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Toys “R” Us seems to be winding down its businesses in the U.S., but it seems another toy store could be returning to take its place.
Toys “R” Us closing down will affect around 33,000 jobs, but it seems some of those affected will be able to find employment at the returning KB Toys. Ellia Kassoff, founder of Strategic Marks LLC, posted a message on Linkedin that they are bringing back KB Toys, and in a way that can survive the modern market (via DC Collectors).
“Many of you asked what our plans will be and all we can say is we spent the last six months working on a sustainable model to bring back KB Toys the right way so it can compete with not only the big box stores but on-line as well,” Kassoff said.
KB Toys started in 1922, and closed its doors in 2009. Strategic Marks has analyzed why KB Toys originally went under, and their new plan hopes to correct those issues and make the company a viable retailer in the current marketplace, which has been a learning curve for every brick and mortar retailer out there.
“Our umbrella, Strategic Marks, LLC has been very successful bringing back many of the most popular products and companies over the last ten years because we follow a very strict formula; [To bring back the experiences we loved as a child, just as you remembered them]. With #kbtoys, we had to also look at why they initially failed and to make sure those mistakes won’t be made again. Now, with the closing of @toysrus so quickly, it caught us by surprise so we’ve spent the last few days with our team and leaders in the toy industry to figure out how we can accelerate the project so our stores can open for the Christmas season. When we’re ready, you will be very happy with the results and we believe our model can withstand both on-line as well as other large competitors for not only the short-term but long-term as well.”
Even better news is that they’ve accelerated the plan to get some stores launched by Christmas of this year, helping to generate some open positions for some of the affected employees of the Toys “R” Us closures.
“We understand, we’re not just restarting the only other well-known and loved toy chain in the US but hope to find places for those 33,000 jobs which will be lost as Toys R Us closes. Please be patient with us over the next few weeks as we get this rolling. In the meantime, if you are a toy manufacturer, supplier, distributor, industry head or ex-KB Toys executive, we want to talk to you. Please email us at: info@kbtoysstore.com or call us at: 949-424-1664. If you are a current #toysrus employee, please feel free to send us your resume to resumes@kbtoysstore.com but also know that we won’t get back to you for a little while as we finalize our concept.”
It remains to be seen what this new KB Toys will do that will assure viability in this online age, something that has definitely affected other retailers. Hopefully, they’ve got it figured out, and stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
