Posted on 09/16/2017 3:18:41 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Toys 'R' Us is working to put together a loan to fund its operations in a potential bankruptcy filing that could come before the holiday sales season, according to people familiar with the matter.
The toy merchant's move underscores the deep distress rippling through retailers of all sizes as consumers increasingly shop online at sellers such as Amazon.com Inc or go to discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc . A spokeswoman for Toys 'R' Us did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The people could not be identified because the bankruptcy plans are not yet public.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the company was considering filing for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia.
There have been more than a dozen significant retail bankruptcies this year, but none for retailers as big as Toys 'R' Us, which has about $5 billion in debt and more than 1,600 stores worldwide.
A loan of several hundred million dollars as part of any possible bankruptcy filing would reassure the chain's vendors it could pay them for the loads of stuffed animals, action figures and dolls it needs to stock its shelves for the holiday season, the people said.
Part of the retailer's current financial woes stem from vendors demanding tighter repayment terms over fears that Toys 'R' Us may file for bankruptcy, the people added. The tighter terms have added to the Wayne, New Jersey-based company's cash crunch, they said.
Toys 'R' Us tapped restructuring attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, CNBC reported this month. The retailer had already said it was working with an investment bank to assess options for about $400 million in debt that comes due next year.
(Excerpt) Read more at fortune.com ...
When we first got married my lovely wife worked at a Toys R Us, just as the Cabbage Patch Dolls came out. They needed some of Clarkstown, NY’S finest at the store to maintain order, it was that nuts over those stupid things. And when they released the Black Cabbage Patch Dolls, the sh!t really hit the fan. And it was WHITES fighting each over them. Our Black friends thought it was hilarious.
Baby Bust 2? 3?
My 4 year old will be crushed. I think she is a platinum card holder there.
Toys we Rn’t
Another victim of online retailers. I have a hard time believing brick stores will stay in business much longer for toys or books.
I liked the Melon Patch Kids - they’re abandoned.
but you have to keep the unit cost under $5.
I was a child of the 80s, and when Child World went out of business, it felt like my childhood had ended. Toys R Us sucked in comparison.
“Last year we took a bath on those Chubby Tubby tub toys....”
Ah yes!!!
Watch my sandwich. If that dress had pockets, it would look like a pool table!
If you want to look thin, you hang around with fat people.
Call me sometime when you have no class
;)
Working for the company in 1997 during their “objective 2000” remodel was an education in watching crappy management, mismanagement, and raging personalities.
One manager for the remodel ran his pwn schedule sheet, put people on said schedule without telling them, then shrieked at them in the middle of the store in front of customers.
Can’t say that I’m broken up over this news.
Ah capitalism... Compete and thrive, or die.
Ah, nature.
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