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under General Tokusatsu News, Power Rangers

After 70 years in business, the biggest toy store there is simply won’t be anymore. Today Toys’R’Us filed papers in court to begin the immediate process of liquidating and selling all of it’s US store operations for both Toys’R’Us and Babies’R’Us.

Toys’R’Us filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in September of 2017 and received an influx of cash of $3.1 billion dollars to maintain business operations over the 2017 Holiday Shopping Season. Through court documents we now see just how bad this Holiday Shopping Season was for Toys’R’Us – Quarter 4 of the 2017 Fiscal Year brought in only $81 million dollars for Toys’R’Us compared to $347 million in Quarter 4 of 2016. To quote CEO David Brandon, their financial results were “worse than worst case scenario”. To remain open, Toys’R’Us would need to spend $50 million to $100 million per month which the company is incapable of doing.

The small, silver lining to this scenario is that there are potential plans for the Toys’R’Us Canada branch to outright purchase a select number of stores – possibly close to 200 – and allow them to remain open. However, until such a deal is reached, every single Toys’R’Us and Babies’R’Us store in the United States will begin the process of liquidation.

It’s a sad day for the toy industry. Toys’R’Us is estimated to make up 15% of all the total toy sales in the United States, putting huge burdens on major manufacturers like Hasbro and Mattel to find a way to make up for that change. Hasbro, in recent investor calls, has already stated plans in place currently to help minimize the overall effect and that they are confident they will come out of this mostly unscathed. Mattel on the other hand is close to filing for bankruptcy themselves, having recently suspended dividend following poor sale results in the recent quarter.

We’s sharing the following jingle by Twitter user @ChaseHolfelder in memory of the “Biggest Toy Store There Is”. Our thoughts are with the estimated 33,000 workers who will soon be out of a job. If there are any changes to the news, or Toys’R’Us Canada does end up purchasing some US stores to keep them open, we will share that with you.

The full press release is after the jump of “Read More”.

[Read more…]

under Power Rangers

We’ve been sharing Toys’R’Us news stories on our Twitter account @TokuNation a lot lately. The reason we’re doing that is because as a site that frequently promotes toys and collectibles, losing the largest toys and collectibles retailer in the world is kind of a big deal.

Toys’R’Us is expected to file liquidation papers today (Wednesday) to give to the court tomorrow (Thursday). This will officially mark the end of Toys’R’Us in the United States as we know it. A report from the Wall Street Journal states that CEO David Brandon announced to home office personnel in a conference call today (Wednesday) that the company is filing liquidation papers today for the court hearing tomorrow (Thursday).

Earlier today, Toys’R’Us UK also announced liquidation with all UK stores closing within the next 6 weeks. Toys’R’Us Canada is seemingly in a better place financially with no updates on their situation, and Toys’R’Us Asia is actually profitable and is expected to be sold to other shareholders in China turning them in to majority shareholders and giving them control of business operations.

A report from CNBC has come out stating that Toys’R’Us may also keep up to 200 US stores open after liquidation, combining those stores with the Toys’R’Us Canada operation, effectively making Toys’R’Us (in the US at least) a Canadian retailer operating in the United States. Those 200 stores would undoubtedly be profitable stores with favorable real estate deals. However, at the time of this posting, there is no concrete information available to share on that note.

As more news breaks we will share it with you. A complete liquidation of US Toys’R’Us stores will result in a 33,000 loss of employees, making it the largest retailer to shut down (in terms of employee size) since Sports Authority went out of business at the end of 2016. Our thoughts are with all the families suffering with the fate of their future paychecks.

under Kamen Rider

Great news for you Kamen Rider fans! If you haven’t yet picked up the SIC Kamen Rider Gaim Orange Arms figure now is your opportunity! Entertainment Earth (you may remember them for having the first available stock of the Legacy Golden Power Staff and Legacy Zeonizer) is having a ONE DAY SALE for this item and it’s the cheapest you can find online!

For $49.99 (normally $74.99, so 33% off) you can add this stunning figure to your collection. We cannot recommend this one enough as we are owners of it ourselves. Click the link below and purchase your figure!

Click here to order SIC Kamen Rider Gaim Orange Arms from EntertainmentEarth.com!

under Power Rangers

Attention Power Rangers fans! The voting period is now open for this year’s annual Kid’s Choice Awards on Nickelodeon! The Power Rangers are up for two awards:

– Best Television Show (Power Rangers Ninja Steel)
– Best Actor (William Shewfelt, Red Ranger)

Voting is done through Twitter and the use of hashtags. Limit one vote per category, per Twitter account, per day.

#KCA #FavTVShowPowerRangersNinjaSteel (click to send a tweet!)
#KCA #FavTVActorWilliamShewfelt (click to send a tweet!)

Start voting! Let’s celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Power Rangers by getting two major wins for Power Rangers Ninja Steel!

under Power Rangers

Thanks to our friends at PowerRangersNOW, we have our first look at the June covers for both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issue 028 (Kyle Higgins) and Go Go Power Rangers Issue 010 (Ryan Parrott). As you should be well aware, both titles will be in the midst of the Shattered Grid event, featuring the return of the evil Lord Drakkon as he attempts to transcend time and space to destroy ALL the Power Rangers, EVER.

Go Go Power Rangers Issue 010 will feature a new evil Power Ranger who works for Lord Drakkon – the Ranger Slayer – who will pilot an abomination of zord parts (featuring the Red Dragon Thunderzord, the Tigerzord, and Tor the Shuttle Zord) in an attempt to destroy the Power Rangers in the past to change the future.

In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issue 028, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers split in to two teams – one with the Power Rangers Time Force and the other with Power Rangers RPM – in battles across worlds in a fading attempt to stop Lord Drakkon.

Check out all the images by clicking the title of the story! We cannot wait for Shattered Grid to begin (which it does later this month!).

under Super Sentai

For those of you who can remember 2017 (it’s been a minute already, we know!) one of the hardest items to obtain was a pre-order for the Super Sentai Artisan DX DaiRenOh. Promising a faithful release of the original figure but with modern day improvements (such as better paint deco, remolded pieces, and new accessories) the Super Sentai Artisan DX DaiRenOh sold out in pre-orders within just a couple of days.

Bandai Japan has recently updated their blog to give what would appear to be the final release version update on the upcoming Super Sentai Artisan DX DaiRenOh. The figure features brand new paint and looks incredible. The fists have been remolded, the sheath of the blade now matches what you saw in the show, and a second sword has been included so you can recreate the finishing move.

We’ve mirrored all the images here on the site. Click the title of the story to check them all out. Did you grab a pre-order for this? Sound off in discussion and let us know!

Also … you have until the end of the month to reach out to your middle man for a DX WonTiger, which as you know, can combine with the DX DaiRenOh.

under Power Rangers

Our friend and popular game streamer KWingsLetsPlay on YouTube, along with nWay, the creator of the popular mobile game Power Rangers Legacy Wars, are celebrating the latest update with a brand new tournament! Check out the announcement video below.

In short – you’ll be participating in a tournament against KWingsLetsPlay. 50 applicants will be selected and of the 50, 8 users who beat him in the game will be selected to take part in the actual tournament. The winner will receive in-game prizes from nWay, including any locked character they want.

Stay tuned to @KWingReviews on Twitter for the announcement of the sign-up. Once the first 50 slots are taken, entry is over! Must be 18 years of age to participate. Good luck!

› Views: 2628 › Credit: @KWingReviews on Twitter

› Companies: › Toyline:

under Uncategorized

Yesterday, CEO of Hasbro Inc. Brian Goldner spoke to investors and press to outline the company’s strategy going forward in the coming years. While a good portion of the conference detailed out Hasbro‘s franchise brands (such as Transformers, My Little Pony, etc.), a portion was spent discussing the recent acquisition of Power Rangers – and more importantly – why they pursued it and their future plans with it.

To quote Brian Goldner directly:

“Let’s start with the consumer and the child in them. First of all, 20% of Hasbro’s revenues are for people who are teenagers and older. So, while kids may be ‘getting older younger’, adults want to ‘stay younger longer’. And so both of those dynamics are important to us. People want to play at every age. The other important thing is: kids getting older younger just means they get to be more ‘decisional younger’. They’re actually expressing their own desires for the things they want to play with. It’s not to say they don’t play with play-things, it’s just instead of thinking about at a non-branded play-thing, they want a brand that’s associated with the character that’s most beloved. That’s why we recently brought on the Power Rangers. And the Power Rangers will now become part of our portfolio because it’s a very young-skewing brand and we know through our research that young children express a preference at a younger age. We want to be with characters and stories that are meaningful to them.”

To sum up Brian’s words – teenage to adult fans make up 20% of Hasbro‘s total revenue. Their goal is to appeal both to the adult who yearns to be a kid again as well as the young kid who wants more than just a toy because it has the name of the series they like but because it’s related to a character they’ve come to connect with. One reason they sought Power Rangers was because of the characters and stories that it has and continues to tell.

Special thanks to Silver Optimus of our sister site TFW2005.COM for transcribing the conference.

under Conventions, Power Rangers

At this year’s WonderCon 2018 the Power Rangers HyperForce will be getting their own exclusive cover for Go Go Power Rangers Issue 08. Revealed today by Meghan Camarena, @Strawburry17 on Twitter who plays Chloe the HyperForce Pink Ranger, is the exclusive WonderCon Power Rangers HyperForce Comic Cover.

The cover features:

Marv, the HyperForce Red Ranger
Jack, the HyperForce Yellow Ranger
Eddie, the HyperForce Blue Ranger
Vesper, the HyperForce Black Ranger
Chloe, the HyperForce Pink Ranger
Joe, the Time Force Silver Ranger
Alpha 55

We can’t wait to add this to our collection! It will be exclusively available to attendees at this year’s WonderCon 2018 happening March 23rd through March 25th in Anaheim, California.

under Power Rangers

On the latest episode of Power Rangers HyperForce – a Twitch.TV table top RPG game streamed live to audiences – Misty Flores from Saban Brands joined during a break to make some big Power Rangers HyperForce announcements.

Power Rangers HyperForce will be at WonderCon – March 23rd through March 25th in Anaheim, California – to do autograph signings and meet the fans. The team will also be featured on an exclusive variant cover of the Go Go Power Rangers comic book (issue 08) to WonderCon! On the next episode of Power Rangers HyperForce – streaming live on Tuesday, March 13th – the team will find themselves involved in the Power Rangers mega-event the Shattered Grid coming from comic publisher BOOM! Studios. To top it off Kyle Higgins, writer of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic, will be the special guest and has co-written the story of the episode. On top of that, GM Malika Lin will also be a character in the story, leaving Zac Eubank (CEO of Hyper RPG) to GM the episode.

Also teased was a big Shattered Grid panel at WonderCon, one that fans will NOT want to miss!

More announcements are teased for next week as Power Rangers HyperForce kicks off the Shattered Grid event! Don’t miss it – we’ll keep you updated leading up to it!