Topic: Germany

[FialaFernbrugg]

Another phenomenal store report.
It has been a while since I was in a store. I doubt that our assortment is as good as yours.

[Darth More]

@Tamer: Yes and it's not fair. Don't know if it's the distribution, the economy or if online shopping has already killed brick & mortar sales. It's never been this scarce here in Germany. Never thought pegs for action figures and other toys would ever be that empty in the U.S. - I know many miss getting the things they want in their local store, but I suppose the market shifts to online only.


@FialaFernbrugg: Thanks, mate. I'd love to see how the shelves look in Austria!

[Darth More]

Store report: Smyths Toys Super Stores


Neuss, Germany

Wed, June 16, 2021





Today after work I checked out this SmythsToys, again. And this time I even bought something, too!


Jurassic World & THE CORPS!










WWE & STAR WARS






Still not the corrected version in this case. I wonder where the orange cardbacks and the corrected yellow versions have gone...missed the chance to also take a picture of the date stamps on the back. Will do next time.




The villains set dropped to 24,90€. The Imperial Army-Builder Pack however seems to sell. The Mission Fleet stuff sells too, but only on discount...did we really need yet another scale Hasbro? These vehicles plus figure are 14.90€ now. And they told us tooling is what pushes costs for  TVC vehicles.




Feels like 2018 again with Commander Gree on shelves again. One can never have enough Clones and I think down the line Hasbro will also put him in P4 packaging for the third run. Even nothing changed really, I miss Toys "R" Us.
Mando dropped to 19.99€ and it's great to see so much stuff for The Mandalorian on shelves now. But kids are probably more into The Bad Batch at the moment. I think Disney don't do licensees like Hasbro a favor by keeping all their stuff top secret while producing 12 new shows at the same time. No surprise Hasbro cannot keep up with their insane pace of greed for more $$$$...





I'm always impressed by these trench like aisles. 40 feet of LEGO on the one side and playmobil on the other. Shelves reach to the ceiling and I'm not a boy anymore, but still feel in toy Eldorado.





And before I left the store I found these here. And I took one Ecto 1 with me. They were rediced from 27.99€ to 14.99€ and are 1/24 scale.

[Tamer]

So awesome to read your store reports. I haven't seen star wars pegs like that in years.

Awesome you have so much to pick from.

[Darth More]

Thank you, Tamer. It's very sad that the situation for Star Wars collectors has become so desperate over the past years. I think this niche hobby has shifted to online only availability. I'm pretty sure this will happen here as well down the road. The next crash will follow in the next years and the consequences of the Pandemic won't be pleasant I guess...

On my way through Dusseldorf, I saw this Harley and I really enjoyed looking at this machine.




The last one I saw and took pics of reminded me of Iron Man.




If you like cars as well, make sure to check out Clonehead's thread for car pics!

[Tamer]

That is one awesome looking Harley!

[Darth More]

Thanks Tamer, would’ve loved to see the rider of this beast. It’s always nice to see such nice bikes. Düsseldorf is an awesome place anyway if you’re a car enthusiast. There are always people chasing various sports and super cars with their cameras not only on weekends.

Be prepared for two new store reports this Saturday!

[Tamer]

I bet you find some good stuff!

[Darth More]

I hope so! Many new items have hit shelves since I visited SmythsToys the last time. I’m still in Spain ‘til Friday, but I cannot rent a car at the moment to visit stores here.
It seems the Canary Islands are affected by the container backlash. There are some empty shelves here, no new stuff because cargo has become so much more expensive during the Pandemic.

[Darth More]

Store report: Smyths Toys Super Stores

Duisburg, Germany

Sat, July 31, 2021


This store reminds me so much of the USA. The parking lot is huge and the space is big as well. The shadow behind the store's sign marks what used to be Toys "R" Us.

It's nice to see the stores dedicating an entire hallway for Action Figures:




Jurassic World & THE CORPS!






The new Ankylosaurus makes some good bumps for sure!





Why can't this be a Republic Gunship, Hasbro?

Predator, Godzilla & Pokemon:







Star Wars is not the only expensive license. Battle Packs with 5 Figures or Class II vehicles used to cost 34,99€ here. Good times...


STAR WARS



There were about 80 TVC figures on shelves, about 10 of both versions of The Mandalorian and The Child  - unbelievable! I think it's safe to say that the success of The Mandalorian makes the brand prosper, again.









Schleich & other Action Toys




Love to see Tom & Jerry in Action Figure form!








NERF





Cars & RC Vehicles












These are all licensed products. How can they remote controlled with lights and sounds and still so much cheaper than Hasbro's Star Wars toys?!


playmobil

[Tamer]

I haven't seen the pegs looks anyhwere as good around where I live. Wow.

So taking this to the front pages. Folks will have a hard time believing me.

Looks like they had some nice TVC Figures too.

[Darth More]

Thanks for the front pages, Tamer! Out of all store reports, I swapped a couple pictures this time. I now corrected it and added more pictures above.
I think this one is most impressive and would've been best for the front pages:


There were about 80 TVC figures on shelves, about 10 of both versions of The Mandalorian and The Child  - unbelievable! I think it's safe to say that the success of The Mandalorian makes the brand prosper, again.

[Tamer]

I went to a store yesterday and all they had was darksabers and a couple mission fleet sets. No six inch and no TVC at all.

[Darth More]

What a bummer. I feel sorry for you, Tamer. Your time & gas isn't worth the hunt anymore. I was talking to a friend about China and the current development of global economy today. Seems like China think they can do what they want. They make shipping so expensive that some businesses will run out of stock and go bankrupt. That might be part of the reason why pegs are so empty.

[Darth More]

Müller is a German drug store similar to Walgreens and they got an exclusive Jurassic World Set, which they now put on 39% discount shortly after they got it! Feels like the good 'ole times in the U.S. a decade ago, again!