Toys ‘R’ Us said to prepare for shutdown of U.S. operations

[E. Q. Taft]

Toys “R” Us Inc. is making preparations for a liquidation of its bankrupt U.S. operations after so far failing to find a buyer or reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders, according to people familiar with the matter.

While the situation is still fluid, a shutdown of the U.S. division has become increasingly likely in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Hopes are fading that a buyer will emerge to keep some of the business operating, or that lenders will agree on terms of a debt restructuring, the people said.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/busines...n-12740954.php

[Aud 1]

I'm really glad we used those gift cards a few weeks ago.

[E. Q. Taft]

...although there might be some good buys at the likely liquidation sales.

I haven't set foot in one in years, but it still makes me a bit sad.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

The first time I went into a Toys R Us (probably about 1993 or so), it was great. All sorts of games and toys I thought were interesting, for both adults and children.

By the time my younger nephew was old enough to choose his own birthday present (about 2000), I thought the store had a poor selection with way too much emphasis on toys for the very young (at the expense of toys for older children). There was basically nothing there for an adult.

All of which is to say--this doesn't surprise me in the least.

Seaboe

[GenYus234]

Also, at least as far as Lego goes, their prices are consistently about 10% higher than any other store, e or b&m.

[E. Q. Taft]

I do recall that it always seemed to me that they were giving too much room to clothes and baby goods as opposed to toys, but then I was generally shopping for myself rather than for kids.

But it's not really a problem with their sales, which are not really bad as far as the retail industry goes (all physical stores are struggling somewhat with electronic competition). As the article notes, they were the subject of a leveraged buyout some years back that left them with an enormous debt load. They've managed to keep up, barely, with their payments, but that's meant delaying any new investment, updating their technology, etc., and it finally became unsustainable.

Still possible that they could pull a last-minute miracle, either with a new buyer or some help from creditors, but it's looking unlikely.

We can't even really blame Donald Trump, though that won't stop me from doing so anyway.

[Richard W]

It's odd to me because Toys R Us opened a new branch in the shopping centre in High Wycombe (in the unit that used to be HMV - that's moved to a smaller one rather than closing altogether), very recently. I'm not sure exactly when but I've only noticed it this year.

I did read that in the UK they're trying to keep branches open, and that their smaller in-town shops are doing better than the big out-of-town warehouses, but it seems strange to open a new shop just before going bankrupt. Maybe they were trying a new strategy, or maybe they're hoping to keep this part going.

[RichardM]

I did the electrical design of several of their stories several years ago.

[erwins]

We did a lot of online shopping that probably would have partly been their business when the ertwins were born (and before). But, we also did buy certain things there because even 2-day Amazon Mom shipping is too long to wait for some things. And some things you want to pick out in person.

I seems surprising that there would be no purchaser, but if there's a lot of debt, maybe that explains it.

[Richard W]

Apparently our local one opened back in September - I must have been unobservant before Christmas! Anyway, it's closing as well:

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news...after_opening/

It lasted longer than that ice-cream parlour, anyway. I hope this isn't the start of another round of high street closures - we've lost some big ones in the last few years.

[Sooeygun]

https://www.thestar.com/business/201...struggles.html
In Canada, they were making money.

[Dasla]

Back in the mid '90's, when they opened one here, I went for a group interview to work in one. I had just graduated Uni and was looking for work, any work. Anyway I didn't get the job, not the type I would say, not a kid person.

I had an appointment out near the shopping centre were it is today and had my lunch near the store. While some part of my brain was telling me Toys "R" Us had come up recently I was mainly thing about that interview 20 plus years ago. Which is how my brain works these days. So what I am saying is that I didn't go in and see how it is going here or what sort of products they have. So I can't add to the conversation. But there was a Babies "R" Us next to it, or in it. Like I said, I didn't go in.

[E. Q. Taft]

California toy mogul Isaac Larian is leading an effort to save more than half of the 735 domestic Toys R Us Inc. stores that would close under the bankrupt retailer's plan to liquidate.

Larian is majority owner and chief executive of MGA Entertainment Inc., a privately held toy maker based in Van Nuys whose lineup includes Bratz dolls and Little Tikes products, for which Toys R Us is a major customer.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...322-story.html

[Crius of CoH]

Charles Lazarus, founder of Toys R Us, dies at age 94, 1 week after the announcement of the closing of his company.

Story: http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/22/news...ary/index.html

[Richard W]

If there's a buyout that saves it, I expect he'll come back to life.

[lord_feldon]

Originally Posted by Sooeygun

https://www.thestar.com/business/201...struggles.html
In Canada, they were making money.

The stores in the USA were making money too. It just wasn't enough money to pay off the debt of the investors who bought it in 2005.

Toys 'R' Us consistently saw net losses from 2014 to 2017. But in the last three years, those net losses were considerably smaller than its debt payments. In fact, the losses were shrinking amidst a general boom in toy industry sales; by 2017, its losses were all the way down to $36 million.

In other words, if Bain, KKR, and Vornado had never come along, Toys 'R' Us wouldn't be doing stellar, but it probably could've muddled through. As recently as last year, the company still accounted for 20 percent of all U.S. toy sales.

[Alarm]

Originally Posted by Richard W

If there's a buyout that saves it, I expect he'll come back to life.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/toys...dies-1.4588691

Charles P. Lazarus, the World War II veteran who founded Toys "R" Us six decades ago and transformed it into an iconic piece of Americana, died Thursday at age 94, a week after the chain announced it was going out of business in the U.S.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one to make that connection with the last name.

[E. Q. Taft]

The same Toys "R" Us lenders that have been taking heat for their role in the decision to liquidate the company in March are now working on bringing the brand back to life, according to new court documents.

In a bankruptcy court filing Monday, the funds that now control Toys "R" Us said they'd canceled a plan to auction off the company's intellectual property. Instead, they are seeking to reorganize the assets into a new company that will maintain the current license agreements and can invest in new retail operating businesses.

https://www.nola.com/business/index....d_revival.html