Bargain hunters cash in on Toys R Us liquidation sales

The iconic toy giant announced last week that it will shut or sell all of its 735 United States stores.

Leshonda Walker, who’s 41 and a sales associate at a Toys R Us store in Emeryville, California, heard the news secondhand. “I don’t think it’s that credible though, for two reasons – it’s an enormous amount of money to raise and even with a lot of goodwill from ordinary members of the public it’s going to be a real tall order to get that kind of money”, said Neil Saunders, retail analyst at GlobalData Retial, based in New York City.

When he opened his first toys-specific store, in Rockville, Md., he went with a shorter name, Toys “R” Us, to maximize the size of letters on the highway sign.

Most ToysRUs stores open at 10 am local time. It now expects sales to likely start Friday.

Shoppers at the Toys R Us at the Northshore Mall emerged Thursday toting free, bright green balloons featuring Geoffrey, the toy store’s iconic smiling giraffe mascot. He soon took over the space entirely, turning the storefront into a shop named Children’s Bargain Town, flipping the Rs in reverse in a whimsical touch that he later used for the signage of Toys R Us.

For many people, Toys R Us became known as a place unique in its wide array of toys, said David Weiss, a partner at retail consulting firm McMillanDoolittle. Without that debt, TRU could’ve invested in their stores to modernize them and bring the “magic” back to the experience, all while maintaining fair pricing. Lazarus died this week at the age of 94.

CNBC reports that some REITs will try to redevelop Toys “R” Us locations into smaller units once the liquidation process has been finalized. On March 14, Toys “R” Us announced the would be closing all of their almost 800 USA stores and leaving around 33,000 people without jobs.

The nostalgia hasn’t been enough to save the company. Last week, the company said it would close or sell all its stores after operating from months under bankruptcy protection. But now that the company has filed to liquidate its US operations, the end is near.

The retail chain said last week it plans to seel or close all 800 of its US stores., which would affect up to 33,000 employees.

You can no longer use your loyalty rewards coupons toward purchases. While it hasn’t added much extra shelf space in stores for toys, Target has been focusing on exclusive and licensed products as well as growing areas such as board games.

“I still gotta take care of my children”, Walker said. “There’s a magic many of us experienced walking the aisles of a Toys “R” Us, a magic I want my grandchild to experience”. The Joshi’s bought a bicycle for their son Friday.