Utopia Talk / Politics / RIP Toys R. Us

Aeros Member	Wed Mar 14 20:48:29 Yet one more victim of Mitt Romney's Bain Capital Group, in another failed Leverage buyout. http://www...e-liquidation-paper/426292002/ Toys R Us tells workers it will liquidate and sell or close all stores Toys R Us told employees Wednesday that it is planning to sell or close all of its U.S. stores, and that it will file liquidation papers this evening in advance of a court hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The company confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that Chief Executive Dave Brandon had shared the news with employees in a conference call. A spokeswoman for Toys R Us told The Record that Brandon told employees it was a sad day and that customers and others would be sad to see the brand disappear. The decision to liquidate the company might not be the final chapter if a buyer surfaces who wants to buy some of the stores and operate them as an ongoing business. Many in the toy business believe there is room for a smaller version of Toys R Us. Reports that Toys R Us was heading for a complete liquidation of its U.S. operations have been circulating for the past two weeks, with major news outlets citing sources familiar with the negotiations to keep the retailer alive. In January Toys R Us announced plans to close up to 182 of its U.S. stores, including 11 in New Jersey. It began going-out-of-business sales at those stores in February. In the weeks that followed that announcement, reports from sources about the retailers situation got progressively worse, with insiders saying that vendors were not being paid and that employees were worried the company couldn't met its payroll. Toys R Us, a nostalgic favorite even as many shoppers moved to Amazon and huge chains like Walmart, plans to close up to 182 stores, or about 20 percent of its U.S. locations. (Jan. 24) AP For most of its 70-year history, Toys R Us was the company that put other toy chains out of business. It outlasted KB Toys, Zany Brainy and Noodle Kidoodle. It bought, and later sold, FAO Schwarz. But it rested on its laurels for too long, missing the sea change that Amazon was bringing to the retail industry, and ultimately it was felled by many of the same problems plaguing other traditional retail chains - too many stores, too large and outdated for the digital age - coupled with the more singular problem of a mountain of debt that it struggled to pay back. Toys R Us shuttered dozens of stores as it attempted to deal with close to $5 billion in debt that resulted from a leveraged buyout in 2005. That buyout, by private equity investors Bain Capital and KKR, and real estate trust Vornado, saddled Toys with crushing interest payments amounting to $400 million a year, just as the economy was entering its worst downturn since the Great Depression. It was a steep fall for the retailer that grew out of a children’s furniture store founded in 1948 by returning World War II vet Charles Lazarus. In 1957 Lazarus began opening toy superstores just as television was taking off, driving demand for TV-advertised hits like Slinkys and Barbie dolls. Toys R Us became a powerhouse, the dominant big box toy store. But it began to falter as retailers like Walmart and Target began to move more aggressively onto its turf, offering toys, typically at lower prices to woo shoppers who might then fill their carts with their other, higher priced products. Bain, KKR, and the executives put in place to turn Toys around after its buyout believed it would be relatively simple to get the retailer in good enough shape to launch a stock offering within three years and reap a healthy return on their investment. They expected they could cut costs and boost sales with more efficient management and better marketing. But Toys R Us was plagued by missteps. It even tried to partner with Amazon to run its fledgling e-commerce operations at one point, but that move proved to be a tactical mistake, helping to turn Amazon into a fierce competitor who had learned how to beat Toys R Us by undercutting it on price. Even in years when Toys R Us performed well, its massive debt payments ate into its profits and kept the company from investing in much need improvements to its stores and its online operations. When the company filed for bankruptcy protection in September, CEO Dave Brandon promised the bankruptcy court, in his opening declaration, that “Toys R Us is here to stay.” Receiving debtor-in-possession financing and bankruptcy protection, Brandon said, would “ensure the iconic Toys R Us brand stays viable for years to come.” Toy manufacturers and lenders who were owed money by Toys R Us, and landlords who owned store properties, backed nearly every request Toys R Us made as it attempted to reorganize. Toy makers said they needed the retailer to survive because it provided the best year-round showcase for all of their products, unlike retailers that only stock up on toys in November and December and shrink their toy aisles after the holidays. Toys R Us also attempted to turn itself into a top destination once again, creating play areas where kids could try out toys, and introducing augmented reality to make its products come alive on screens as well as shelves. But that wasn't enough to stop its slide. Last month, Toys R Us began going-out-of-business sales at roughly 170 U.S. stores, and said it could close other stores as part of its restructuring. While it's been years since Toys R Us was considered the only game in town when it came to picking up a birthday gift or treat, the disappearance of the one-time icon is one that many shoppers are likely to feel.
Dukhat Member	Wed Mar 14 21:12:53 Ah republicans. The kings of using short term financial tricks to get rich while someone else foots the bill.
Aeros Member	Wed Mar 14 22:24:01 Indeed, its truly sad the opposition party can offer no compelling reason for people to support them beyond "muh oppression" and "muh economic self interest". Man does not live on bread alone.
Hot Rod Revved Up	Wed Mar 14 23:03:13 Over in Hawaii, they caught a woman who would drop her youngster off at Toys R Us, about 5 or 6, I forget how old and then she would go shopping. The kid had a ball until they caught them.
Y2A Member	Wed Mar 14 23:08:18 Are the babies r us gone too?
smart dude Member	Thu Mar 15 00:24:55 Again, Rod is doing that geriatric thing where he looks at the title, sees a word or phrase, and delivers some kind of free-association thing that has nothing to do with the actual topic.
Dukhat Member	Thu Mar 15 01:53:53 Yes aeros. Blame the dems for not having magical fucking solutions for everything. Life is messy and imperfect but if we use the best information available, listen to credible experts, and have a little understanding for one another; at least we'll generally do better than we did before. The dems taking over congress won't be some kind of magical happyland. But at least there'll be adults doing their best to make people's lives better instead of fucking corporate pigs at the trough under Trump.
Aeros Member	Thu Mar 15 02:04:13 Oh but the Democrats do have magic solutions for everything. Unfortunately their voodoo requires a blood sacrifice from White Males. And I am unwilling to offer my own blood so I am stuck. See, the problem with identity politics is that it hardens tribal divisions. I wish the Democrats well in their quest to elevate women and minorities to the stated detriment of my own race and gender. I am not however required to be an active participant in my own annihilation. I disagree with the Republicans on every issue. But as a white male, I have no home in the democratic party. So it's a purely tribal vote at this point.
Aeros Member	Thu Mar 15 02:09:21 I don't want happy land. I don't want responsibility. I want fire. My disgust at the direction of western society is so total I may very well vote for Trump in 2020. Not because I agree with him but because I know his re-election will hasten the civil war due to his manifest incompetence.
Aeros Member	Thu Mar 15 02:15:33 And I do this because I want my daughter to grow up in a world where she is not taught having children is a curse and her white skin is an original sin This is the trajectory of the Left Dukhat. It turns it's own followers against it and pushes a murderous form of identitarianism that will end in fire. I am preparing for it and you should too.
delude Member	Thu Mar 15 04:45:43 "Again, Rod is doing that geriatric thing where he looks at the title, sees a word or phrase, and delivers some kind of free-association thing that has nothing to do with the actual topic. " Indeed. "But at least there'll be adults doing their best to make people's lives better instead of fucking corporate pigs at the trough under Trump. " What a fantasy land you live in. "But as a white male, I have no home in the democratic party. So it's a purely tribal vote at this point....My disgust at the direction of western society is so total I may very well vote for Trump in 2020. Not because I agree with him but because I know his re-election will hasten the civil war due to his manifest incompetence....And I do this because I want my daughter to grow up in a world where she is not taught having children is a curse and her white skin is an original sin " Oh ffs... could you be any more of a tragedy king/drama queen?
Hot Rod Revved Up	Thu Mar 15 08:03:04 smert dud - Again, Rod is doing that geriatric thing where he looks at the title, sees a word or phrase, and delivers some kind of free-association thing that has nothing to do with the actual topic. If you don't want to learn don't read my posts.
hood Member	Thu Mar 15 08:16:54 "Oh ffs... could you be any more of a tragedy king/drama queen?" I'm like 75% sure that when Aeros was having his butthole problems, the solution ended up giving him a vagina to bleed out of so his asshole would stop bleeding. It's also hard to take seriously anyone who suffers the Incorrect Capitalization disease in an attempt to make it seem more important or legit. Tldr: Aeros need not fear the Democrats, they will embrace his bleeding vagina openly.
hood Member	Thu Mar 15 08:25:36 Aeros is a dem gold mine. A post-op transgender woman who embraces her role in bitching about the unfairness of society.
Rugian Member	Thu Mar 15 09:14:09 How the fuck does a Toys R Us thread turn into a debate about identity politics and featuring accusations that Aeros is a tranny?
hood Member	Thu Mar 15 09:22:49 Aeros' obsession brought us here. And bitch please. Accusations?
Dukhat Member	Thu Mar 15 09:57:41 Aeros' nihilism is cute. It just shows people that spend too much time online get drawn into retarded alt-right narratives of white genocide. Go live life and maybe you won't believe such ridiculous things.
Rugian Member	Thu Mar 15 10:02:34 Such ridiculous things as "Democrats will try to make our lives better?"
obaminated Member	Thu Mar 15 10:50:38 " It just shows people that spend too much time online get drawn into retarded alt-right narratives of white genocide. " Cuckhat put no points in his self reflection skill.
murder Member	Thu Mar 15 21:32:53 "Yet one more victim of Mitt Romney's Bain Capital Group, in another failed Leverage buyout." Toss iHeartMedia on the pile. They just filed for Chapter 11 and are drowning in debt.
Dukhat Member	Fri Mar 16 01:49:56 It's a digital age preceding a huge AI/robotic age. This is unlike any economic movement before. Industrialization created more demand and new types of jobs. AI and streamlined distribution networks increase the productivity of the creative class who manage the entire thing; but not for anyone else. We need universal basic income sooner rather than later but that will never happen with the GOP the way it is. Just like we needed sensible climate-change-mitigation policies decades ago but instead Reagan talked about a positive version of America that never ever existed. The city on the hill was really always just a racist, backwards oligarchy that happened to have lots of oil, coal, and iron ore when those resources mattered the most as strategic resources.
obaminated Member	Fri Mar 16 02:08:43 "The city on the hill was really always just a racist, backwards oligarchy that happened to have lots of oil, coal, and iron ore when those resources mattered the most as strategic resources." Look, we all know Rugian has a horrible habit of sending your wife "wyd?" messaging late at night, but please, don't take out all your frustrations on America at large. We have had a history of being one of the most prosperous, upward moving and stable countries in the history of man.
Rugian Member	Fri Mar 16 15:57:02 MT, "City on a hill" refers specifically to Boston. This Dukhat fellow really does have it out for me.
murder Member	Fri Mar 16 18:20:22 I thought it referred to Reagan's old speech.
Dukhat Member	Fri Mar 16 22:08:03 "City on a hill" was reagan's common refrain in his speeches. Just goes to show rugian is some dumb rractionary instead of true conservative.
Hot Rod Revved Up	Fri Mar 16 22:50:55 I don't know about Boston, but it was first used in The Sermon on the Mount.
	show deleted posts

Your Name:
Your Password:
Your Message: