It’s The End of An Era For These Famous Kid Stores

Online shopping is hurting big box stores, and it’s starting to show. It was announced over the weekend the two chain "kid" stores could be out of business as soon as next week, and one announced it will be filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As much as I love online shopping and the convenience of it, online shopping is causing some major problems with big box stores trying to stay open. Toys R Us announced over the weekend that ALL stores (including Babies R Us) will close, as soon as the next week. It was also announced the Claire’s (the jewelry/ear piercing store) will be filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in an effort to keep their doors open, for now.

The reason, online shopping, it’s easy, simple, and there is no need to leave the comfort of your home just shop, click, and done. Like I mentioned earlier, I shop online all the time, (maybe too much), but I also like going into stores and shopping to, everyone has their preference.

However, with these two major chains soon and possibly closing their doors it feels like some of my childhood memories are closing with them. I remember going into Toys R Us as a kid and thinking it was the coolest store in Earth. I mean a store filled with aisle after aisle after aisle of toys, it’s a kids dream come true, that sadly kids today won’t know about.

I’ll miss Geoffrey the Giraffe, and walking into the store singing “I don’t wanna grow up; I’m a Toys R Us kid.” But Toys R Us is not the only store from my youth that will be closing, Claire's is in trouble too.

Claire’s is that store for after you are “too grown up for Toys R Us,” you go to, the pre-teen years. Where you get your ears pierced and jewelry for all the dances. These stores will be missed by many. It's not only that these stores will be closing or is having trouble, the bigger issues hundreds of people will be out of jobs.

I just hope that if/when these stores close for good, there will be something else that takes there place instead of online shopping. Toys R Us is the only “toy only” store left, and Claire’s is really the only pre-teen store left. It’s just a reminder to get out and shop at these stores before they are all gone.