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The fun is done: Popular Toronto toy stores close up shop

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Toys Toys Toys’ failure to adapt was ultimate downfall says expert

TORONTO, ON,: After 30 years in business and putting countless smiles on kids’ faces across the GTA, Toys Toys Toys is closing its doors forever after filing for bankruptcy last week and Approximately 50 full and part-time employees will lose their jobs as a result.

Three stores at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Fairview Mall and Toronto Dominion Centre will close immediately. The remaining sites at Vaughan Mills, Square One Shopping Centre, Erin Mills Town Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, and Oshawa Centre will continue selling any remaining inventory. The recently opened (March 2019) ninth location at the Bramalea City Centre will remain open under a different name.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is directly to blame for the closure of many businesses in just the past few months, Robert Levy, consumer expert and President of BrandSpark International says that the ending was inevitable for this particular chain.

“We saw from the closure of Toys R Us in the U.S. that there is a lot of competition for mainstream character-based toys. Toys has been a leading category online and Toys Toys Toys didn’t keep up with competitors,” explains Levy.

Levy also points to kids’ evolving interests.

“Many occasions when a parent bought a small toy to keep a child happy during a trip through the mall have disappeared,” says Levy. “Also, kids are also moving to electronic toys and video games at a younger age now, narrowing the target for traditional imagination-play toys.”

Toys R Us shuttered its more than 700 stores across the U.S. in 2018…but does the chain and others like it have a chance of continuing to do business in Canada? Levy believes so, but only if they can adapt now.

“The big challenge will be offering an experience that can’t be found on e-commerce, even while strengthening Toys R Us own e-commerce presence to compete with Amazon. The Toys R Us brand is still strong and they need to leverage that online. Babies R Us provides a gateway for parents coming to their stores. They need to better keep up with the trends to keep parents wanting to bring their kids back.”