Toysrus Restructuring Debt with $400 Million Due by the End of this Year
Wednesday, September 6th, 2017 8:38PM CDT
Category: Company NewsPosted by: william-james88 Views: 17,222
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Also, it is important to remember that financial woes are not new for Toysrus and the company has persevered through a leveraged buyout already.
Here are a few chosen lines from the article going into detail for curious fans.
The toy giant is working with attorneys at the firm Kirkland and Ellis to deal with $400 million in debt due by the end of this year, according to a source familiar with the matter. Half of its debt obligation is due this fall, with the remaining $200 million due to be paid back near the end of December.
...
Toys "R" Us has dealt with a heavy debt load since it became a private company in 2005. Its private equity investors, KKR, Bain Capital, and Vornado Realty Trust, initially planned to recoup their investment with a public stock offering within three years, but that plan fell through when the Great Recession hit.
The owners brought in a new chief executive, Dave Brandon, in 2015 to helm a turnaround that could set the company up for either another attempt to go public, or a sale.
...
The toy store chain's long-term debt was $5 billion as of April 29. It had $701 million in liquidity, which included $400 million in committed lines of credit.
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Posted by dragons on September 6th, 2017 @ 9:21pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on September 6th, 2017 @ 9:35pm CDT
dragons wrote:That blows how is it possible they better selection for any toys out there Walmart sucks for toy shopping
They were deep in debt before the buyout, they just cant keep up with it. Not related to toy selection, more like poor investment strategies. The current owners have been interested in reselling the company ever since they bought it.
Posted by shajaki on September 6th, 2017 @ 10:00pm CDT
Posted by WreckerJack on September 6th, 2017 @ 10:01pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on September 6th, 2017 @ 10:19pm CDT
shajaki wrote:This is #$@*ing heartbreaking. For the love of Primus, all Canada has is TRU and Wal-Mart!!!
Depending on how it is all managed and organized, TRU Canada might be independent and still exist even if TRU USA files for bankruptcy. That subcompany could also be bought from the US corporation by investors, like it was done with A&W Canada. That could be a smart move since TRU Canada is far more profitable than TRU USA since we have far fewer competitors, as you said. Amazon.ca pales in comparison to what Amazon.com offers for toys.
Posted by Ultimate Weapon1 on September 6th, 2017 @ 10:31pm CDT
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 6th, 2017 @ 10:54pm CDT
Posted by Hydrargyrus on September 6th, 2017 @ 11:22pm CDT
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 6th, 2017 @ 11:34pm CDT
MagicDeath wrote:GUYS! Even if TRU explodes, toy companies (Hasbro) will still need to put their toys somewhere, and will therefore probably just make Wal-Mart have a better toy selection or something. Hasbro isn't just gonna go: 'Oh, our main outlet is gone. Guess we'll just keep that large percentage of toys at the factory. Or pack up and leave.'
Walmart won't pick it up. They still have wave 1 TR, they're probably dubious of Habsro's judgement since AoE and now TLK are shelfwarming HARD.
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on September 7th, 2017 @ 1:43am CDT
Restructuring basically means getting one's finances in workable order by shuffling assets around, to free up capital needed to pay off a certain debt. It is true that could end up turning into the first step to bankruptcy, but that's just what it is: a first step. No need to panic just yet, but it would be prudent to keep tabs on them, especially when the final due date in December has come and gone. If they're unable to pay off those debts, things will get dicey for sure, but it will not be over until Chapters get flung around, especially Chapter 7.
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 7th, 2017 @ 1:47am CDT
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 7th, 2017 @ 1:48am CDT
Terrsolpix wrote:Going off of what Jelze said, do be sure to support ToyRUs if possible. They're restructuring, and every purchase can only help balance everything. Considering MP-10? Don't get the eBay auction, try to find it in stores. Wanting wave 2 TLK voyagers? Skip Walmart and go to ToysRUs. Found Infernocus but are on the fence? Strike whole you can because there might not be a place to get him come Christmas.
Posted by Cyber Bishop on September 7th, 2017 @ 7:01am CDT
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Some of you seem to think Toys 'R Us going will go belly-up within the next few weeks. It will not in the short run.
Restructuring basically means getting one's finances in workable order by shuffling assets around, to free up capital needed to pay off a certain debt. It is true that could end up turning into the first step to bankruptcy, but that's just what it is: a first step. No need to panic just yet, but it would be prudent to keep tabs on them, especially when the final due date in December has come and gone. If they're unable to pay off those debts, things will get dicey for sure, but it will not be over until Chapters get flung around, especially Chapter 7.
Thank you, no need to panic yet peeps.
Posted by Aimless Misfire on September 7th, 2017 @ 7:18am CDT
Terrsolpix wrote:Going off of what Jelze said, do be sure to support ToyRUs if possible. Considering MP-10? Don't get the eBay auction, try to find it in stores. Wanting wave 2 TLK voyagers? Skip Walmart and go to ToysRUs. Found Infernocus but are on the fence? Strike whole you can because there might not be a place to get him come Christmas.
Do you have any idea how many times I went to Toys R Us & left empty handed because they NEVER have anything worth a damn? 99.99% of the time. And now you think I'm going to support their sorry ass store? I want all the gas money I wasted back.
I'm dying to get that Primus repaint but they're charging $150??? Primus & Trypticon sitting right next to each other both for $150? They're friggin insane! I'm not supporting insanity like that. People don't like being ripped-off & they're basically coming right out & saying "Hi, we're ripping you off. You're totally stupid if you actually pay this price".
Posted by karyuudo on September 7th, 2017 @ 7:46am CDT
There's also the other issue with the shrinking child population out there. Most folks who buy toys into their adulthood started because they did so as a kid. If there's no kids to buy your toys, who's going to be your market?
Posted by Dr. Caelus on September 7th, 2017 @ 8:07am CDT
karyuudo wrote:There's also the other issue with the shrinking child population out there.
I'm not seeing much evidence that's the case. It declined between 2010 and 2011, was then remarkably stable until 2016, and is now projected to grow:
https://www.childstats.gov/americaschil ... s/pop1.asp
Posted by karyuudo on September 7th, 2017 @ 8:33am CDT
Caelus wrote:karyuudo wrote:There's also the other issue with the shrinking child population out there.
I'm not seeing much evidence that's the case. It declined between 2010 and 2011, was then remarkably stable until 2016, and is now projected to grow:
https://www.childstats.gov/americaschil ... s/pop1.asp
Perhaps due to immigration?
Posted by Dr. Caelus on September 7th, 2017 @ 8:42am CDT
karyuudo wrote:Caelus wrote:karyuudo wrote:There's also the other issue with the shrinking child population out there.
I'm not seeing much evidence that's the case. It declined between 2010 and 2011, was then remarkably stable until 2016, and is now projected to grow:
https://www.childstats.gov/americaschil ... s/pop1.asp
Perhaps due to immigration?
Children are children.
Even so, though, while the number of immigrants in the US has increased by about 3.5 million since 2010, their 'share' of the US population has only increased by about 0.6%. (MigrationPolicy.org)
If that's offsetting a declining domestic population, then I'd think it can't be much of a decline.
Posted by DeathReviews on September 7th, 2017 @ 9:05am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on September 7th, 2017 @ 9:16am CDT
Terrsolpix wrote:Going off of what Jelze said, do be sure to support ToyRUs if possible. Considering MP-10? Don't get the eBay auction, try to find it in stores. Wanting wave 2 TLK voyagers? Skip Walmart and go to ToysRUs. Found Infernocus but are on the fence? Strike whole you can because there might not be a place to get him come Christmas.
All these problems TRU is having are at the internal level, with investments that were too late or not paying off. Buying a toy now wont change anything. The company indebted itself greatly at the begining of the new millenia and were then sold to investors who had no clue how to run a retail giant and had only bought it to sell it later at a profit instead of long term growth. It was a short term strategy that didnt pay off and instead indebted them more.
karyuudo wrote:There's also the other issue with the shrinking child population out there. Most folks who buy toys into their adulthood started because they did so as a kid. If there's no kids to buy your toys, who's going to be your market?
Child population has been stable globally for years now. Plus Hasbro keeps reporting record healthy numbers with the low box office yield of The Last Knight not affecting toy sales.
Everything is pointing to there being a problem with TRU themselves and their management, not the toy industry.
karyuudo wrote:Perhaps due to immigration?
Toysrus and Hasbro are both worldwide brands, so immigration is a moot point.
Posted by Kurona on September 7th, 2017 @ 10:15am CDT
So that $16 Deluxe Hot Rod? Yeah, he looks cool, fairly standard price; a fair amount would spring for it or put it on their christmas lists. That $50 Leader Overlord? ... they're more likely to go for an Xbox game. Especially when, despite his popularity in contemporary IDW comics and an 80s anime, there's no current media for kids to see this 'Overlord' character or anyone like him.
Posted by karyuudo on September 7th, 2017 @ 10:22am CDT
william-james88 wrote:Terrsolpix wrote:Going off of what Jelze said, do be sure to support ToyRUs if possible. Considering MP-10? Don't get the eBay auction, try to find it in stores. Wanting wave 2 TLK voyagers? Skip Walmart and go to ToysRUs. Found Infernocus but are on the fence? Strike whole you can because there might not be a place to get him come Christmas.
All these problems TRU is having are at the internal level, with investments that were too late or not paying off. Buying a toy now wont change anything. The company indebted itself greatly at the begining of the new millenia and were then sold to investors who had no clue how to run a retail giant and had only bought it to sell it later at a profit instead of long term growth. It was a short term strategy that didnt pay off and instead indebted them more.karyuudo wrote:There's also the other issue with the shrinking child population out there. Most folks who buy toys into their adulthood started because they did so as a kid. If there's no kids to buy your toys, who's going to be your market?
Child population has been stable globally for years now. Plus Hasbro keeps reporting record healthy numbers with the low box office yield of The Last Knight not affecting toy sales.
Everything is pointing to there being a problem with TRU themselves and their management, not the toy industry.karyuudo wrote:Perhaps due to immigration?
Toysrus and Hasbro are both worldwide brands, so immigration is a moot point.
You could be very much right that TRU is basically poorly managed.
Some food for thought though...
http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-mus ... pse-2017-7
Posted by Kyleor on September 7th, 2017 @ 11:26am CDT
Posted by karyuudo on September 7th, 2017 @ 11:43am CDT
Kyleor wrote:Toys R Us really needs to get some people on staff/in control who understand real-world retail, instead of the usual cubicle/office jockeys who make decisions yet have no idea how retail works in actual physical stores. Sadly they're a company who just sends back useless lip service when you send them feedback on issues with their stores, or how things could be changed to improve the customer experience, or increase profits, or decrease theft. You'd think ways of decreasing theft would be something they'd jump on, but nope.
Well, as they say "if you don't take care of the customer, someone else will."
Posted by karyuudo on September 7th, 2017 @ 11:51am CDT
Kurona wrote:I think Karyuudo may have been right with his first point. I see kids playing a lot more with iPhones and gaming devices than toys; including my own niece and nephew. I think something important to point out though is that while they won't stop getting toys... they'll be more likely to put more of their money towards electronic goods and/or ask their parents more for those than toys.
With my kids for example, we did do the toy thing with them until they were around 3 years old... of which they gravitated quickly to tablet / console games. Now that they're both 11 and 7, they have zero interest in purchasing toys... yet alone the thought about playing with them. It's all about using the tablet, and a very mild interest in watching cartoons at all. It wasn't until this past year that my oldest even cared about watching anything Star Wars related. While he does enjoy the movies and is casually watching the Tv series, he has no interest in the toys. I'm not sure if my situation is just an extreme case of things, but I'd be interested in hearing about what other parents have experienced.
Posted by william-james88 on September 7th, 2017 @ 12:17pm CDT
Posted by karyuudo on September 7th, 2017 @ 12:35pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:karyuudo, your story makes me cry. I remember so fondly the joy I had playing with toys at 8 years old and going to a store to pick a new one up. My little one is 2 and loves toys (as well as drawing) but that could all fade away quite soon, I dont know. She does love disney movies though and books so who knows.
Things have honestly changed in the way kids play now. No longer do they need plastic /die cast representations of their favorite characters, but being able to play those characters through tablet / console games has more meaning now. I'm sure that there'll always be kids out there who want some kind of toy of their favorite character, but companies might have to change the way they market them to get them off the shelves.
Going back to the child birth part of this topic, I'd be interested to see how Toys R Us Japan is doing, and whether the declining child birth rate (because we KNOW that's definitely an issue there) is affecting sales and such.
Posted by Megatron Wolf on September 7th, 2017 @ 1:58pm CDT
Posted by Jeddostotle7 on September 7th, 2017 @ 3:30pm CDT
Megatron Wolf wrote: My advice to the company: hire employees that care about the job/store/customer not just morons who will show up for a paycheck,
I think that would require a loooooooooot more changes than just changing who they hire, starting with increasing the minimum wage to at least $15 to be livable. That gets into a whole other discussion about how corporations treat their employees, which I won't get into as it's off-topic.
Posted by zko on September 7th, 2017 @ 4:31pm CDT
Posted by bvzxa on September 7th, 2017 @ 8:30pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on September 7th, 2017 @ 8:47pm CDT
bvzxa wrote: we have so many choices these days who would worry if a brick and mortar chain goes.
Only if you live in the USA.
Posted by Ultra Markus on September 7th, 2017 @ 10:20pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on September 16th, 2017 @ 9:45pm CDT
Suppliers pulled back in part because the cost to insure their shipments to cash-strapped Toys “R” Us has become too expensive, said the people. Vendors often rank among creditors with the lowest priority for getting repaid if a company seeks court protection, and their decision on whether to continue shipping goods can play a large role in determining a retailer’s fate.
However, and this is where this becomes very topical for any fan reading, Hasbro is not one of these suppliers. They will continue their operations just as before and provide Toysrus with the full shipments.
Hasbro Inc. is among toymakers that hasn’t curtailed shipments, spokeswoman Julie Duffy wrote in an email. “We continue to partner and ship, conducting business as usual, while managing our risk across all retailers to the appropriate levels,” Duffy wrote.
Posted by EunuchRon on September 16th, 2017 @ 10:57pm CDT
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 17th, 2017 @ 12:04am CDT
Posted by Mkall on September 17th, 2017 @ 1:29am CDT
Of course that's unlikely, but a guy can hope.
I wonder if this explains why those other announced Titans Returns boxsets were cancelled?
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 17th, 2017 @ 1:32am CDT
Mkall wrote:The optimist in me is hoping that there will be an expansion in TFs with more stock.
Of course that's unlikely, but a guy can hope.
I wonder if this explains why those other announced Titans Returns boxsets were cancelled?
What most likely happened is that, presumably Walmart and Target, didn't want box sets. So they decided to package the diecast masters in special sets. Scorpinok will probably be announced by Christmas.
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on September 17th, 2017 @ 2:07am CDT
Posted by Flashwave on September 17th, 2017 @ 2:07am CDT
EunuchRon wrote:Good to see Hasbro stepping up and not kicking Geoffrey when he's down! Gotta keep them exclusives coming.
In some ways this is good for Hasbro from a publicity standpoint. 1) they are seen as supportive, and definately if TRU does pull through TRU will remember that and maybe buy into more of Hasbro's offerings down the line. But with as many Tf movies aa are out there and other licensed stock, I dont doubt they weigh the value of having their products seen on shelves by customers against whether or not they get paid for that. Publicity and Visbility may not pay bills, but it helps the things that do.
Or maybe Hasbro just likes risks.
Posted by Terrsolpix on September 17th, 2017 @ 2:10am CDT
Flashwave wrote:EunuchRon wrote:Good to see Hasbro stepping up and not kicking Geoffrey when he's down! Gotta keep them exclusives coming.
In some ways this is good for Hasbro from a publicity standpoint. 1) they are seen as supportive, and definately if TRU does pull through TRU will remember that and maybe buy into more of Hasbro's offerings down the line. But with as many Tf movies aa are out there and other licensed stock, I dont doubt they weigh the value of having their products seen on shelves by customers against whether or not they get paid for that. Publicity and Visbility may not pay bills, but it helps the things that do.
Or maybe Hasbro just likes risks.
Well, Hasbro does make risk.........
Posted by Flashwave on September 17th, 2017 @ 2:12am CDT
Terrsolpix wrote:Flashwave wrote:EunuchRon wrote:Good to see Hasbro stepping up and not kicking Geoffrey when he's down! Gotta keep them exclusives coming.
In some ways this is good for Hasbro from a publicity standpoint. 1) they are seen as supportive, and definately if TRU does pull through TRU will remember that and maybe buy into more of Hasbro's offerings down the line. But with as many Tf movies aa are out there and other licensed stock, I dont doubt they weigh the value of having their products seen on shelves by customers against whether or not they get paid for that. Publicity and Visbility may not pay bills, but it helps the things that do.
Or maybe Hasbro just likes risks.
Well, Hasbro does make risk.........
I... I totally walked right into that one...
Buh-dump bum.
Posted by Prowl4 on September 17th, 2017 @ 6:21am CDT
Posted by dragons on September 17th, 2017 @ 7:28am CDT
Carnivius_Prime wrote:So many times in the past few months I've been willing to give Toys R Us money for Transformer figures but they've still not progressed past TLK Wave 1 and TR wave 3 here! Can't help them unless they stock what I want to buy.
Toysrus , Walmart , target, any other store sells toys they don't control what wave comes in its random lottery box set look how long before people where finding leader prime and megatron last knight toys.,
If people bought out all off toys in toysrus it's not enough retail stores make there money by having people signing up for store credit cards target credit cards, sears, bestbuy credit cards, if no one signs up hours get cut
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on September 17th, 2017 @ 11:33am CDT
dragons wrote:Carnivius_Prime wrote:So many times in the past few months I've been willing to give Toys R Us money for Transformer figures but they've still not progressed past TLK Wave 1 and TR wave 3 here! Can't help them unless they stock what I want to buy.
Toysrus , Walmart , target, any other store sells toys they don't control what wave comes in its random lottery box set look how long before people where finding leader prime and megatron last knight toys.,
If people bought out all off toys in toysrus it's not enough retail stores make there money by having people signing up for store credit cards target credit cards, sears, bestbuy credit cards, if no one signs up hours get cut
Yeah I wasn't so much blaming Toys R Us but the toy distribution in general. I just don't get how so many stores haven't even had Wave 2 in yet but Argos have (I had Sqweeks and Voyager Megatron before most people). I like trips to Toys R Us. I just wish there was more on the shelves for me to make the trip worth taking. At least, unlike many stores here, they stock a good selection of Mega Blox/Construx as (as I've said before) I've got quite hooked on.
Posted by Black Bumblebee on September 17th, 2017 @ 11:57am CDT
As to the specific news, though, here's the way I see it. Hasbro has a vested interest in ensuring that Toys R Us does NOT fail. They need as many stores as possible to succeed so that they have more businesses to negotiate with.
Kmarts are pretty much gone now, and if TRU goes, that pretty much only leaves 2 ground level stores: Walmart and Target. Both stores are shrewd negotiators when it comes to what they sell. You basically do what they say, or they don't sell your product (and you do NOT want to lose an account as big as Walmart or Target).
I use to teach a pretty good article on this called "The Walmart you don't know" which you can read here if you like that shows their bullying policies: https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-m ... -dont-know
A company like Toys R Us, however, is different. They WANT as many different toys in their store as possible. People, after all, go to TRU for toys, specifically. If TRU doesn't carry an item, people complain.
Posted by EunuchRon on September 17th, 2017 @ 12:09pm CDT
Posted by hurricane567 on September 17th, 2017 @ 3:53pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on September 17th, 2017 @ 9:16pm CDT
Flashwave wrote:EunuchRon wrote:Good to see Hasbro stepping up and not kicking Geoffrey when he's down! Gotta keep them exclusives coming.
In some ways this is good for Hasbro from a publicity standpoint. 1) they are seen as supportive, and definately if TRU does pull through TRU will remember that and maybe buy into more of Hasbro's offerings down the line. But with as many Tf movies aa are out there and other licensed stock, I dont doubt they weigh the value of having their products seen on shelves by customers against whether or not they get paid for that. Publicity and Visbility may not pay bills, but it helps the things that do.
Or maybe Hasbro just likes risks.
I think Hasbro has no choice. The Power of the Prime was 1 is already done, with packaging and everything. Its been produced, same for all the remaining movie toys we havent seen (and there are TONS). And thats just Transformers as a small example of all the other stuff HAsbro already has produced for the holliday season for all their brands. TRU had already placed their orders and Hasbro had produced enough to fullfill them. Its too expensive for them not to fullfill their orders. If they sit on this huge stock instead, then they wont have any room left in their warehouses for whatever else they will be producing next and renting out more room for product that will go nowhere is worse than sunk cost of just burning all these toys (simply disposing of them would also be costly).
Fullfilling TRU's orders is their best strategy to lose as little money as possible. At least it can all be a sunk cost without them having to fork out more to dispose of these products in another way.