Perhaps it's just me thinking too much

Carry on thinking molly ‘cause without thought and compassion where would it leave these poor folk?

I get you entirely millymouge. There is a bigger gap now between rich and poor than has been for a long time.

Look at it practically. All 200 shops are not in the same town. It will be 50-100 jobs at each location, almost all in big towns where, in many cases, there will be other jobs on offer, probably not retail, but certainly work available. I live between Reading and Oxford, both with ToysRUS, both with nearly full employment and jobs available at all levels.

Consider that handbag; somewhere the animal whose skin it is made of, will have been reared by a farmer, for whom the price they get for it will take into account the value of the skin. That skin will be processed and treated and then highly skilled leather workers will make the bag that goes to the shop that sells it to Prince Harry's fiancee.

How many people would be put out of work if all the purchasers of expensive handcrafted items from Bond Street shops were to stay at home. probably nearly as many as those made unemployed by ToysRus

It's not just ToysRUs tho is it? Multiyork, who also manufacture in this country, and Feather and Black too, and I wonder how many more high street stores are hanging on until after Christmas?

Looking at a different angle on this story, I had intended to but 2 gift vouchers for £50 each from Toys r us but now I will not do so as I cannot guarantee they will be honoured if the worst happens and they go under.
I bought vouchers for a firm called Game and in January they were in trouble and we were told they would not be honoured, however somehow the firm survived and eventually we could use them.
The point I am making is news stories like this make things much worse for the staff as takings go down.

Companies have always open and closed as trade has changed. Seen any candle stick sellers in town recently?

In areas where unemployment is high it can be awful when unemployment strikes, think back to those mining communities and steelworks where thousands were laid off.

But employment in this country is quite high at the moment, with plenty of jobs available and certainly south of Birmingham, it should not be too difficult to find new work.

Both DH and I have faced redundancy and DD is expecting to face it for the second time, but she has already sorted herself out an alternative new career, her third or fourth, and is sorting out training and sounding out potential employers.

Redundancy and unemployment are not pleasant when they happen, but there are very few people these days who do not experience it at some time or other and one always needs to be prepared for it.

Apparently ToysRUs have said they are closing some of their stores, not all. I do feel sorry for any staff with this hanging over them before Christmas.

I was sorry that ToysRUs and Multiyork are in such difficulty, especially Multi York as they manufacture in the UK and sell good quality furniture.
ToysRus has been a great store since my latest grandchildren arrived. Good prices and lots of variety.
Like the OP, I feel for the staff, with redundancy facing them at this expensive time of year.

There has always been a gap between , always will be , there was a time only the wealthy could holiday abroad, middle income earners booked holidays in B&B's etc and low waged enjoyed a day at the coast.

DH said 'It's always just before Christmas as if they time it to cause most misery'.

But I agree with M0nica* too - if wealthier people did not buy luxury goods then many more people would be out of work.

I think we can look to internet shopping for many of the problems; when I have been to Toys R Us recently there were not that many people in a huge store.

I agree with Monica as well.
Same here Jalima I have never been in Toys R Us when it’s busy, for most if the year it seems empty.
It has a vast range of toys but all at full price, you may as well order online and get them delivered.
On the subject of redundancies though, yes, not a good time of year to hear this of your job, but often staff know things aren’t going well.
I can’t afford Meghan’s handbag either and never could have, that’s life, always somebody with more money than you.

Toys r Us have hung on longer than many expected. Their out of town warehouse near us is not cheap, and ironically rather child unfriendly. I think that Argos have won the toys war with their better prices, delivery and better stock availability.

The redundancies spread out over a number of towns is not as devastating as when a pit or large works close. That can be the demise of small towns and villages as insufficient work comes to replace that lost. Many of the areas never recover and become dormitory areas at best.

I must be old as I remember when ToysRUs first opened. I remember thinking 'what a stupid name'. I hate those big warehouses selling lumps of plastic as kids' toys so personally I shall not miss them at all. However, I do feel sorry for the staff faced with losing their jobs in the new year. It won't make for a very happy Christmas for them.

Can’t stand Toys r Us horrible shop with overpriced tat. Sorry for the staff, but let’s hope they find jobs somewhere a bit nicer.

Regarding the handbag a news report over the weekend stated that the owner of the fledgling company sent it to Megan Markle for free, in the hope of giving the business a boost and not make anyone redundant, it hopefully for the workers worked. Still a lot of money just to carry your bits and pieces in. Some people have more money than sense to spend that much on a bag (the one I use cost £8 in the sale)
So sad re Toy's r us, always got our children's presents from there, sad time for the workers.

Retailers go bust just before Christmas because, for many that is when they make most of their sales and all their profits. 'Black' Friday is so called because that is the day after which a companies finances go from unprofitable (red) to profitable 'in the black'.

A retailer may be struggling, but hoping the Christmas upturn will be good and pull them through. Come October/November some can see that, for them, the upturn isn't there or is insufficient and the final decision is made to pull the plug. They keep trading until Christmas to maximise what profit there is, and, sometimes keep going a few weeks after for closing down sales, but banks and lenders will not lend money to companies that they know will never repay it and who can blame them.

As far as I understand it Toys R Us are focusing on opening smaller stores in town. Rather like the Tesco Metro and smaller Sainsbury models.
One has just opened in the city mall near me, after being a large out of town store, for many years.

Hopefully employees will be redeployed in the new shops and it heralds a move back to regenerating city and town centres.

Nothing lasts forever, even your own life.

Change is the way of things and that business model is old hat now.

Sad for the employees perhaps, however we don't know that they won't find better jobs. Here in Somerset the Moorlands sheepskin factory closed and huge numbers of jobs went but people were able to find other work.

Not so easy when the skills aren't transferable like mining of course but retail is pretty flexible.

I loathe those expensive bags, we have Mulberry locally, I would be afraid of it being stolen for its value. OK for Meghan she has a body guard, but carrying a bag worth hundreds of pounds is just another risk the way things are now.

Give me something sturdy from a charity shop any day.

The inequality measure is significant because when it gets too large it leads to social unrest. We appear to be reaching the tipping point now that is statistically significant. I wonder if it affected the Brexit vote? I'm certainly watching America closely and China is also on the horizon - will it implode? Russia seems to have got there.

It seems to be the way of all empires.

There's a special offer at one of our supermarkets for one of these 'special' handbags - with tokens, reduced to 90€ from 300€.
No thanks - I'll keep my real leather John Lewis one which I bought 20 years ago. I've mended the lining a few times, but otherwise it's perfect.

Ooh wonder if they have That Handbag cheaper in TK Maxx?
Perhaps not, I prefer one with a shoulder strap

Nanawind the owner of the company made a good move - apparently the handbag has sold out, so I presume there will be no redundancies there!

Are you saying, Mollym, that expensive products should not be made because not everyone can afford to buy them, if so, then a lot of other people will be out of work too! Does everyone on here who complains about inequality choose to live in a small wooden shack because not everyone can afford a 3 bed detached, can they? If you have ever bought anything online then you have contributed towards the downfall of stores like Toys r us. If some people have more, it doesn't mean they are any happier or more fulfilled in life. Some people often have less because they have made poor choices in life, should everyone else not buy the things they can afford because of that.

I go to Toy r us about once a year because the nearest store is about 20 miles away, if it was on my doorstep I would have used it more. It was a management choice to have large warehouse style stores in out of town locations and now that novelty has worn off, like radicalnan says, their business is suffering for it.