KB Toys Faces Liquidation

[gatorboy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122901585422798605.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

KB Toys has returned to Chapter 11 under Prentice Capital Management, the private-equity firm that bought the retailer out of bankruptcy in 2005. However, this time KB Toys is slated for liquidation.

The company plans to quickly start going-out-of-business sales at hundreds of its stores, "in order to take advantage of the last two weeks of the holiday selling season," KB Toys said in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

An "expedited and orderly" bankruptcy liquidation was the only option left for KB Toys, which was hit by the slump in consumer spending that has slammed the retail sector, court documents say.

KB Toys, which is based in Pittsfield, Mass., owes about $65 million on loans to first-lien lenders, and about $30 million on letters of credit to the first-lien group. It also owes about $95 million to second-lien lenders, court documents say.

[YOY]

1. They've been on the rocks for years.

Since the rise of Toys R Us and Walmart really.

They can't compete with large scale Toystores...kind of sad really.

[TomInTib]

2. But I'll bet Prentice Capital made out quite well. nt

[mdmc]

3. One of my favorite cities PITTSFIELD!

so sad:(

[SheilaT]

4. I don't think I've seen one of their stores

in a number of years. They used to have a store at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park into the mid-90's, but disappeared in part because that mall was positioning itself to have more upscale stores there. I liked them when my kids were little.

[gatorboy]

5. They took our store out years ago.

So as far as a toy selections go in our city, we're stuck with Wal-Mart. :(

[SheilaT]

6. So, instead of Wal-Mart maybe you

can teach your kids the joys of playing outside, of inventing games of their own, reading, and the like.

I absolutely will not go inside a Wal-Mart, but I do live in a city (Santa Fe) with many other choices.

[bonito]

7. I used to make my own bow and arrows out of lilac branches and string

lots of fun, till I stuck my friend John Richards in the ass aiming at a Styrofoam target with a bent arrow, ah, just a flash back.

[gatorboy]

8. Thanks for the tips, psychic.

They do read and do play outside, thank you very much.

Your kids could probably teach you not to make assumptions about other people's lives. :eyes:

But that would probably eat into your palm reading business. ;)

[SheilaT]

10. My, oh my.

I didn't think I needed the irony glyph.

And where does the palm reading crap come from?

[jody]

9. KB Toys should get in the corporate welfare line with financial institutions and auto companies and

demand a bailout aka hand-out from We the People.

This is precisely what Congressman Davis warned about:

QUOTE
WASHINGTON -- Congressman Artur Davis today released the following statement in regards to his opposition to H.R. 7321, the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act:

“While I am aware that American auto manufacturers are in crisis and acknowledge that the collapse of that industry is unacceptable, I believe that the bridge loan before Congress is the wrong approach. I am convinced that this $15 billion dollar package is only an installment on an open ended commitment that is hardly guaranteed to make the industry more productive or efficient.

“I also fear that we need clear guiding principles as to what industries are eligible for federal intervention and exactly what role our government is going to play in aiding these troubled segments of our economy. Today, it is the domestic automobile industry that seeks federal help; tomorrow, it will be another industry, and then another. Rather than follow this path wherever it leads, we should be exploring private sector options such as forced consolidation or receivership.

“Finally, I have too many doubts about how our money authorized in the financial markets bailout package that Congress passed in October has been managed. There is too much evidence that taxpayer dollars have gone unintended purposes like executive compensation and too little evidence that the infusion of government dollars has made banks more inclined to loan to consumers and small businesses. Given that uncertain track record, there is too much of a risk that the automotive bailout will not work in the way Congress intends.”
UNQUOTE

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/al07_davis/auto.html