Kay Bee Toys, a staple of malls across the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, has announced that it is rising from the dead.
As young and old alike deal with the concept of a world without Toys R' Us, Startegic Marks, LLC, the current owners of the Kay Bee Toys brand, has announced that the toy retailer is preparing to return. There is currently no time frame for how soon it will happen, but that it is definitely in the works and it wants to open the doors before the 2018 holiday shopping season.
In a very brief post released on LinkedIn on Monday, Ellia Kassoff, the founder of the parent company, said that it has spent the past six months examining how to revive the brand not only as a brick and mortar retailer, but also to compete online.
The original version of Kay Bee Toys closed its doors in 2009 and numbered 431 locations prior to that, predominately in mall locations. "With #kbtoys, we had to also look at why they initially failed and to make sure those mistakes won't be made again," said Kassoff. He went on to add, "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."
The company is currently looking to accept resumes from original Kay Bee executives as well as any current Toys R' Us employees. It is also asking for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and anyone else associated with the toy industry to contact them.
Can Kay Bee Toys possibly make a comeback? Only time will tell, but with the imminent closure of the majority of the Toys R' Us chain, this seems like the optimal time for it to try.
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