#childworld

As most of you know, Toys R Us has announced the liquidation or sale of all of its US stores.  While it’s certainly possible a last-minute suitor might come along and cut a deal to keep the most profitable stores open, the truth is the TRU brand will never be the same regardless.  Many words have been (and will be) written on why TRU collapsed, so I have no intention to pile on, but I do have a strong opinion regarding the people saying the loss of TRU will be a huge blow to childhood and the toy industry...

But let me begin with the titular question: Were you a Toys-R-Us kid?

I admit I was... But I was also a Child-World kid, a KB Toys kid, a Sears Wish Book kid - wherever there were cool toys, I was there (or begging my mom to go there).  My TRU memories center on it being that place that had endless aisles and tall shelves of all kinds of kid-related stuff.  It was truly overwhelming, in a giddy “kid” excitement sort of way.  My TRU memories are more like commodity memories, not everlasting “I hope my daughter has the same memories” kind of memories.

Where my true toy memories were formed, and where my life-long love of toys was sparked, was at a place called Mr. Big Toyland in Waltham, MA.  This was a place, like other gems in small communities around the country, where a child’s imagination and playfulness could soar... Locally-owned, small, but packed with the coolest toys - unusual items you couldn’t find at TRU; extraordinary service TRU was never set up to provide; a unique vibe TRU could never have.  I can still visualize walking through the store, feel the excitement I had visiting Mr. Big’s with my best bud Kevin: he would make a bee-line for the latest Shogun Warriors, while I would dive into the latest GI Joe selection.

Now let’s warp (Star Trek pun intended) forward 35 years to tie my rambling thoughts together: when we started our local toy business, Monkey Fish Toys, we had a dream to be a modern-day version of Mr. Big’s, not a smaller version of TRU - to help your child develop those warm lasting memories of a truly fun toy store.  We fully understood we could never fill the shoes of a 50,000 square foot big box of toys, and that TRU had it’s place in the “toy buying” continuum for consumers.

So, yes, I am saddened by its demise... I am heart-broken for the 30,000+ employees now having to find a new home... I am disappointed in how TRU could not repair its wounds, either self-inflicted or brought on by Amazon or Walmart.

But I am not saddened for our children or our toy industry.  I am confident toy companies will adapt and thrive; in fact, this may be a wake up call for the larger toy companies to pay a bit more attention to us small fishes...  And, most importantly, I am supremely confident our children, with a bit of help from you, will still form amazing lifelong memories of toy happiness at the 1,000+ independent toy stores around the US.

My Team, the Monkey Fish Toys family, is committed to being part of these memories.  If you are already one of our awesome customers, we look forward to seeing you soon.  If you have never experienced us, I ask for you to give us a try - you just might like what you see, and, more importantly, how we make you and your child feel!

Will some of your child’s best memories be Monkey Fish memories... we hope so!

Keep having fun!

Mike O