Toys R' Us Rebranding As Geoffrey's Toy Box And Making A Return This Year

[JayC]

Following our story from the other week, it looks like Toys R' Us is already poised for making a comeback here in the United States after just a few months ago declaring bankruptcy and closing all their US based stores.

So last week we told you how it looked as if the Toys R' Us controlling lenders had a last minute change of heart about selling off all the companies assets because they decided the brand was just two valuable. Toys R' Us that same day released a press release posted on their website which says the following:

"Geoffrey, LLC, Toys “R” Us, Inc.’s intellectual property holding company subsidiary, announced today that it is moving forward with a plan for substantially all of its assets to be acquired by a group of investors led by Geoffrey, LLC’s existing secured lenders.

The announcement was made following a five month marketing effort by Boston-based Consensus, an investment bank retained to market the assets of Geoffrey, LLC, that resulted in several formal and informal proposals to acquire the intellectual property assets. After considering such proposals, it was determined that the proposal from the existing term lenders was meaningfully higher and better than any other global bid or the sum of the bids received on individual assets. The transition of the business to its new owners is pending approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court and all major creditor constituencies are supportive. Geoffrey, LLC thanks all parties that participated in discussions with the company over the prior months, particularly those that submitted proposals, for their thoughtful and diligent engagement.

Geoffrey, LLC, as reorganized, will control a portfolio of intellectual property that includes trademarks, ecommerce assets and data associated with the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us businesses in the United States and all over the world, including a portfolio of over 20 well-known toy and baby brands such as Imaginarium, Koala Baby, Fastlane and Journey Girls. The reorganized company will own rights to the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands in all markets globally, with the exception of Canada. It will also become the licensor of the brands to the company’s existing network of franchisees operating in countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and in South Africa.

In addition to continuing to service these markets, the new owners are actively working with potential partners to develop ideas for new Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores in the United States and abroad that could bring back these iconic brands in a new and re-imagined way. Geoffrey LLC will provide additional detail on this front as it becomes available."

Then last Tuesday Geoffrey, the Toys R' Us mascot turned up at the annual Dallas Toy Preview show wearing a cape that said back from vacation. and having a booth called Geoffrey's Toy Box.

 

 

On the Dallas Toy Preview show website there is a description for Geoffrey's Toy Box which reads as follows:

"Wholesale toy distributor and intellectual property company whose focus is on popular play patterns across trusted brands that kids and parents love. Geoffrey's Toy Box is a fully outfitted organization with design, development and global sourcing expertise. Portfolio includes popular brands like Journey Girls, Fastlane, True Heroes, You & Me, Imaginarium, Just like Home and more!"

According to various reports, the Geoffrey's Toy Box reps who were at the Dallas show were telling folks their plan is to open consumer locations under the Toy Box name by November of this year. These will be done as a “shop-within-a-shop” concept where at least initially they will partner with prominent midwest retailers. In other words they will be opening for the holidays mini-locations within larger retail stores that might not normally sell much in the way of toys.

This is similar to the plan we heard several months ago when Toys R' Us first went under about KB Toys trying to make a return. Other retailers such as Party City have also indicated they will be implementing similar strategies as they all try and fill the toy store void during this busy holiday shopping season. The big question however remains, will any of them really be able to compete against the likes of Walmart and Amazon?

 

[Hordak Rules]

All these different major retailers closing over the years, I'm shocked to see TRU manage to do this.  Hopefully it works. 

[JKenbok]

Hey still, it’s something though. I’ll take it. It’s sure to turn into something more. Okay maybe not sure...but I hope! Lol. My childhood has been swept away with the fall of toys r us. 

[MIKE]

I hope it works. I drove by two locations in the twin cities last weekend and it was a bummer to see them empty. Good luck on the come back.

[lastchanceharvey]

I don’t care it they call it the back of uncle Geoffrey’s van  just bring back tru! 

[jinxthejiv23]

Im hope that this is a success in the long run.

[Falls22]

Interesting to see how this plays out. 

[Batbishop]

I will be amazed if this works out.

[GojiBill]

Hopefully they learn from this and take this opportunity to build back from the ground up. Hate to lose them again, I want my kids to grow up with a big toy store, it’s a fun experience.

[Anthony1987]

I'm 50/50 on feeling towards this happy and a bit upset, Happy because we get TRU Back but . . . it's like the First Born Son of TRU Lol. Upset cuz tbh idk if many of you ppl went through this, from the beginning of 2017 to when they closed in 2018 There was a huge lack in Collectibles i never got the TRU Only A-Force or Father Daughter Two-Pack Ant-Man & Stinger, Many Of the figures were Swapped for Fake a** Family Dollar, Dollar Dream and Dollar Tree figures, Most of the Pops we're damaged so badly i felt like it should've be for free or half-price. however tru still wanted full price on it! Hopefully everything can go back to normal so we hunter, collectors and whatever you do with Collectibles ( no weird stuff ) can get our fairly priced figures with playing mid scalper prices and being forced to go online at Scalp Stop! 

[Hogun]

Oh great and I was just starting to enjoy Toys R Us being a Canadian exclusive.

[rychehitman]

I really hope this fails miserably.  Very unethical business practice.

[withfirewithin]

Not a fan of these crook tactics. Can’t say I won’t buy Geoffrey products if they sell them though.

[Supersmashfox64]

Here's hoping this works! I love toy stores!!!!

[fleskz]

so, basically they only changed the name to sell the assets to themselves, while also getting bankruptcy protection? Is this legal?