After Toys R Us: Department stores, boutiques may fill Delmarva toy void

After Toys R Us closes its stores, where does that leave Delmarva parents and kids who want to play with a toy before they buy it?

The iconic toy and baby products retailer is planning to sell or close all of its stores. The New Jersey-based company filed for bankruptcy in September.

The company operates a Toys R Us and Babies R Us in tandem out of a location near the Centre at Salisbury mall. Like its counterparts across the country, the store finds itself in corporate limbo.

There were no outward signs of trouble visible at the location as of Wednesday afternoon. Shoppers shared rumors that the store would remain open.

Store employees directed a reporter to contact the company's headquarters PR office, which declined to comment in response to a Delmarva Now email.

The company vowed to keep its doors open at its stores for as long as possible, in a recent Twitter post.

"We’ve seen an amazing outpouring of love and support in recent days and we truly appreciate it," it said. "Our stores are open for business, ready to bring joy to children wherever we can, and to help new and expecting parents navigate raising a family."

The Salisbury store was not among the 182 that Toys R Us announced it would be closing in January. 

Megan Griffiths, a mother of three grown children and soon-to-be grandmother, said she is disappointed that the area might lose its only toy big-box store.

"When my kids were growing up, I used to take them here to try toys out," the Delmar, Delaware, woman said, adding that the store was rooted at the Twilley Centre at the time. 

Her daughter had a baby shower over the past weekend. She registered her gifts at Babies R Us, Griffiths said.

Where will she shop instead?

"Probably Walmart," Griffiths said. "I don't want to but probably will have to." 

More:'Unprofitable' department store to close in Salisbury

Yes, chain department stores — Walmart, Target, Boscovs and the like — will surely compete locally to fill the vacuum.

But Toys R Us' departure, if it happens, could open the door for boutique and mom-and-pop toy stores to expand their market footprint on Delmarva.

"We don’t like to see anybody out of a job," said Sandy Smyth, owner of Tidepool Toys and Games in Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island, "but we hope we get more people who like to shop in-person to come in and enjoy the experience you get in a toy store.” 

Officially, the cause of death for Toys R Us would be listed as massive amounts of debt.

But market analysts say it is just the latest victim of the so-called "Amazon effect." Like Kmart, Sears and other brick-and-mortar retailers, the toy chain has struggled to fend off competition from digital competitors.

At Tidepool, customers won't find many toys priced at $100 and above for that very reason, Smyth said. At that cost, customers will compare prices with the same or similar products online, he has found.

"It's hard to play that game," he said.

Tidepool can survive, he believes, because it gives kids and parents an opportunity to test out toys before they buy them. Its three locations often host demonstrations tailored around certain products, such as Thomas the Train and Calico Critters.

Location also plays a significant role in the company's plan, Smyth said. Many of his customers are beach tourists who are reluctant to drive to Rehoboth Beach or West Ocean City to find the nearest big box.

"We think there’s still a niche for small, specialty toy stores like ourselves," he said.

World of Toys in Berlin has trod a similar path as Tidepool and discovered not just survival, but growth. Last spring, the toy shop moved across the street to a location more than twice the size of the original.

Its sales, too, doubled.

Owner Olga Kozhevnikova said she strives to sell higher-end, educational products that department stores don't typically carry.

“People come in and say, 'Wow! I’ve never seen this product before,'" she said.

Customer service seals the deal, Kozhevnikova added.

“If you provide the customer service, people will come to you," she said. “In my store, you can ask for a certain product and I can tell you whether I do or I don’t have it.” 

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