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Toys R Us No Longer Accepting Online Orders, Linking to goodbuytoysrus.com

Date: Friday, March 30th 2018 3:39am CDT
Categories: Toy News, Company News, Store News
Posted by: Qwan | Credit(s): Toys R Us

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After a long, upsetting demise over the last few months, the next sad chapter in Toys R Us' decline has come to pass. Visitors attending Toys R Us' website will now notice a pop-up window upon loading the site, noting that the website has been "shut down for any further purchases" - essentially, the company is no longer accepting online orders via their website. Following that is a link to a sparse new website, goodbuytoysrus.com, through which users can simply track the liquidation sales at all brick-and-mortar locations around the US with a store locator.

The wording of their message does seem to imply that Toys R Us will still honor any unfulfilled online orders placed before this occurred, but there's been no official word one way or the other on that front, so further confirmation is awaited there.

Check below for the full message, and let us know if this will affect your plans at all by posting in the Energon Pub. As always, stay tuned for more Transformers news, however disappointing it may be.

Thanks for visiting. We have shut down the website for any purchases but our brick and mortar stores are open and holding going out of business sales. You can keep up-to-date with this historic sale at http://goodbuytoysrus.com. We encourage you to stop by your local store and take full advantage of the deep discounts and deals available. Thank you for your business and support over the years.

Sincerely, Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us teams.

Toys R Us Canada to be Auctioned Off April 18th, 2018

Date: Wednesday, March 28th 2018 12:06pm CDT
Category: Company News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): prime clerk

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Views: 16,414

Toys R Us has now submitted a document stipulating the details for the purchase of the Canadian equity sale.

What is interesting here is that only the Canadian equity is specified, meaning that there is interest for Toysrus Canada, enough to have an auction, but no indication of the 200 US stores Toys that were part of previously discussed deals. The auction itself will take place on the 18th of April at the offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, located at: 601 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022. And the 23rd, just a few days after, is when the successful bidder will be revealed.

There are a few more dates and conditions involved so if you want to own this lucrative toy store in a country with minimal competition for that sector, here are the dates you need to be aware of:

Bid Deadline: April 13, 2018, at 5:00 p.m., prevailing Eastern Time, is the deadline by which all bids must be actually received pursuant to the Bidding Procedures.

Notice of Qualified Bid Deadline: April 16, 2018, at 5:00 p.m., prevailing Eastern Time, is the date and time by which the Debtors shall notify the Bidders whether their Bids are Qualified Bids.

Auction: April 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., prevailing Eastern Time, is the date and time by which the Auction, if needed, will be held at the offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, located at: 601 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022. The Debtors shall send written notice of the date, time, and place of the Auction to the Qualified Bidders no later than two business days before such Auction, and file a notice of the date, time, and place of the Auction with the Court no later than two business days before such Auction and post such notice on the Debtors’ Case Website: http://www.cases.primeclerk.com/toysrus. The Debtors may modify, in consultation with the Consultation Parties, the date, time, and place of the Auction by providing written notice to Qualified Bidders and filing a notice with the Court so long as such notice is no later than two days before the Auction.

Sale Objection Deadline: if applicable, April 16, 2018,3 at 5:00 p.m., prevailing Eastern Time, is the deadline to object to the Canadian Equity Sale.

Hearing to Designate Successful Bidder: if applicable, April 23, 2018, as the date by which the Debtors shall seek approval from this Court to designate the Successful Bidders in connection with the Canadian Equity Sale.

Toys R Us Liquidation Sale starts Friday March 23rd at most stores

Date: Friday, March 23rd 2018 11:12am CDT
Categories: Toy News, Company News, Store News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): TRU

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Views: 16,107

For those of you who have been waiting on various Toys R Us stores to start their liquidation sales, though we only have confirmation for the US side of the chain (in the UK, for example, other conditions apply), Friday March 23rd, 2018 seems to the be the day in which most US stores should start their liquidation sales, according to sources such as USA Today. The liquidation process was supposed to begin yesterday, but was apparently delayed while waiting for the bankruptcy judge to sign off on the process.

USA Today wrote:Toys R Us delayed the start of liquidation sales until Friday because attorneys were still preparing a court filing for the bankruptcy judge to sign off on the process, said a person with knowledge of the company’s deliberations.

While most Toys R Us locations in the US begin their nationwide liquidation process, a movement has also begun by MGA Entertainment (makers of Bratz, L.O.L. dolls, and Little Tykes) to save Toys R Us, which we reported on in the past 24 hours. More information about the #savetoysrus movement can be found right here on Seibertron.com.

Transformers News: Toys R Us Liquidation Sale starts Friday March 23rd at most stores #savetoysurs

Several of our fellow Transformers fans have reported that some Toys R Us locations have not started their liquidation process yet. Adam Myrick and Action Figure Insider have both shared that specific stores still have signs posted that the liquidation process has not yet begun. If you are traveling a long distance to get to a Toys R Store, we advise that you call ahead to verify whether or not that specific store has started their liquidation sales process yet.

Let us know what your local store is up to, what deals you were able to find, and how this is affecting the area in which you usually shop and look for Transformers, or if you're directly involved as an employee of the store, by joining the Energon Pub discussion.

Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus

Date: Friday, March 23rd 2018 2:15am CDT
Categories: Toy News, Company News, Store News
Posted by: Bounti76 | Credit(s): L.A. Times

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Views: 18,085

Thanks to site owner Seibertron himself, we've been pointed in the direction of an L.A. Times article detailing an effort to save a majority of Toys R Us stores in the U.S., spearheaded by MGA Entertainment Inc.'s CEO and majority owner, Isaac Larian. MGA Entertainment Inc. is best known for it's line of Bratz dolls, whose entrance into the market dominated by Mattel's Barbie line was once thought foolish, until the line took a good chunk out of Barbies' share of the fashion doll market. The businessman is leading an effort to save over half of Toys R Us locations by pledging US$200 million, and trying to raise the rest of the US$800 million needed through a crowdfunding effort.

"I'm very hopeful" about salvaging hundreds of the stores, Larian said. "I am more than 85% to 90% sure I can get [the buyout] funded."

Saving at least part of Toys R Us' operations not only would benefit Larian's company — which noted it was not financially involved in Larian's effort — but also rival toy makers such as El Segundo-based Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and several smaller toy manufacturers.

"People say that if there is no Toys R Us another retailer will pick up the slack. I don't think so because they don't have the room," Larian said.

Major retailers with large toy departments, such as Walmart and Target, carry about 3,000 fewer items on shelves than Toys R Us stores, said Jim Silver, editor in chief of toy-review site TTPM.com.

Larian is hoping to raise the needed money by May 28th, and if you feel inclined, you can help at the website http://www.savetoysrus.com, or by clicking the image below

What do you think of his effort to save the beleagured toy maker? Let us know below, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest news!

KB Toys to Possibly Make a Return to US

Date: Monday, March 19th 2018 6:54am CDT
Categories: Rumors, Company News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Linkedin

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With the stories about Toys R Us dominating the news cycle for toy collectors and fans, something else seems to have made its appearance, sped up by the closure of the giraffe-shaped retail chain, and a name that North American Transformers fans might recognise: KB Toys.

Fellow Seibertronian Sabrblade pointed us towards an article on The Rock Father detailing the entire deal, but it all starts with Ellia Kassoff of Strategic Brands, LLC, posting on LinkedIn about their plans to resurrect KB Toys, and how the TRU closure has affected all this.

we have now accelerated our business plan and hope to have our stores up and running before Christmas. We're in discussions with many of the toy manufactures, as we try to find out the best way to support them and the 20% loss of the US toy market due to the Toys R Us liquidation.

Additionally, Kassoff later posted another message, highlighting their current priorities in terms of the over 30000 people who are losing their current jobs at Toys R Us, along with any other specialist in the toy industry (manufacturer, distributor, retailer, etc) who may be interested in joining the initiative to, as they put it, 'save the toy industry'.

The action is bold, and as Zahn points out in the article on The Rock Father, there are both good pointers and potential hurdles in the whole deal, including the cause of KB's downfall in the first place being the same as TRU's this time round:

Strategic Marks did indeed file for a trademark on the name "KB Toys" back in 2016. What's interesting here is that the original KB Toys fell victim to the same vultures at Bain Capital, who loaded that company with debt and killed it in the same way that they've destroyed Toys "R" Us. Then, in 2009, Toys "R" Us acquired the KB portfolio of trademarks from Streambank, LLC for just over $2M, taking over the domain names and later using the KB Toys name on a series of budget-priced, house-branded toys and games (they were crap) labeled as K•B Classics. Along the way, KB had many variations of their name, including K•B Toys, K•B Toys Outlet, K•B Toy Works and Kay-Bee Toys. It will be interesting to see if Toys "R" Us still considers any of those to be assets in their liquidation, as I was able to find that KBToys.com, KBToyWorks.com and KBKids.com (which once had a $43M push behind it) are all still owned by Toys "R" Us and pointed to the TRU.com server (although unresponsive)

That said, what do you make of this? Is it a positive update in the Toys r Us debacle? Is it something that might interest you to follow through? Join the conversation in the Energon Pub, and share your thoughts!

Great Deals and Fun to be had at Toysrus Canada for Transformers Toys and More

Date: Friday, March 16th 2018 11:16pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Sightings, Company News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): Toysrus.ca

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Views: 18,359

Toysrus Canada said it would be business as usual with them and that includes the great deals. This week, from March 16 to 22, they have a mix and match sale where you can buy any toy from a variety of brands, including all things Transformers and the second toy you buy would be 50% off. You can combine any toys from different brands. The 50% off would be on the toy of lesser or equal value.

That is not all, oh no, that is not all. This deal is stackable against the current Hasbro coupons which are set to expire March 31st. And these coupons include a Buy 2 Get 1 Free, so buying three Generations $20 deluxes would mean that the first is full price, the second is half priced, and the third is free. Which would mean three deluxe class Transformers for $30 CAD ($22.90 USD). The coupon for 20$ off 50$ would also be stackable with their BOGO deal if that is used instead. So there are a lot of savings to be had by all and this could be the time to buy the wave 1 POTP toys you may have been waiting to get or even the time to buy The Last Knight Cogman, who is showing up at Toysrus stores across the country.

There are also deals this week-end for grandparents, where they get up to an additional 15% off on Saturday the 17th. And come March 24th, there will be a lego themed Easter Egg Hunt across the store with other product demos.

Toys R Us Closure Official Press Release, MGA Entertainment Bids on TRU Canada

Date: Friday, March 16th 2018 4:34am CDT
Category: Company News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Various

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Bringing us up to speed on the latest of the Toys'R'Us troubles, we now have both an official press release from the company, and an email sent to Canadian users of the country's chain of stores, both commenting on two sides of the issue that has been developing rapidly this past couple of weeks.

The press release, in fact, confirms with further detail what we reported in a previous article, about the international repercussions of the closure of all US stores, while also adding that a transition period of 60 days has been set up to develop a strategy that would allow to minimise that impact.

This also seems to be proven by the email shared by Canadian Seibertronian Kanrabat, in which the company confirms plans to maintain all stores open for as long as possible in the future. There are also some additional comments at this time about an alternative solution circulating, with regards to toy company MGA Entertainment directly acquiring the Canadian branches:

A California-based toy company says it is bidding for the Canadian operations of Toys “R” Us Inc., the U.S. industry giant that entered court protection from creditors last September. MGA Entertainment Inc. confirmed in an email Tuesday it has submitted a bid for the Canadian stores.

“Toys “R” Us Canada is a good business,” said MGA CEO Isaac Larian in a brief emailed statement. “They run it efficiently, and have good leadership. At the right price, it makes economical sense.”

The company, which owns brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes and Num Noms, refused in a followup email to give further detail about how much it is bidding or whether it wants to buy the entire chain or parts of it.

A final note about these events, as rightly raised by another Seibertronian member chuckdawg1999: the closure and liquidation means that 33000 workers are losing their job in the US alone. And while the feelings towards the childhood company and memories are at everyone's mind's forefront right now, please also consider the employees who will be working their final shifts right now.

Press release:

WAYNE, N.J., March 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Toys"R"Us, Inc. today announced that it has filed a motion seeking Bankruptcy Court approval to begin the process of conducting an orderly wind-down of its U.S. business and liquidation of inventory in all 735 of the Company's U.S. stores, including stores in Puerto Rico. Toys"R"Us will provide more details about the plans for the liquidation of its U.S. stores and going out of business sales in the near term.

Toys"R"Us also announced that it is pursuing a going concern reorganization and a sale process for its Canadian and international operations in Asia and Central Europe, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Company's international operations in Australia, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain are considering their options in light of this announcement, including potential sale processes in their respective markets. The Company's stores in all these international markets are currently open and serving customers.

In connection with the sale process, the motion the Company filed with the Bankruptcy Court included bidding procedures for the Canadian operations. The Company also disclosed that it is engaged in discussions with certain interested parties for a transaction that could combine up to 200 of the top performing U.S. stores with its Canadian operations. While discussions continue on this potential transaction, Toys"R"Us is seeking court approval to implement the liquidation of inventory in all the U.S. stores, subject to a right to recall any stores included in the proposed Canadian transaction.

The previously announced administration of the UK business continues.

Dave Brandon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am very disappointed with the result, but we no longer have the financial support to continue the Company's U.S. operations. We are therefore implementing an orderly process to shutter our U.S. operations and will pursue going concern sales or reorganizations of certain of our international businesses, while our other international businesses consider their options."

Brandon continued, "There are many people and organizations who have remained in our corner every step along the way. I want to thank our extraordinary team members who helped build Toys"R"Us into a global brand. I also want to express my appreciation for my colleagues on our board who have continued to provide support to sustain the brand and our operations throughout the restructuring process. I would also like to thank our vendors who we owe a great deal of gratitude to for their decades of support. This is a profoundly sad day for us as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served for the past 70 years."

The Company and its advisors are working to minimize the impact of the U.S. liquidation on the Canadian and other international markets. As part of these efforts, the Company is implementing a transition services arrangement for the next 60 days and is developing plans for a potential shared service function to support the international operations going forward.

Additional information regarding the Company's restructuring process can be obtained by calling the Company's Information Hotline, toll-free in the U.S. and Canada at (844) 794-3476, or sending an email to toysrusinfo@PrimeClerk.com. Court filings and other documents related to the court-supervised process in the U.S. are available on a separate website administered by the Company's claims agent, Prime Clerk, at https://cases.primeclerk.com/toysrus.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as principal legal counsel to Toys"R"Us, Alvarez & Marsal is serving as restructuring advisor and Lazard is serving as financial advisor.

TRU Canada email:

March 15, 2018

To our valued Canadian customers,

Toys “R” Us, Inc. announced the difficult decision to seek court approval in its Chapter 11 proceedings to wind-down its business operations in the United States. Our team members in Canada are very saddened to hear of this outcome and we are all keeping our U.S. colleagues in our thoughts during this very difficult time.

In Canada, all 82 stores remain open for business to serve you, our customers, honouring all our policies, warranties, Baby Registry, Gift Cards and RClub loyalty programs without change. We are taking the necessary steps to ensure the iconic Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us brands live on for many generations to come in Canada.

Our team continues to work hard at strengthening our competitive position and making the improvements necessary to ensure that we have the products when, where and how you choose to shop with us. Our Canadian operations are continuing in the normal course and we continue to partner with the trend products you want from the brands that you trust.

For the past 34 years, we have proudly served Canada as the trend authority in toy and baby and we remain the champions of play and trusted advisors helping people become parents.

Thank you for choosing to say “yes” to shop and support Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us Canada! We are proud to continue to welcome you in Canada coast to coast in store and online at http://www.toysrus.ca and http://www.babiesrus.ca for all of your toy and baby needs.

Melanie Teed-Murch, President
Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us Canada

Toys R Us Trying to Sell Canadian and US Operations While Simultaneously Starting Liquidation

Date: Thursday, March 15th 2018 10:43am CDT
Category: Company News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): http://www.wfmj.com

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If anyone ever wanted all the details on the Toysrus bakrutcy court hearing, well today is your lucky day since WFMJ.com got their hands on the 124-page filing in U.S. Bankruptcy court. It states the reasons as to why Toysrus has to start liquidating its stores right away, which incudes "2017 U.S. holiday sales [that] came in well below worst case projections". The sales were 250 Million less than projected.

Employees have been given a 60 day notice to employment termination, which means that they will at least be paid for 60 more days (regardless of whether or not the stores will remain open for 2 more months).

It is unsure if gift cards will be honoured since it is not part of the instructions but it is being urged by state governors.

What is part of instructions though, is the description of a deal Toys R Us is currently in the middle of. While a liquidation must happen, it is simultaneously working on a deal to sell 200 US stores along with their entire Canadian operations (which is a very hot commodity right now) to a some interested parties.

While the US operations are unatractive to investors, the lack of competition in Canada and overal better managed stores, have made those stores very profitable (to the point of having a surplus which went towards repaying debt owed by the US operations) and that has attracted several investors. So Toys R Us might survive afterall, but it would be a smaller company and a predominantly Canadian one. We have included the most important part of the 124 page document below, which illustrates this plan, but you can read the entire file here.

In the face of these extraordinary circumstances, further waivers of covenant
defaults are unobtainable. The B-4 lenders—the primary economic stakeholders with respect to
the U.S. collateral—have determined that the best way to maximize their recoveries is to liquidate
the existing inventory in all of the Debtors’ 735 remaining U.S. stores and begin an orderly
wind-down of the U.S. operations. To be clear, the Debtors are not precluding the prospect of any
going concern option for U.S. stores.

In fact, the Debtors have developed a potentially
value-maximizing transaction that would combine up to 200 of the top-performing U.S. stores
(primarily those operating under the side-by-side format similar to the stores operating in Canada) with a going-concern transaction for their Canadian operations. The Debtors are currently
engaged with certain interested parties, including the B-4 Lenders, regarding this transaction and
are hopeful that such a transaction can develop as part of the sale of their Canadian
operations

But because time is of the essence to mitigate losses and maximize recoveries to U.S.
stakeholders, the Debtors regrettably must move forward with implementing a wind-down while
simultaneously pursuing a going-concern transaction tied to Canadian operations.
Accordingly, by this Motion, the Debtors are taking the prudent and responsible
step of seeking authority to begin an immediate and orderly liquidation of their U.S. business and
to sell the Debtors’ equity interest in the Canadian operations.

In short, there is too much of an interest by investors to close Toys R Us Canada, which will instead be sold. What is unknown now is if the buyer will only buy the Canadian operations or also buy 200 US stores as part of the bundle. If that works out, and Canadian practices are applied to those 200 US stores, what you see below may be found in the US as well one day.

Toys R Us Closing all US Stores, Other Countries Likely Affected [UPDATE]

Date: Wednesday, March 14th 2018 6:35pm CDT
Category: Company News
Posted by: Qwan | Credit(s): CNN Money

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Views: 28,472

[UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal has a quote from Chief Executive David Brandon on the matter of Toys R Us stores in other countries. Brandon says that the company is likely to liquidate in France, Spain, Poland and Australia, and has plans to sell its Canadian, Central European and Asian arms. The only real light in the tunnel here is the prospect of purchase; the company is currently attempting to find a buyer for a 'package' of sorts, comprised of its Canadian branch along with 200 US stores. Other countries' stores may also find themselves saved if a buyer happens to come along - Brandon has said that "all anyone has to do is offer one dollar more” than liquidation firms - but this is still not anywhere near a guarantee that Toys R Us stores are safe anywhere in the world.]

Sad news today, Seibertronians. After months of tension regarding its fate since September last year, Toys R Us has finally made the decision to sell or close all of its US stores, as reported by CNN. This comes not long off the heels of their postponed decision on Monday, but now we know the answer for certain and it's not a heartening one.

Employees have already been notified by the company's CEO, as the Wall Street Journal reports. There is not yet any word on how this will affect Toys R Us' business in Canada and other countries, though with Toys R Us expected to close all UK stores in the coming weeks as well, things aren't looking too good for the brand at large.

From a more Transformers-centric perspective, it's also unclear how this will affect Toys R Us-exclusive figures like the extremely recent Studio Series Thundercracker, and fans' attempts to acquire them. There's a lot of uncertainty going around right now, but with such a huge change as this, it's only to be expected that many things are in flux with no clear direction or solution.

Share your thoughts below in the Energon Pub if you have any perspectives on this issue, and you can be sure that Seibertron.com will be on hand to report on any further developments to this situation and its multitude of loose ends. Until next time Seibertronians, don't take your toys for granted.

All Toys R Us Stores Are Expected to Close Within 6 Weeks in the UK

Date: Wednesday, March 14th 2018 8:57am CDT
Category: Company News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): BBC

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The BBC has just reported that all UK Toys R Us stores are closing. This is due to no buyer willing to purchase this subsidiary. We had reported that it had fallen into administration and now we know officially of the chosen outcome and time frame.

We know the US is getting ready for a liquidation of their own but no official decision has been made yet. You can click here for the latest news on the US and Canadian front.

Here are the key points from the BBC article:

All Toys R Us stores in the UK are expected to close in the next six weeks following the chain's collapse into administration.

The BBC understands that attempts to find a buyer for the US retailer's 100 stores in the UK have failed.

Twenty five stores have either closed in recent days or are due to shut by Thursday.

The collapse will put more than 3,000 people out of work as a dismal period for the retail sector continues.