Short Trips to Toys R' Us Noarlunga

02.19.2017 – It’s been a while since I have visited “Toys R’ us,” which I frequently pass by in Manila. Unlike in South Australia it takes A LOT of commuting for the reason having a car is a necessity than taking a Bus or a Train outside of the city. There are Toys R’ us stores like three branches, but unlike living in the Central Business District of Makati in South Australia they are located in remote places that if you don’t know how to get around of going to one you’ll be lost. But it was a rare opportunity to have gone to one due to a personal event happened nearby.

I’ve been to Noarlunga several times but most of the road trip is to the beach, but never got to go around the commercial district where the stores are located. Yesterday was indeed an opportunity to explore the nearby areas while a family relative was invited to private engagement nearby.

Unlike the Toys R’ us stores in the Philippines where mostly located indoors this one at Noarlunga has its own building, which I’ve seen in my previous travel though not getting the chance to see what it has to offer. For those who have not gotten the idea how far is a TRU store in South Australia? You should get an idea travelling to Makati to a little but father than Bicutan or a few kilometres from Alabang that’s how far it is from where I’m located.





Going the Distance

The challenging part is taking a bus will be daunting and at the same time a little bit stressful so if you’re residing to a foreign country like Australia you’re required to own a car, which is something of the opposite in the Philippines knowing how is difficult to own one let alone how much you’ll spend on petrol and the parking fees.

Here parking is free but not all the time only selected places, but mostly in downtown that’s where you pay for it. But a place like a Noarlunga parking is free and commuting to a far place like this is suicide unless it’s a life or death that you want to go to this TRU store for something you wanted to buy that’s not available elsewhere.





A Wonderful Place

The TRU store in Noarlunga can be compared to the flagship store in Robinsons Galleria. It’s really that big and has high shelves compared to the Philippine counterpart. Aside from the toy store itself it shares a section with Babies R’ us, which mostly house all the infant and baby stuff.

There are some toys that they have that are not available at the usual Big W, Kmart, Target or even Myer stores. It’s definitely a place to make an effort to go if you need that particular toy not available in the stores previously mentioned. The beauty of the reason why you need to make the trip to this TRU as I personally discovered not all stores have the same stock or toys that’s available and this also includes pricing.





Not a Perfect Store

Like any toy store it’s not perfect but you’ll be happy to know TRU is like a place to explore and would you believe this branch has only have 6 to 8 staff working as to compare to the one in Robinsons Galleria that employs thirty people. Yes, this store at Noarlunga only have six to eight people and they’re not going to annoy you or make a sales pitch as also giving me an idea how culture is different here.

Unlike in the Philippines where there are helpful staff employed there are also the ones that really going to annoy you, and you can understand why they need to make a sale for their quota. But in this store they don’t they’ll help you when you really need it as people here have been more of a ‘self-service’ kind of individuals.



Worth Making the Visit

The comparison between in Noarlunga and Robinsons Galleria doesn’t really end there. But it gives you the insight how different both stores are, which makes you wonder why working in Australia if employed in a company like TRU is getting a better salary compared to the one in the Philippines that is another story to share.

But entirely the trip to this TRU was worth it taking home something, which I’ll be posting a toy review soon. For now I could say this place gives you a little bit of privacy when you’re shopping and have more time to look for something interesting. Plus this is the only store aside from Big W and Myser to carry Matchbox diescast cars and other exclusive ones that I don’t see even in the Philippine market.

It’s Way More Amazing Toy Store

The photos taken during the trip from yesterday is not enough to give you an insight how time consuming just merely looking around the store itself. We where at TRU for more than an hour aside from the toys being sold the people that make it to the entrance are somewhat interesting too.

But that’s another story to share for now it was definitely a place to visit again, but that would take a while unless I have a car of my own to drive my way there. There are two more TRU stores here, but this one really reminds me of the Robinsons Galleria store only cosier with less annoyance that employ customer centric and respectful staff.