I know, I know, it's KR don't polute the board. But is this a sign of things to come or is Manhattan rent just too fucking crazy?
Not sure what the deal is with this.. I would have thought KR would be able to afford rent in Manhattan for sure. They seem to be doing alright business still with all of their licenses, and I'm sure they have sold a huge amount of those Yummy plush toys over the past few years (and why not they are great on couches and beds). However when I was there a couple of years ago KR was already looking out of place in amongst the apple stores and youth fashion around the SoHo area... Maybe they wanted to get out of the Apple/American Apparel/Starbucks flood before they drown??
KR no longer innovates. The brand is pretty soulless compared to the early days. I go on their website nowadays and see little, if anything, of interest. They forgot that their core customer base was composed of toy collectors.
I don't really follow what they offer. But the few times I stopped in there, they seemed to have drifted away from toys designed by known artists/designers to offering expensive customs from people I imaging came up on the KR board. I guess the Marvel and Simpsons franchises make you more like a funko, not a designer toy maker. The brand's just become so amateurish, trying to promote all these customizers no one off their forum knows about. I guess they shouldn't have gotten wrapped up in the sense of community/family. They should have continued to work with established artists and designers and tried to carry on the image of their toys actually being "designer toys"
My guess is that they just didn't do enough business at the location for it to make sense to keep it open. I'm sure they're still selling boatloads of stuff online and in retailers, they just don't see the NYC store as worthwhile anymore.
A friend posted this link on another website: http://blog.kidrobot.com/dear-kidrobot- ... president/ From the comments, it seems that several of their stores already closed.
Well I can't comment on what KR sells I don't collect that stuff, but what I will say is basically all of NYC will soon be nothing but a gentrified corporate playground for the rich. This includes all the boroughs as well as directly across the river into NJ. Poor and Mom & Pop shops were being pushed out when I lived there and now even previously successful brand niche shops are getting the boot. I paid $700 a month for my apartment in Brooklyn when I lived there. Some rich midwestern parents bought the apartment from my landlord for their little rich NYU darling girl and I got the boot. Now that same area has rents around $2500 or more a month. Sometimes I miss NYC but when I think of all the unique places (not saying KR was) that are being forced out, I'm glad I no longer live there. Fucking rat race.
Amen! Its just impossible to be in NY now. It seems that everything that made it special is now being canned and sold at boutiques. The place has become a tourist trap everywhere.
I see the SF store at least once a week. It's been dead in there for ages, which is surprising given the enormous amount of tourist and shopper traffic on that stretch of Haight Street. Although I wouldn't really know, I also suspect that the brand's heyday has passed. The store was actually fairly awesome when it carried a large number of international brands but once the emphasis became endless variations on the same three platform toys it was bound to peter out eventually.
Hummmmm.... well, it all went to pieces when they closed the Uglydoll Forum, so many years ago ...even the Queen popped in for tea occasionally but alas, no more... P.S. Their SF store did have some nice toys at one time. I'm still kicking myself for not adopting the very last Taxali Monkey, they had in their display case
The press release i read said they closing the current location but are planning to relocate. So i see this as a rent issue? Flagship stores for brands arent money makers imo, more marketing or advertising. My friend works at the LA store and its been rumored they might close cuz they do 0 business
Let's face it... The hey-day of K R is over. They invited a bunch of legitimate artists to make toys, then decided to take profits and quantity over quality, and just kept pooping out more cheap toys. There are only so many Rabbitythings you can have before you realize "hey, these suckers are all exactly the same but just painted differently... this bunny looks like a bat, why don't I just buy a bat toy by the original artist instead?" ...cough, sorry, got ahead of myself there. The thing is, the real money is spent by collectors. You know, people who love and appreciate their toys for their quality, originality, and artistry, not kids who use their allowance to buy another blind box from their favorite TV show. Oh, and slapping eyes and a smile on a piece of food doesn't make it a designer toy, it makes it kitschy thing you'd find in a pre-teen girl's room along with the usual boatload of cutesy stuffies. /endrant
I'm not trying to give you a hard time but have to ask: What does that specifically have to do with KR? Having multiples of figures in different colorways/editions is par for the course in many (if not most) avenues of collecting.
That's what I was thinking as well. But back on why KR stores are closing. Its just not possible nowadays to financially back known artists vinyl toy projects as they did in the past. Its just not the same playing field anymore. The economy, collectors being more selective in their buying habits, and Chinese factory minimum order requirements put a kibosh on all the fun. KR and other manufacturers simply can't move those kinds of runs anymore. That's what makes Jp sofubi fantastic.
Oh, I understand that... but the fact that most of the artists involved in making Rabbitythings do their own work as well is kind of odd. I mean, they're ALL rabbits, with some being painted up as different animals or even people. Not to mention that there about probably 1000 different Rabbitythings in production. (Okay, an exaggeration I'm sure, but you get the point.) I think it just does the artists a disservice, because they are true artists that make their own sculpts... but then their characters and styles are slapped onto a bunny and mass-marketed. Maybe I just don't like bunnies.
Wow...so it's not just the rent in NYC. Is KRSF next? http://blog.kidrobot.com/a-kidrobot-announcement/
KRLA also will be closing on May 30th, kinda sad cuz in a way that's how it all began for me. http://blog.kidrobot.com/a-kidrobot-announcement/
