toyrus - toys r us
Charles Lazarus initially started Toyrus (LTD) in Washington, DC during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby furniture retailer known as "Children's Supermart". Its first location was at 2461 18th St, NW, where the nightclub, Madam's Organ Blues Bar is currently located. Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. The company headquarters is located in Wayne, New Jersey.
A replica of the Chrysler Building, made entirely of Lego, on display at the Times Square location of Toyrus in New York City.
Buyout
After several major missteps in the marketplace, mainly precipitated by the removal of one of the Board of Directors, Toyrus experienced difficulty.[citation needed] In an effort to shore up their enterprise, the Board of Directors installed John Eyler, formerly of FAO Schwarz. Eyler launched an unsuccessful, and very expensive plan to remodel and re-launch the chain. Blaming market pressures (primarily competition from Wal-Mart and Target Stores), Toyrus considered splitting its toys and baby businesses. On July 21, 2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), and Vornado Realty Trust completed the $6.6 billion acquisition of the toy giant. Public stock closed for the last time at $26.74, just pennies from the 52-week high, but far short of its all time high of almost $45 in fourth-quarter 1993, and its five-year high of $31 in 2Q 2001. Toyrus is now a privately owned entity.
An exterior of a typical Toyrus store in Rome, Georgia, United States.
Amazon lawsuit
In early 2006, Toyrus won a major battle against Amazon.com after years of bitter battles over their original 10 year contract made at the height of the dotcom boom at the turn of the century. The battle focused on exclusivity rights as viewed from both company's perspectives. The judge in the matter had this to say about Amazon's top brass testimony:
In her opinion, McVeigh took a rather dim view of the trial testimony of some Amazon executives, including that of the company’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, saying she had "no doubt his knowledge and understanding (of the Toyrus agreement) went much deeper than revealed." When pushed on the witness stand, "certain information 'just came back to him'" she said in the ruling, while another of Bezos’ explanations was referred to as "rather childlike." [1]
By the middle of 2006, Amazon's stock had taken serious 15% losses, one consideration being the $50 million per year payment lost from Toyrus. Amazon announced the loss of the case late in the quarter to its stock owners.
On January 9, 2006, Toyrus announced that 87 stores in the United States would close that year, most closing within the spring. 12 more stores are to be converted to the "Babies "R" Us" format. Approximately 3,000 jobs will be eliminated as a result of the closures.
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