Toys 'R' Us could go out of business next week. That's bad news for Lego and Barbie

cnn ^ | march 9, 2018 | Paul R. La Monica

[Morgana]

Bankrupt retailer Toys "R" Us may shut all its US stores as soon as next week, according to several reports.

That's terrible news for the two biggest publicly traded toy companies. Investors are clearly preparing for the worst. Shares of Hasbro (HAS) fell 3.5% Friday morning while Mattel (MAT) plunged 7%.

Smaller toy company Jakks Pacific (JAKK) fell nearly 5% too. Canada's Spin Master, which owns the popular line of Hatchimals toys, was down about 3% as well on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

And everything isn't awesome for privately held European toy giant Lego either. The plastic bricks maker reported its first sales drop in thirteen years earlier this week. So these are clearly tough times for the toy makers.

[beergarden]

Good news for Amazon.

[lodi90]

Toys R Us was saddled with debt by Romney’s Bain Capital. It will be interesting to see if that link is made.

[Trillian]

They were way over-priced even twenty years ago. I can’t believe they lasted this long.

[Doogle]

.....and all the illegals working at a large distribution warehouse (toys)within 3 miles of my location....(yippee)

[ASOC]

Gee - and who arranged for all that debt that put the company out of business????

Private equity firms KKR & Co LP (KKR.N) and

**Bain Capital LP**,

together with real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust (VNO.N), took Toys “R” Us private in 2005. On Monday, they all supported the company filing for bankruptcy, according to the sources.

[toast]

Kids hardly play with anything other than video games.

[fishtank]

Thanks Mitt.

[WayneS]

“Toys ‘R Us Bankrupt - Barbie and Cabbage Patch Kids Hit Hardest”

[Morgana]

I agree! Even to the end K Mart was cheaper

[Morgana]

Oh no...Barbie and Lego still sells!

[DannyTN]

I always thought their selection was weak.

[Reno89519]

How is this bad news for Lego?! Did they run out of kids to sell to? Who shops at Toys-R-Us anyway? We buy plenty of Legos via Amazon! Too many.

[Not A Snowbird]

I hate going in there, it’s always a madhouse and I can’t ever find what I want. Easier to shop online.

[Obadiah]

Bingo. That’s the real reason they got in trouble. They had an enormous debt load that ultimately pushed them off the edge. At one time this was a fairly well run and profitable company and then they took on boatloads of debt.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Ironically enough, today is Barbie’s 58th. Birthday.

And unlike Nancy Pelosi, plastic boobs actually look GOOD on her!

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Used to buy them by the pound on Ebay.

[wally_bert]

I have a lego BMW motorcycle kit still in the box from 2 Christmases ago.

I’ll get to it one day.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

They can thank Planned Parenthood and all the other abortionists. Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if Toys-R-Us had contributed to those outfits.
 

[shanover]

The Box store is dead. Maybe this could be good news for local (small)business but without a doubt a company like Amazon is the real winner. China will keep on ticking.