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Good morning,

After 70 years, Geoffrey the Giraffe  may be looking for another gig

Toys ‘R Us announced this week it will file in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for a wind-down of operations for the company that had made the giraffe its well-known mascot.

The Dover location had already been slated to close. The Christiana store could be next.

One ray of hope is that 200 top-performing stores with its  Canadian operations could emerge in a deal with “certain interested parties,” according to a Toys ‘R Us release. It is not out of the question that the Christiana store might be one of the 200 on the list.

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International operations remain a question mark for a company. Overseas stores were not part of the recent wind-down announcement.

The North Jersey-based company had a long run and seemed to reach its zenith with the opening of a flagship store in Times Square in the early 2000s.

We walked through the store a couple of times and it was quite a place. The massive store closed in 2016, an apparent victim of high real estate costs in Manhattan.

But other factors were at work. The company’s suburban stores and overall retail strategy were looking a little tired.

Worse yet,  Amazon was making a run at some of its most profitable toys. Walmart and Target also did plenty of damage by temporarily expanding their holiday toy shelf space.

Meanwhile, upscale toy retailer FAO Schwartz, after closing its flagship store in New York City, plans to reopen in Rockefeller Center and expand to China.

FAO Schwartz reported its strategy of putting “stores within stores” with branded toys during the holiday period has been a success.

Who knows? Perhaps with Geoffrey out of the way, FAO Schwartz might find a way to  become the Tiffany of Toys.

Have a great weekend. Our newsletter returns on Monday. – Doug and Sharon Rainey

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