Zayre's Atari sales circular from 1982

[williamc]

I just picked this up and couldn't like it more.  A sales circular for Zayre that have would shown in up mailboxes before Christmas (1982, I believe).  There were no Zayre's stores in my area growing up, but this brings back a lot of memories of looking through old Kmart ads and daydreaming about buying all the games they advertised.  I'm probably going to frame this and hang it up in my game room.

 

The other side advertises three Entex handhelds (identified as board games for some reason) and other electronic games like Comp IV and Electronic Detective.

 

I uploaded full-size scans of the whole Atari side and the electronic games portion of the back.  Links below if anyone wants them (warning: really big files).

• Scan of Atari side
• Scan of Electronic/handhelds ad

 

 

[7800Knight]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I remember TV commercials for Zayre's with the tagline "Get a good look at Zayre's".  I also like these older retro circulars and catalogs.  Sears, Kmart, Zayre's...they've gone the way of the dodo.  While I have nothing against Walmart and Target, I really liked those other department stores.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Those three Entex games (Turtles, Defender, and Invaders) are, in fact, board games. Got 'em sitting in my closet right now.

 

Turtles is pretty fun. The other two are generally a pass for playability and are solely for collecting.

[4ever2600]

I used to love Zayres.   It's where I bought one of my favorite video games growing up.  See AA avatar.... haaaaa good times...

[+GoldLeader]

I've never head of Zayre's...Looking it up,  it was an Eastern thing...None around here.   Awesome ad though!

[Leonard Smith]

My family shopped at Zayre's
I remember the ads and the distinctive font used in the ads and store signage.  
Here on the east coast, most of the Zayre's were converted into Ames Dept stores, and they also went out of business shortly thereafter.

[williamc]

1 hour ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

Those three Entex games (Turtles, Defender, and Invaders) are, in fact, board games. Got 'em sitting in my closet right now.

 

Turtles is pretty fun. The other two are generally a pass for playability and are solely for collecting.

Oh interesting, I didn't realize these arcade titles got board game adaptations.  I knew of several others --  I have Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Zaxxon -- but not these.

 

Might have to track down Turtles... the Odyssey2 version was one of my favorites growing up and I love the original arcade as well.

[7800Knight]

Speak of the devil...I found that commercial!

 

 

Granted these are back-to-school products being pitched in the commercial but like other department stores of the era, they had video games!

[MrMaddog]

Zayre was a 'big' store here in Wilkes-Barre PA, in fact it's the same Zayre during the infamous Cabbabge Patch Kid Riot of '83.

 

Most of the Atari games I got were either from KayBee Toys or a local place called General Radio, but I remember my mom buying a portable color TV that I used to hook my 2600 and CoCo to.  I had that same TV for about a decade until I replaced it with a Commodore video monitor I got at a thrift store.

 

[+save2600]

20 hours ago, GoldLeader said:

I've never head of Zayre's...Looking it up,  it was an Eastern thing...None around here.   Awesome ad though!

Zayre (and then Ames) was also in the Midwest. We had one in Waukegan, IL for the longest time. Bought some of our Atari games there, and can remember a large kick-ass cardboard display or two near the aisles that housed the games. Nabbed games like Dragonfire, Cosmic Ark and Riddle of the Sphinx. For some reason, only these Imagic games spring to mind, but I'm sure there were others. 

[+GoldLeader]

13 minutes ago, save2600 said:

Zayre (and then Ames) was also in the Midwest. We had one in Waukegan, IL for the longest time. Bought some of our Atari games there, and can remember a large kick-ass cardboard display or two near the aisles that housed the games. Nabbed games like Dragonfire, Cosmic Ark and Riddle of the Sphinx. For some reason, only these Imagic games spring to mind, but I'm sure there were others. 

 

Nice!  When I think of Waukegan, IL,  I think of going to Marriot's Great America in the 80's when A) it was called that,  and B) they had that triple claw Ferris Wheel thing like in Bevery Hills Cop ???  (Whichever sequel had that)...

[+Stephen]

Wow - that's a store name I've not heard in a LOOOONG time.

[Keatah]

Dudes! I remember going to Marriot's Great America. And before they renamed it The Demon (and prior to adding the two Schwarzkopf loops, they called it The Turn of The Century. The coaster that is..

 

And while it was no longer 1976, the park seemed to have a patriotic flair about it.

[+frankodragon]

I used to go to Zayre when looking for a Lionel train set in Brown Deer, Wisconsin.  I kind of remember the electronics area with the Atari but at that time, I was more interested in getting that train.   Zayre used to be in this plaza.  Kohl's has been there ever since, though. 

 

 

[+save2600]

On 8/1/2022 at 4:28 PM, GoldLeader said:

Nice!  When I think of Waukegan, IL,  I think of going to Marriot's Great America in the 80's when A) it was called that,  and B) they had that triple claw Ferris Wheel thing like in Bevery Hills Cop ???  (Whichever sequel had that)...

According to Wikipedia... The Sky Whirl or Triple Wheel.

[+save2600]

Just thought of another fun Zayre memory... in a music cut-out bin, I spied Herbie Hancock's 'Headhunters' on cassette tape. Being familiar with and 'loved' Future Shock, thought why not? Cool cover, et al, and was only a buck or two. Got it home, popped it into my large Chrome/Metal/Dolby B tape capable Panasonic boom box (thing sounded awesome) with detachable speakers and, ummm... what the hell is this? Looked a little closer, 1973... oh, okay. 10yrs earlier than Future Shock, yeah... that kinda/maybe might explain it. haha  From there, went on to discover more and more of his albums. And love MOST all of them! Turns out Future Shock (as much as I dig it, even to this day) was the outlier or "goofiest" album in his catalog.  ?

[ave1]

This is the commercial I remember:  

 

[jhd]

 

While neither Zayre nor Ames had a presence in Canada, I remember shopping in these stores in New England in the mid-1980s. 

 

I did not have an Atari 2600 at this point, so I was not paying very much attention to video games. I dimly recall buying clothes there. 

 

 

[+Cafeman]

I recall commercials and seeing Zayer stores but I dont recall ever going in one, here in west / central PA. I remember going in  a few Ames stores however, but not for game related stuff.   Around here in the  80s, there were more Sears, JC Penney, Montgomery Wards, Kmart, and Hills stores. And a Gee Bee store that I loved, they had multiple kiosks and systems hooked up and a big toy section, and a lobby with fun coin-ops. 

[Leonard Smith]

I do recall the Zayre's in our town had a very small and cluttered games section (complete with a small sales counter).  
Seemed like it had tons of Atari games of all types up for grabs, and then later on the NES just added to it.  

Definitely remember this with great fondness as I loved going in there and grabbing Atari games off the shelves and checkin out the boxes and artwork.  

 

In comparison, the K Mart nearby had all their Atari games locked behind glass.  The only stuff you could physically touch were some of the deep discount games and some 3rd party accessories, namely Gemini joysticks and Recoton accessories.  The selection was smaller, but seemed better organized.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Leonard Smith

[polyex]

Looking at this old stuff reminds me of how much thinner people were back in the 70’s

[Keatah]

40 minutes ago, polyex said:

how much thinner people were back in the 70’s

They were. Today we're all fat and lazy. Even the FAA is requiring airlines to review seat pitches because people are fatter.

 

I remember just after the golden age of air transport passed, coach seats were still 38-40 inches wide. Now they are 28 inches and likely pose a safety issue if rapid evacuation is required.

[7800Knight]

Courtesy of its Wikipedia entry (found here - Zayre - Wikipedia)  -

 

Zayre (/zɛər/) was a chain of discount stores that operated in the eastern half of the United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters was in Framingham, Massachusetts. In October 1988, Zayre's parent company, Zayre Corp., sold the stores to the competing Ames Department Stores, Inc. chain, and in June 1989, Zayre Corp. merged with one of its subsidiaries, The TJX Companies, parent company of T.J. Maxx. A number of stores retained the Zayre name until 1990, by which time all stores were either closed or converted into Ames stores.(The TJX Companies, which also owns Marshalls, HomeGoods, and Sierra, is still in operation as of 2022.)

 

 

Read the page for more details.  It's hard to believe Zayre's was once the fifth largest retailer in the USA.  It went under as did other discount department stores due to debt or changes in customer shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

[digdugnate]

We had a Zayres at our local mall (back then, it was called Sher-Den Mall).  I remember seeing Shamus on display

[7800Knight]

I'm hoping shopping malls don't go the way of Zayre's either.

 

Ever since the 2008 recession, shopping malls have seen a sharp decline here in the USA.  No new malls were built for a long time (I don't know if any have been built recently), many malls started dying or even became dead and more people are shopping online now.  COVID didn't help either.  Plus we have another recession coming; when it goes full blast, it will be as bad as the 2008 recession and maybe worse.  That won't help malls either.