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[Nicklab]

There is limited information about the pending re-launch of KB Toys.  THIS ARTICLE touches on some of the limited details about KB's return.


Party City, though, will not be the only the only toy stores popping up for the holiday season. Strategic Marks, a firm that buys and repurposes defunct brands, owns the KB name and plans to open 1,000 pop-up KB Toys stores this holiday season. They are starting later — Black Friday — and, like Toy City, they will run through the holiday season.

“My assumption is that there’s about half a billion dollars’ worth of toys that have been produced for Toys R Us with no place to go,” said Strategic Marks President Ellia Kassoff, according to CNNMoney. “That’s a big, big void that we’re hoping to fill up.”

Kassoff noted that he is already in talks with Hasbro, Mattel and around 200 smaller toy suppliers that are looking for new brick-and-mortar retailers. The time is right for KB, he noted, since the fall of Toys R Us means there are a lot of toy manufacturers “that have inventory but no place to sell it.” Of course, “no place” is a bit of an understatement, since KB won’t be the only pop-up game in town — or the only fallen Toys R Us rival making a comeback this holiday season.

[Nicklab]

Check out this toy industry presentation with the CEO of Strategic Marks, who is reviving KB Toys.  He discussed their strategy about reviving the brand and plans for KB Toys store locations that may be opening later this year.  The projection for this holiday season is for there to be 300 - 400 pop-up stores.  KB will re-evaluate following the holiday season, and work on establishing more permanent locations for the chain.

[Nicklab]

Check out more on the return of KB Toys in THIS CNN MONEY ARTICLE:

KB Toys aims to fill the void of Toys 'R' Us
by Aaron Smith   @AaronSmithCNN
March 20, 2018: 3:09 PM ET

Toys "R" Us is on its way out, but KB Toys is set to pop back up.

Strategic Marks, a company that buys and revitalizes defunct brands, owns the KB name and plans to open 1,000 pop-up KB Toys stores for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.

"My assumption is that there's about half a billion dollars worth of toys that have been produced for Toys "R" Us with no place to go," said Strategic Marks president Ellia Kassoff, in a phone interview with CNNMoney. "That's a big, big void that we're hoping to fill up."

Toys "R" Us, which filed for bankruptcy last year, announced last week that it expects to close all of its 735 stores in the US. Those closures will put 31,000 people out of work and hurt toy manufacturers that depended on the national retailer for distribution.

Kassoff said he's been in contact with Hasbro Inc. (HAS) and Mattel, Inc. (MAT) and up to 200 smaller toy suppliers who are looking for new brick and mortar retailers. He said he plans to take advantage of a glut of toy manufacturers that have inventory but no place to sell it.

To get a quick retail footprint, Kassoff said he's working with companies that specialize in holiday and pop-up retail, like Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc., Go! Retail Group, and Party City Holdco Inc. (PRTY)

"We're talking to companies that know how to do it, they have a methodology, they're used to rolling out stuff real quickly," he said.

After the holiday shopping season ends, Kassoff will decide which of the pop-up stores will become permanent, based on their performance and whether he can negotiate a lease.

Strategic Marks bought the KB Toys brand from Bain Capital in 2016. Bain is the same company that bought Toys "R" Us and took it private in 2006, a process that left the toy company saddled with $5.3 billion in debt, from which it never recovered.

[Nicklab]

Check out THIS ARTICLE POSTED AT THE FORCE GUIDE. 

Ellia Kassoff, founder of Strategic Marks, LLC posted on LinkedIn they are planning to bring back KB Toys retail stores.

Here is what he had to say:
“As some of you know, our company Strategic Marks, LLC has acquired KB-Toys about a year ago. During that period, we had been working on several models to resurrect the “Great American Toy Store” and to make sure the stores can compete with Toys R Us, other brick and mortar stores as well as on-line retail. Well, with the demise of Toys R Us, this week, we have now accelerated our business plan and hope to have our stores up and running before Christmas. We’re in discussions with many of the toy manufactures, as we try to find out the best way to support them and the 20% loss of the US toy market due to the Toys R Us liquidation. We believe we will have the infrastructure in-place and [hopefully] save the toy industry. If you are a toy manufacturer or distributor, or ex KB Toys associate, please feel free to call us at: 949-424-1664 or email us at: info@kbtoysstore.com. We hope to help the industry and at the same time resurrect the amazing KB Toys name!”


Clearly, the situation with Toys R Us's bankruptcy and liquidation has presented a vacuum in the toy retail sector, and the owners of the KB Toys brand see this as an opportunity to resurrect that chain.