Yahoo Finance
You can’t blame toy maker executives for viewing reports of Toys ‘R’ Us potentially re-opening up U.S. retail stores with heavy skepticism — if not utter disdain at the prospect of trusting company bigwigs at the retailer again.
The bankruptcy of Toys ‘R’ Us in the fall of 2017 — and subsequent closing of hundreds of U.S. retail stores months later — was a punch to the face of toy companies that relied upon the chain as a key outlet for their latest toys. After years of mismanagement following a disastrous leveraged buyout in 2005, toy makers such as Hasbro and Mattel had to endure a painful 2018. It was headlined by terrible sales pressure and weak stock prices as Toys ‘R’ Us liquidated inventory and shuttered some 700 U.S. locations by the spring.. . . more