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Target has outraged parents by not only cancelling their annual Greatest Toy Sale on Earth but also the popular long-term Christmas layby.

Angry mums and dads from across the country have taken to social media to vent their frustration at the retail giant, accusing them of being a Christmas Grinch, reports The Daily Mail.

The mid-year toy sales at the big three stores – Kmart, Big W and Target – has been an annual fixture for parents who search for the best deals and often layby ready for Christmas.

But with their bottom line struggling, Target has been forced to follow Kmart’s successful move away from a major toy event to instead focus on a ‘price guarantee’.

Quite a number of  shoppers have shared their opinions on Target’s Facebook page.

Daily Mail Australia approached Target for a comment, with a spokesperson saying that a ‘toy event’ would be going ahead but confirming that their focus would be on ‘everyday low prices’.

‘I can confirm the Target Toy event will take place in July and we will be offering our standard 8 week layby for customers,’ Therese Waters, Targets head of public affairs said.

‘We have made the decision at Target to no longer offer our six month layby, following customer feedback and a change in sales trends.

‘We have worked hard to offer our customers the best possible prices all year round – so customers don’t have to wait for a sale to know they are getting great value.’

Does this impact your usual Christmas stock up?

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  • I think now with afterpay people are not so worried about layby

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  • Some people also put large things on laybuy because they have nowhere to the big items. I realise at some stores storage is at a premium. In Adelaide Target has a warehouse they could store the items in. I would imagine they have them in other states too. Kmart and BigW have good toy sales too. BigW had a really good one this year. I have only used laybuy once – I had no room to hide a large parcel and knew I would be able to collect it in early Oct. for a birthday present.

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  • A business needs to do what it must unfortunately to stay alive, but the longer lay by was definitely great for struggling families.

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  • It doesn’t affect me anymore, It obviously makes more financial sense for them to change things, otherwise they would have kept the toy sale. It’s always about the bottom line. They maybe didn’t handle it so well, but it’s not the end of the world. KMart stopped theirs years ago, and maybe Big W will eventually follow.

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  • This is so very disappointing Target.

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  • It doesnt bother me either as I will prob still layby the eight weeks. It just means I have to be a little bit more creative with the hiding spots til xmas.

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  • There is a big shake up in Target …they are losing out to KMart big time and being a sister company they have to change many many things, this may be one.

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  • At least they are still going ahead with sales.

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  • I’ve heard. This must be so disappointing for a lot of people.
    Personally I won’t be affected though.

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  • i never used them anyway because my kids are so fussy, what they want changes every few months, so I would rather not have a heap of things at christmas that they dont actually want – I’m happy with the pricing Target already offer.

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  • 6mths is a very long time for a business to have to store products for customers and then slowly have them paid off especially if they are put on layby at a very reduced price.
    You can still laybuy your toys but do them in lumps buys 4 things over 8 weeks and then laybuy another 4, etc.

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  • i stopped 3 years ago doing a toy sale in june/july. the reason for this was that by the time xmas is almost near, my children have a different idea of toys they want, sometimes they have changed from being a favourite spiderman to the biggest favourite train set. I have returned half of the toys back because my son has changed what he wanted. even though the sale is a great sale, it just didn’t work for me. I always ask how long the laybys goes for so I can budget wither I can do it or not…I stil haven’t set up a xmas account as I know this would be so much handy. we don’t have a credit card, my husband says, if you cant afford it, don’t buy it, if you really want it, put the money aside and see if its there next time. if its not, maybe its not meant to be.
    I know for the fact kmart stopped doing theirs as people did not pay for their laybys and not taking their laybys seriously. kmart lost thousands of dollars. if you really want something, its just a matter of thinking do you really want it or need it?

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  • Why are the words “down, down, closing down” ringing in my head?

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  • 6 month laybys for Christmas is a life saver when you have kids. It takes the hastle of trying to find a place to hide the toys and paying them off makes it easier.
    Hopefully Target will change it back soon.

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  • I live in Cooma NSW & I am aware that Targets decision with Toy Sale & layby changes will affect families on low incomes. In Cooma, Target is only ‘big boys’ store that sells toys. There are a large number of families on low incomes who aren’t able to travel to Bega or ACT to toy shop. This decision will give a local owned small toy business scope to offer bigger range of toys & lay by options.

    Reply

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