Quote:
Originally Posted by Omegatron
If there is an auction I think that's a very good sign as it means that there are multiple bidders and real interest in the store. However, the following line is kind of ominous:
April 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., prevailing Eastern Time is the date and time by which the Auction, if needed, will be held
That means there may only be one buyer or even none, so we're not out of the woods yet. I think this is Toys R us putting this out there to see what happens and we'll all have to wait and see if it works out or not.
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It will certainly be interesting, im sure more details will arise after that one bidder who is the manu. for Bratz and those plush lollipop toy balls decides on whether or not they will try to save 200 of the best performing TRU shops in the US and preserve all of the Canadian stores.
I agree, if TRU will survive in Canada and significantly boost their int'l online sales operations they will likely be ok, as long as Canadian policy doesnt make it difficult to price and ship into the US and abroad. That will require a massive investment and good people to run an int'l sales team, as online sales to the US might become their main source of income as well even with 82 or so brick and mortar stores in Canada. Essentially they would become an international Canadian brand, but policymakers tend to cut Canadian companies off at the ankles or push to have Canadian companies sold abroad in many cases. They do ok here because there are not enough options for toy sales and especially competitive baby products in Canada. I'd hate to see how much more expensive some of those Baby R Us products will get with decreased competition.
If you guys buy from Ebay.com as well or from US or UK sellers, you also notice this Global Shipping Program that costs really alot more when buying outside of the US from sellers that use it. A cost effective shipping option will have to be created or modernised as that program is a huge barrier for purchases by pushing US sellers to auto set their auctions to their courier service. Anyone who has been charged brokerage fees is well aware of those importing problems...
In either case, exciting times, and good case studies for business students. Hope the nice people at TRU Canada can keep their jobs and improve online sales...as from personal experience they are really not up to par at the moment and do not always honour their online sales policies with much effort to rectify issues. As well, I believe the prices we pay for TF and some other products from TRU Canada are alot better than anywhere else, and better than what other countries pay for the same items, including TRU USA TF prices. Many Americans seem to see TRU as too expensive down stateside, I would not say that is the case here...for sympathy's sake, they seem to not care as much if TRU falters down there as they have many more options to purchase, and their online sourcing is alot better with free shipping and access to product.
Cheers and happy hunting...
