So, did Wal-Mart cancel Halloween?

[HardyGirl]

I don't have a WalMart near me, but Walgreens has their stuff out.

[thunderbolt]

The Evil Empire here has costumes.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Could have something to do with shipping. If your store is farther away from the warehouse it could take longer to get there.

FUN FACT: I live less than 50m away from TWO parry stores, so it's ALWAYS Halloween around here.

Don C.

[grayhank]

Halloween is full at Wally here in Northern California... also Target has started with the Christmas stuff... at least in the form of Nutcrackers. But the nutcrackers were Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas combined.

[MIB41]

Now that Wal-Mart came out publicly saying they are going to put Toysrus out of business I just can't bring myself to buy anything else from them. I have set back and helped Wal-Mart force countless small and large business's out by giving them my families hard earned money. I am not going to watch them do it to the last great toy competitor on the market.

I will buy my kids stuff at toyrsus this year. It may cost a few more dollars, but the money is going to support a good cause--competition. Besides, buying items outside Wal-Mart helped me realize that meat from the local butcher is waaay better!

I think ultimately Toysrus fate resides with their own market strategy. Walmart does not carry anywhere near the same amount of toys per store as TRU. Of course they have more stores, so they get a bigger volume discount on what they do buy. That being said, WHAT they buy plays a big role in what they can take from a traditional toy store. If TRU works to maintain and grow exclusives, plus price themselves competitively on the more popular items, they will survive. They also need to push older product out faster - Possibly their biggest flaw. They hold on to inflated prices long after demand is satisfied. Example, they still have Speed Racer toys marked down only 30 to 50% off. How long has demand for that movie wilted? They need to be aggressive and learn to move product quickly, not only to meet demand but to keep shoppers coming in for new product availability.

[megocanada]

As a part-time department head at TRU over 15 years I can honestly say that I'm not worry about Wal-Mart. I can still remember when Wal-Mart came to Canada and there was talk about us going belly up. Didn't happen. Also now that Wal-Mart is going more into produce and such things I'm not so worried.The one thing I can say is their prices a pretty damn good. Especially as a father of four. Just my opinion.

Derek

[Joe90]

Up here the Halloween stuff hit in a big way at Wal Mart a couple of weeks ago. I was in one yesterday though, and noticed they were already doubling up some of the Halloween stuff so they could clear space in one aisle for Christmas lights and outdoor decorations.....Its not even October yet!!!!

Just a little further north of Calgary and I have no frickin' clue what WalFarts has in their store for Hallowe'en costumes. Two large chains are giving Wally a run for their money -- Zellers and Canadian Tire. I can't say I've never been in WalMart, but I can say that these two Canadian chain stores' prices are competitive. That makes me happy.

[VintageMike]

Toys R' Us is also starting to use some smart stratagies. Recogizing the number of vacanacies in malls they are opening up seasonal "Holiday Express" mall outlests. The one by me has been packed since it opened two months ago.

[ramsey37]

My local Wal-Mart has a Halloween section set up, but it's considerably skimpier than previous years. The local K-mart has a bigger selection of items, which is unusual.
George

[TEXASFETT]

Are Wal mart has really chitty stuff,but they have halloween costumes.Usally party city will have better selection.But I just really Halloween stuff on-line.I loved when Toys r us would carry cool halloween stuff back in the 80's!

[Earth 2 Chris]

They also need to push older product out faster - Possibly their biggest flaw. They hold on to inflated prices long after demand is satisfied. Example, they still have Speed Racer toys marked down only 30 to 50% off. How long has demand for that movie wilted? They need to be aggressive and learn to move product quickly, not only to meet demand but to keep shoppers coming in for new product availability.

Good point on TRU. No one moves stuff out like Target. If it's been on the shelf for 3 months, it's clearanced. And it's down to nothing or out the door within a week. I hear they move left-over merchandise to GoodWill stores after a short period. Nothing old ever hangs around Target long.

Chris

[Toy Talk]

Games

TRU has started buying used video games as well. Nice Play!