had to stop using pink bunnies in ads.

Oh, I didn't know that.  I didn't even know a Duracell bunny existed until I heard about the story.  I guess both their revenue increased from the ad campaign but Energizer was the one spending all the money for it.

Fauch

weird, I knew the duracell bunny but not the energizer one. doesn't ring a bell now that I look at it. kinda looks like when a brand wants to "modernize" its mascot and it ends up horrible.