Jerry Storch, a former chief executive officer of Toys “R” Us, has been working with multiple investors on a plan to reboot the retailer in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported. Credit Suisse Group AG is being used as a financial adviser and the discussions have included Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., the investment firm that acquired the Canadian unit of Toys “R” Us. Any comeback is considered to face long odds because of how far the former market giant has fallen. There are also concerns that it might be too late to restart the business in time for this Christmas-shopping season. Read more.
In related news, Toys "R" Us will close its final 200 US stores on Friday, CNNMoney.com reported. Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy in September in hopes of turning around, but bad Christmas sales left it on life support. The chain had 735 US stores when it announced plans to go out of business in March. The 70-year old company will continue in some other countries, such as Canada. In addition to competition from big box retailers and online rivals like Amazon, Toys "R" Us was left in a difficult financial position by an unsustainable debt load that came in the wake of being taken private by KKR, Bain Capital and real estate firm Vornado in 2005. Read more.
