Bratz doll CEO makes final attempt to save Toys ‘R’ Us
Investor group launches crowdfunding campaign in effort to save beloved store
Toys “R” Us is starting its goingout- of-business sales today, but that hasn’t stopped toy executive Isaac Larian and other investors from a last-ditch crowdfunding effort to save the retail toy giant, which is closing or selling all of its U.S. stores.
Larian, CEO of California-based toy and entertainment company MGA Entertainment Inc., which introduced the world to the Bratz doll, and other investors have pledged more than $200 million via crowdfunding site GoFundMe. Their goal is to raise a total of $1 billion by May 28 to acquire “all or some Toys “R” Us assets through the bankruptcy process.”
Perks promised for donating to the campaign range from #SaveToysRUs bumper stickers to store naming rights, for the top-tier givers. The campaign warns that there is “no guarantee” that any offer to purchase Toys “R” Us will be made or accepted, so contributors are donating at their own risk, but donations will be returned if they are not used to “achieve the purchase of Toys “R” Usin some form.”
Saving Toys “R” Us would be a huge benefit to Larian’s MGA Entertainment, which, according to reports, sells almost 20 percent of its products through the toy retail chain. But the crowdfunding campaign has resonated with fans of the brand, it seems. On Thursday, about 20 hours after the campaign launched, more than 400 people had contributed to the GoFundMe account.
Many left comments with hopeful words about saving the corporation, including some employees who noted they would love to be able to keep their jobs at Toys “R” Us, and parents who wanted their kids to be able to grow up as “Toys ‘R’ Us kids,” as the company has marketed itself. Others
were nostalgic for their own time spent at Toys “R” Us.
“I hope you get your funds,” wrote one person on the campaign page. “This store was so much a part of my childhood!”
Others, however, pointed out the irony of “donating” to amassive toy corporation via a crowdfunding platform that is often used for charitable contributions. One comment denounced the move to seek donations without offering a share in the company and instead suggested Toys “R” Us become an employee- owned cooperative.
Last week’s announcement that Toys “R” Us would be shuttering its U. S. stores comes as the company has struggled under debt and against competition from other retailers. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in September, when it seemed it might be able to reorganize its debt while it renovated stores and operations. But the company later revealed it would close all 800 of its U.S. stores.
The closure has evoked a wistfulness from familieswho grew up with Toys “R” Us, which started when Charles Lazarus took over what was his father’s bicycle business in the 1940s. On Thursday, Lazarus died at the age of 94.
“Will there still be toys available to purchase at Walmart, Amazon, Ebay etc? Sure,” wrote one visitor to the GoFundMe page. “Will children still be able to get that ‘I just walked into the most magical place… a store filled with nothing but TOYS’ feeling at those places? Never.”
Much of the nostalgia comes from a population that once knew Toys “R” Us as a store unique in its seemingly endless assortment of toys, said David Weiss, a partner at retail consulting firm McMillan Doolittle. But that novelty has faded with the rise of other retailers, like Walmart and Target, which have large collections of toys that kids are exposed to every time they come in with their families.
Even if the campaign to save Toys “R” Us did not already face the hurdles of raising capital and gaining approval by a bankruptcy judge, Weiss and others agree that the nostalgia of the “Toys ‘R’ Us kids” generation is likely not enough to save it.
“If the new pledge of dollars comes with a new business model, then good move. But if it continues with business as usual, then I would suggest the innovators of these toys are investing in fool’s gold,” said Jim Fosina, head of marketing agency Fosina Marketing Group. “Toy purchase behavior has changed and it’s no longer about coming to Toys “R” Us, but rather getting toys to them.”