Toys ‘R’ Us Brand Revived But With A New Name

There once was magical place, we often went there, with toys in their millions, all under one roof. It was called Toys ‘R’ Us. But earlier this year Geoffrey bags his bags and every single store in the UK and US closed for good. And with it one of the LEGO Group’s closest retail partners and a steam of exclusive LEGO® goodies was no more. But Toys ‘R’ Us is making a comeback, in a roundabout sort of way. A recent auction of the TRU brands was cancelled and those in control of the brand, seem to think the best way to gain money is be reviving Toys ‘R’ Us into a new company. This new company will still control global rights to all TRU branding, expect TRU Canada. It has been revealed today that the new TRU stores will be called Geoffrey’s Toy Box. The press release below is carefully worded, but it seems the hope is to bring the Toys ‘R’ Us back will not necessarily be in the same guise as before. It seems we see TRU-styled Toy Box stores appear within other retailers or a dedicated online store.

Geoffrey, LLC’s Assets to Be Acquired by Its Secured Lenders

WAYNE, NJ – October 2018 – Geoffrey, LLC, Toys “R” Us, Inc.’s intellectual property holding company subsidiary, announced today that it is moving forward with a plan for substantially all of its assets to be acquired by a group of investors led by Geoffrey, LLC’s existing secured lenders.

The announcement was made following a five month marketing effort by Boston-based Consensus, an investment bank retained to market the assets of Geoffrey, LLC, that resulted in several formal and informal proposals to acquire the intellectual property assets. After considering such proposals, it was determined that the proposal from the existing term lenders was meaningfully higher and better than any other global bid or the sum of the bids received on individual assets. The transition of the business to its new owners is pending approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court and all major creditor constituencies are supportive. Geoffrey, LLC thanks all parties that participated in discussions with the company over the prior months, particularly those that submitted proposals, for their thoughtful and diligent engagement.

Geoffrey, LLC, as reorganized, will control a portfolio of intellectual property that includes trademarks, ecommerce assets and data associated with the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us businesses in the United States and all over the world, including a portfolio of over 20 well-known toy and baby brands such as Imaginarium, Koala Baby, Fastlane and Journey Girls. The reorganized company will own rights to the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands in all markets globally, with the exception of Canada. It will also become the licensor of the brands to the company’s existing network of franchisees operating in countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and in South Africa.

In addition to continuing to service these markets, the new owners are actively working with potential partners to develop ideas for new Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores in the United States and abroad that could bring back these iconic brands in a new and re-imagined way. Geoffrey LLC will provide additional detail on this front as it becomes available.

Author: Adam White

Howdy I'm Adam, The editor of BricksFanz.com - your go to source for the latest LEGO news, reviews and much, much more. Some of you may know me from other LEGO sites so you'll know I have a good experience of the LEGO community and a deep, passionate commitment to all things LEGO. I specialize in seeking out the latest LEGO news and products, as well as being an expert on all things LEGO gaming. So welcome to BricksFanz - Fuelling Your LEGO Lifestyle.

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