Toys'R'Us was the victim of a leveraged buyout in 2005. The business hasn't been doing all that poorly, just not well enough to pay off all the debt. So capex is taking a backseat to debt servicing. It's a slow-motion train wreck.

The same thing just happened to Clear Channel. The bankruptcies aren't likely to kill off the business, but hand ownership over to the debt holders.

I imagine they're more interested in the location and store size than how recent the tile has been replaced.

There are, I live near one in Sunnyvale, CA, and it's awesome. It's got more hot wheels cars than I ever want to play around with.

The Canadian stores were very well kept and actually performed so well that MGA Entertainment (Bratz dolls, etc) was trying to get a group of other toymakers together to try and keep those stores open.

These are. I've been to one. Not a bad store at all. Resurrecting a highly nostalgic brand may be a viable option, if Amazon has some trick up their sleeves. The one thing they can't fix is low birth rates though, so it would have to transform the stores a bit.

Whole Foods me.

As a parent, put a craft beer/craft coffee in my hand (mark that up too, I'll pay) and give my kids and myself an experience, more than just a static display.

Blicks, a store for art supplies has done this with wine nights, painting lessons (with wine), etc.

Ignoring all the damn alcohol, it's brands that will compete by creating an experience that may stand a chance (IMO)

Maybe if they combined it with some maker stuff --however, I think perhaps the maker stuff has a too limited audience. And besides, their locations do not lend themselves much to drop-ins. Like, while I'm at it buying something at [some place] I'll drop in at Toys R Us. They tend to be in out of the way locations.

The one in Portsmouth, NH is perfectly nice inside and not dated-looking.