Toys R Us shuts down its last store

With Toys R Us closing its last U.S. stores, has ended an era of a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores, brightly colored logo and especially Geoffrey - the giraffe mascot. This closing will leave over 30,000 workers unemployed alongside impacting famous toy makers like Mattel and Hasbro. The toy retailer had filed for bankruptcy this past September with $4.9 billion in debt, a vestige from its $6.6 billion acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital Partners and real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust in 2005. Five months down the line, it announced plans to liquidate its U.S. business. And later in March, Toys R Us's founder, Charles P Lazarus passed away. Meanwhile Walmart and Target are planning an expansion of the toy corridor to fill the hole, while Party City is coming with 50 pop-up toy shops soon. Is this end the final? An auction is set for late July for the company's name, baby shower registry and other trademarks. The 16-foot tall Geoffrey the Giraffe is being moved to a children's hospital in the state. With consumers flocking down the stores, and a humongous out pour of nostalgia, some have refused to accept the end as final. According to reports by CNBC, Toys R Us former CEO, Gerald Storch, is trying to pull together a plan to resurrect the business and save employees their jobs. However, considering the amount of capital required to buy stores and resurrect the entire distribution model along with creating the website, the chances of revival are bleak. But even if Storch does not succeed, the Toys R Us name can live on as it is selling its intellectual property, the results of which are to be announced in early August. With that IP a buyer can take the Toys R Us name and logo and resurrect it.