00:00Toys R Us is opening 120 new stores, but back in 2018, it closed every US store and laid off
00:0633,000 people. Here's what's happening. In 2005, three investment firms bought Toys R Us for $6.6
00:13billion, mostly with borrowed money, and put that debt on the company. Its 2017 bankruptcy filing
00:19says it was soon paying $400 million a year just to service $5 billion of debt, which made it a
00:25lot
00:25harder to compete with Amazon and Walmart. So in 2018, the lenders pulled the plug and liquidated
00:31all 735 US stores. But when the name went up for auction, they canceled it and kept all the branding,
00:37including Jeffrey the giraffe. Why? Because the name never stopped making money. WHP Global said Toys
00:43R Us and Babies R Us were still doing over $2 billion a year through nearly 900 stores and websites
00:49outside the US. So in 2021, WHP bought the brand. They now license out the name
00:55and Go Retail Group, a pop-up operator runs the stores. On September 17th, Toys R Us said it'll
01:01reach 160 standalone stores by the holidays, up from 40 and shops inside 451 Macy's locations.
01:08But BizNow reports 120 stores are seasonal pop-ups like Spirit Halloween. The brand told Forbes that
01:14some past seasonal stores did well enough to stay open, but won't say how many of these will.
01:19So be honest, if a Toys R Us opens near you, are you shopping there or staying online?
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