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Andy Sullivan: Against The Grain

Awhile back, a friend posted a piece on Facebook about Kay-Bee Toys. Once upon a time, Kay-Bee Toys was THE toy store, long before Toys R Us made its way to Bowling Green.  It was located in Greenwood Mall in, if I’m not mistaken, the space that Alumni Hall now resides. 
Kay Bee Toys was a chain of mall-based retail toy stores in the United States.  It was founded in 1922 by the Kaufman Brothers.  K-B operated 605 stores in 44 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, as well as Guam.  It was privately held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  K-B Toys was owned by Melville Corporation (the company responsible for one of my favorites, CVS).  But that company sold to Consolidated Stores in 1996.  It was also the second-oldest toy retailer in North America (behind FAO Schwartz), before its demise. 


Following the company’s second bankruptcy in five years, the chain began going out of business sales in December 2008.  The store closing sales were concluded on February 9, 2009.  International retailer Toys R Us announced on September 4, 2009 that it had required the remains of K-B Toys, consisting mainly of its website, trademarks and intellectual property rights.
At the time of its liquidation, K•B Toys operated three distinct store formats: K•B Toys, K•B Toy Works (the result of a merger between KB Toys and The Toy Works), and K•B Toys Outlet (aka Toy Liquidators). K•B Toys stores were mostly found in the company's traditional base of shopping malls, where many of its stores were located for years. K•B Toy Works stores were typically found in outdoor strip malls. K•B Toys Outlet and Toy Liquidators stores, as the name implies, were usually found in outlet centers/malls. At their largest, K•B operated over 1300 stores and were found in all 50 states.
Starting in 2001, KB Toys opened temporary "stores within a store" at select Sears department stores during the Christmas season.  K•B closed 156 stores on November 8, 2007 to leave the chain with 1,144 stores. On February 9, 2009, K•B closed the remaining stores following the second bankruptcy filing in four years. In addition, K•B Toys' website was closed down.

 


The K•B Toys brand and related intangible assets were sold by Streambank LLC to Toys "R" Us on September 4, 2009, for a reported $2.1 million. Because K•B Toys' 460 stores had been closed and liquidated, the sale applies mainly to the company's logo, website, and trademarks/intellectual properties. Toys "R" Us remains unsure of how the K•B name will fit into its future business plan.[2] So far, Toys "R" Us uses the K•B Toys name on self-manufactured toys under the name "KB Classics" with the K•B Toys logo. 
I absolutely loved K-B Toys in the mall.  Whenever I went to the mall, I just had to go.  You could say it was my prize as a kid for sticking with my mom all the way through the mall.  As any kid, I loved the toy store.  When the K-B to Toys R Us transition occurred, I thought Toys R Us was like kid nirvana.  It was the greatest place my kid mind had ever seen.  Now as an adult (how did I get to be one of those?) I look back at these older stores and things from my childhood, such as Kay-Bee, with nostalgia.  I did manage to find these little gems of those bygone days.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DmUTgV9qU

Hello.  My name is Andy Sullivan.  I received my bachelor’s degree in business from Mid-Continent University in June 2009.  I began writing for beechtree in July 2009.  I enjoy writing, photography, watching basketball and football, and playing guitar.  I also write a blog that encompasses sports and entertainment, called Sports and More, at http://andyuk79.tumblr.com If you have any comments, please leave them in the space below.  Thanks for reading!

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