Locals Are US: The Rise and Poole of The American Flop Toys “R” US
Poole. The birthplace of Blue Peter presenter Katy Hill and American Toys “R” US. Whilst Katy has moved onto bigger and better things, Toys “R” US is Toys no more, collapsing from its stardom in 2017. Finally ripping away from the Poole Community in 2018.
By 2019, Toys “R” US became so sorely missed in the Poole community that the BCP Council replaced it with the discount 2.0 version: national chain-store: Smyths Toys Superstores.
But the community hadn’t always been in favour of Toys “R” Us.
Originally planned from 1987 onwards, Toys “R” US’s planning preparations didn’t go down well within the community. It disgusted many that a huge toy store would bomb the neat and pretty town of Poole. First rejected in Tower Park, it took 3 years for planning permission approval in Nuffield Retail Estate.
Costing £8 million over the 5-acre site on Nuffield Estate, Toys “R” was the biggest community gamble it had ever seen.
So why did the remote town finally embrace international store, Toys “R” US, into their community?
Like Madonna in the music scene, on 19th September 1991, Toys “R” US entered the Poole Community ready to make everyone their material girl. Toys “R” US became Poole’s local hit for the unemployed and lots of support came underway hoping the store would welcome over 200 jobs in Poole. With only 23 stores in the UK by 1990, there was a high demand for more local Toys “R” US stores, and Poole jumped at the chance to become store 24. With the American store came Americanisation of big box stores and big boy brands: capitalism had lift-off. The store’s popularity gave the local community the American dream: attention to Poole from other Toys “R” US starved communities, leading to boosted tourism, the shops’ sales, and the overall local economy.
Toys “R” US was a community hub for families, friends and everything in between! Offering a wide range of toys and baby products, Poole’s Toys “R” US became nationally famous, connecting communities together with the love for Lego. With only two Toys “R” US stores in the South West by 1992, Poole had plenty of attention. The East Dorset community raced to Poole instead of trekking to Devon to purchase the toys all the kids wanted, and all the toys that Toys “R” US made them think they wanted.
By 2018, Toys “R” US stores had expanded into other local areas such as Southampton. Although the expansion of Toys “R” US diluted consumer attention to different locations, it never diluted the Poole community’s strength. However, no longer was there a high demand for Toys “R” US. With so many stores nationally spread on everyone’s doorsteps, samey Toys “R” US became just part of everyday life. In competition with other stores such as Smyths Toys Superstores, Toys “R” US began increasing prices that families couldn’t afford. Not even Toys “R” US could afford their own company. By the end of 2016, Toys “R” US downsized the Poole store to cut rental costs. After decades of joyful Geoffrey the Giraffe adverts, Toys “R” US was underachieving and lost its spark in the community.
But Where did it go all so wrong?
Jeff Bray, senior lecturer in marketing and retail management at Bournemouth University, argued that:
“I think it’s part of the radical changes that we’re seeing in the retail market… They simply couldn’t’ compete with Amazon or other online retailers in terms of depth of range so the only way they could compete is by offering better service or a more enjoyable shopping experience and sadly they’ve been under increasing pressure… The writing, in my view, was already on the wall and while they might have had a credible plan in place, they didn’t have enough money to put back for that to gain traction.”
With cheaper brands such as Amazon Prime, and the Bournemouth Baby Centre’s super-speed delivery in the Dorset community, Poole’s Toys “R” US franchise could not keep up. Dr Bray further adds that:
“There’s a great opportunity for a nice high street independent toy shop.”
This is the biggest reason independent baby stores such as the Bournemouth Baby Centre have existed for decades. Unlike Toys “R” US, community value is bigger than commercial value. People like familiarity, friendliness and advice when shopping, unlike big corporations that are impersonal and alien to a small, tight-knit community of families. With a 15 million tax bill and deep in debt, in December 2017, Toys “R” US began struggling to pay off debt because of their low income, known as cash flow pressures. This forced Toys “R” US to find a new buyer by 2018 before it surrendered to bankruptcy. Unsurprisingly, the firm was unsuccessful in securing a buyer to save the business.
Toys “R” US closed in Poole on Monday 23rd April 2018.
A fond goodbye to Toys R Us. You were an institution of fun, craziness and individuality. The thought of future generations buying their toys from an app store or online just isn’t the same… Toys R Us…Love it or hate it. It was an assault on the senses. It employed a lot of dedicated people and was a staple of most peoples childhood. It will be missed…PERIOD…
One reviewer on Trustpilot who gave the store 5 stars.
The closure of Toys “R” US led to the loss of over 3200 jobs nationally in Britain, affecting Poole community as they struggled to stay economically balanced. England was no longer a “Toys “R” US kid”, and Poole was at a financial loss. Many people were eager to replace the toy store within the Dorset community with yet another toy store, encouraging the déjà vu of excitement and economic hope a superstore could bring to the community. Obsessed with recreating a magical children’s community in Poole, it came to no surprise that after a year of planning, in 2019 the new category killer Smyths Toys Superstores would replace Toys “R” US in the Nuffield Estate. Smyths Toys, based in Galway in Ireland, had over 110 branches across the UK and Ireland by 2019, ready to make Poole its next victim. Using the exact location, Smyths Toys was smaller than Toys “R” US because of sharing its spot with South Coast Building Supplies and JD Gyms.
Both images belong to Poole Council. You can find more information in the further reading section.
2019 ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
With Toys “R” US now gone in Poole by 2019, this was what Smyths Toys Superstores store manager Frank Riley had to say:
“We’re delighted to be moving to a brand new Smyths Toys Superstore in Poole… Planning agent Lambert Smith Hampton said in its application that the “prompt re-use of the vacated Toys R Us building will bring confidence to the local economic market through increased employment opportunities to parts of the local community”… “The re-use of the building will minimise the potential for anti-social behaviour on the empty property and car park and secure a safe and well-designed built environment that provides a long-term solution to the site.”
Like little ol’ Toys “R” US promised, Smyths Toys Superstores promised to cut unemployment- providing between 70-100 jobs in Poole. Smyths opened in Poole on 24th October 2019, becoming a community favourite. It has been two years since Smyths opened in Poole, and it is still alive and kicking, becoming the community nest for toys galore.
East Dorset has had quite its fair share of baby shops over the years, yet no matter how many shops come and go, family values have always stayed the same. Family life is local life. Poole community has shown that no matter what age you are, toys, entertainment and love for one another is ageless and continuous. Poole’s co-dependency with children stores on the Nuffield Estate reveals that the community would be lost without the paradise of children’s shops. With employment opportunity, happy smiling kids and adults that are constantly running out of pocket-money, the local stores have never let the community down.
Further reading
https://www2.aston.ac.uk/news/releases/2018/march/toys-r-us-missed-an-opportunity-says-retail-expert
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17948920.smyths-set-open-poole-toys-r-us-site/
https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/5/3/18511544/amazon-prime-oral-history-jeff-bezos-one-day-shipping https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43210854
https://uk.trustpilot.com/reviews/5acf92456d33bc0a24fe4ada
All sources and materials used file under ©Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.