Philippines' CD-R King, a famous tech retail company that offered almost all kinds of gadgets, seemingly left the public eye during the height of the 2020 COVID pandemic. Still, sources have found one of its last branches in Robinson's Magnolia.
The kids of the 1990s will recall CD-R King as the place to get cheap recordable media, like CD-Rs. In the 2000s and the first part of the 2010s, CD-R King underwent more development and started selling various goods, such as their own Segway bike, a mechanical keyboard, a tiny drone, and an action camera.
(Photo : Onur Binay from Unsplash)
Robinson's Magnolia currently houses one of the CD-R King store's final known locations in the Philippines. The store's recognizable yellow walls and the original CD-R King signage are in front of the door.
When CD-R King stores were busiest, their walls were crammed with merchandise, including both brand-name and house-produced goods. These days, the CD-R King in Robinsons Magnolia has a more limited selection of goods, including keyboards, tempered glass screen protectors, and phone cases.
The store still carries DVD-R discs and a few USB-C accessories. However, the HP-branded DVD-R discs are expensive, at Php 100 a piece.
Sources state that, in addition to being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, one potential cause of CD-R King's losing popularity could be the excessive number of items that CD-R King provided.
In the past, their stores sold mini-refrigerators, rice cookers, and solar panels. There is also a quality issue because their items typically do not last long. Regarding the quality of their products, CD-R King was the joke of jokes, even with its seven-day warranty.
While CD-R King's branch is one of this year's unexpected comebacks in the Philippines, the United States also saw a comeback from one of its retail giants, this time in the toy industry.
Toys "R" Us Comeback
Known for its nostalgic appeal, OpenAI's Sora, a state-of-the-art text-to-video technology, is helping Toys "R" Us, a beloved brand, make a digital resurgence.
The revitalized brand, which is now under the management of WHP Global, revealed a new brand film created by AI. This is a unique application of technology in the branding space.
Though its training data sources are still unknown, OpenAI's Sora won praise earlier this year for its generative AI-produced lifelike videos.
WHP Global is improving toy departments in stores and exploring the potential for larger-scale retail formats. WHP Global licenses the Toys "R" Us name to retailers, including Macy's.
The relationship with Sora promises a resurrection that may bring back memories for many, even though the current Macy's offerings are restricted to narrow toy aisles reminiscent of the former toy shop giant's huge warehouses.
