Subject:
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Re: Poor Service to Toy Shops = No Lego
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Mon, 3 Jun 2002 15:56:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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924 times
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Wow, I though it was just us...
I work in a retail collectables shop. While we don't carry lego, our main
buisness over the last few years has been high quality diecast model racing
cars. What's interesting is how our fights with suppliers parallels Toy shops
problems with Lego. We have constant wars with our suppliers over shipping and
release dates, quantity ordered versus quantity shipped, etc...
We are a magor online retailer in out market and we can get no slack from the
manufacturers who make our best selling lines, it's just funny.
This, may explain why a local toy/hobby shop that I frequent had a big Lego
sale and has fazed out the line in their store. I went nuts during the sale,
but haven't bought anything since, due to the fact that they haven't restocked.
I will have to ask if this is why they dropped the line.
The biggest frustration I have is with TRU and the fact that their Lego shelves
are vitualy empty for eight months of the year. Only when new items come out is
their any product in the Lego isle. They must sell the stuff, but they don't
seem to restock with any consistancey. Anywhere esle in the store the shelves
are full, but the Lego area looks like a picked carcass, do you suppose that
TRU has the same distrobution issues as smaller shops?
I have also begun to wonder if TRU is no longer on Lego's favorites list. I can
go to TRU and find nothing then across the street to Target and they will have
new items as well as a good selection of old. Perhaps TRU sells out faster than
Target, but it doesn't seem that way.
Target had the full line of "Attack of the Clones" sets three weeks before I
saw one item at TRU...strange.
GREG~
In lugnet.lego.direct, Suzanne D. Rich writes:
> On Saturday, June 1, 2002, at 10:51 AM, r2 wrote:
>
> > I went by our local (favorite) toy store yesterday. They have always
> > carried
> > a great selection of Lego and generally carried some shop at home only
> > sets.
> > There was NO LEGO. They had dropped all Lego from their store!
> >
> > I asked them why, didn't the Lego sell? No, the Lego sold very well but
> > their ordering service was TERRIBLE. They constantly had orders
> > canceled, so
> > they would have to continually reorder (the same orders that had been
> > canceled). Orders were erratically filled and it was too difficult to
> > deal
> > with Lego the company.
> >
> > I find this very disturbing and I hope Lego looks into their ordering
> > service to retail shops. [...]
> > They dropped the line due to poor service and a difficult ordering
> > system.
> > I find this very sad.
> >
> > Rose
>
> I'm glad to hear someone bring this up (even if it's sad to hear).
>
> The toy seller above is hardly alone. I've heard this kinda stuff over
> and over. TLC knows all about their poor service. It seems to be a sort
> of farcical common knowledge among toy store owners.. that LEGO is by
> far their worst toy company to work with.
>
> Three(?) years ago, Enfield built their huge new distribution center
> which, as I understand, is tailored for two resellers: Wal-Mart and
> TRU.[1] Since then, I hear service to smaller toy shops has gotten much
> worse. They also "updated" their ordering system which, apparently, is a
> big disaster for their in-house crew.. That switch-over still gets named
> as excuse for everything. like lost orders, late shipments, incorrect
> store address on slips, missing slips, shipping wrong product, etc..
>
> Some friends of mine (who'll stay anonymous) own a toy store that has
> done enormously well. It's they who vent to me most often. Their
> accounts of dealing with TLC are shocking to me and sound extremely
> frustrating. I won't be surprised if, one of these days, they just scrap
> all the LEGO product from their shelves. And though I wouldn't blame
> them, it'd be a real shame for their customers and the community.
>
> At one point (not sure if still true), their store had the largest LEGO
> selection in their entire metropolitan area. The store has received
> plenty of public recognition for being classy and unique. They sell a
> LOT of LEGO. Yet in their 6 or so years of business, no amount of
> fantastic sales reports and professionalism has helped in their effort
> to be heard by, or taken seriously by, TLC. They've done it all - showed
> impressive graphs at ToyFair meetings, proven success at online sales of
> LEGO DACTA,* carefully written letters, made phone calls, faxes, and
> even more phone calls. I think there was even a complaint letter to
> Peter Eio, which got a form-letter response. They always seem to get a
> runaround.
>
> I once suggested that they provide pre-written postcards for store
> visitors to mail to Enfield, emphasizing their wishes and acknowledging
> need. But my friends feared a reverse outcome, should they be seen
> making waves.
>
>
> I always thought that, in order to sell LEGO merchandise, you needed an
> actual storefront; and that someone from TLC would check-out its
> existence. Apparently that's not true because, as of last I heard, no
> one from TLC had ever stepped foot in the store. or driven by. or
> anything. Meanwhile Presidents of companies, who make other (very
> popular) construction toys, have raved and danced around the aisles,
> leaving behind enormous custom display-sculptures and special offerings.
> Not that I expect TLC to do that, but geez.. heh, come to think of it, I
> haven't even seen a LEGO employee check a TRU aisle for years, either.
>
> My friends' former rep (who was nice, but powerless) was replaced with a
> rude, ill-informed, pushy sales dork. While he insists they do their
> purchasing insanely early, merchandise can ship insanely late. Holiday
> time is especially sad, when my friends anxiously await their repeatedly
> promised goods (some brand new SKUs) while down the street TRU and
> Wal-Mart are nearly sold out of the same items, because they've had 'em
> for weeks.
>
> I'll just tell this one story.. then I really must stop.
> At one point, some early Bionicle sets were being pushed on them by a
> new sales rep. My friends refused to order the quantity being suggested.
> They felt that the product wasn't suited to their type of shopper, and
> (I also believe) it didn't "fit in" well at their store. The rep
> continued to insist this would be a 'hot item' they should have. Later,
> my friends were "accidentally" shipped a huuuge quantity of UN-ordered
> Bionicle sets. Enfield (not surprisingly) was unprepared to take the
> excess shipment back, and so used the small shop to warehouse it. It
> burdened them for months and had to be stored offsite, in a rental
> facility.
>
> The whole thing stinks. But I don't know of anything we can do to
> improve the situation.
>
> Except maybe to complain here.
>
> -Suz
>
> [1] Speaking of the dist. center reminds me.. I vaguely remember hearing
> about TLC wanting to build a trucking road, straight through the CT
> countryside, to the nearest airstrip. But the locals wouldn't have it.
> Anyone know anything about that? I'm just curious..
>
> [2] To sell LEGO DACTA online is less restrictive than the retail line
> is.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Poor Service to Toy Shops = No Lego
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| (...) I Know TRU's do not get their stock directly. Everything TRU sells first goes to a central wherehouse and is distributed by truck to each store from there. So maybe thats why there is a delay? But I always hear of new sets at Wal Mart long (...) (22 years ago, 4-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Poor Service to Toy Shops = No Lego
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| (...) I'm glad to hear someone bring this up (even if it's sad to hear). The toy seller above is hardly alone. I've heard this kinda stuff over and over. TLC knows all about their poor service. It seems to be a sort of farcical common knowledge (...) (22 years ago, 2-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
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