It looks like Toys “R” Us’ Geoffrey is taking the spotlight in the rebranding of the famous toy store.
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It was previously reported that Toys “R” Us’ current lenders decided not to auction off certain parts of the IP and brand, like the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us names as well as Geoffrey himself, opting instead to relaunch the toy chain in a new way. Now we know what that looks like, as Toys “R” Us mascot Geoffrey turned up at the Dallas Toy Preview donning a cape that had a new logo and store name on it. The logo on the cape reads Geoffrey’s Toy Box, and you can find the description of it from the Dallas Toy Preview website below (via Toy News International).
“Wholesale toy distributor and intellectual property company whose focus is on popular play patterns across trusted brands that kids and parents love. Geoffrey’s Toy Box is a fully outfitted organization with design, development and global sourcing expertise. Portfolio includes popular brands like Journey Girls, Fastlane, True Heroes, You & Me, Imaginarium, Just like Home and more!”
There were also reps from the company at the event, and they said that the plan is to open several locations under the Geoffrey’s Toy Box name by November of this year. The early launch was described as a “shop-within-a-shop” concept, where they will set up within other larger stores. Which stores that would include were not mentioned.
More about the reorganization was listed on the Toys “R” Us website, which detailed what is being submitted for approval at the moment, and you can read the full press release below.
WAYNE, NJ – October 2, 2018 – Geoffrey, LLC, Toys “R” Us, Inc.’s intellectual property holding company subsidiary, announced today that it is moving forward with a plan for substantially all of its assets to be acquired by a group of investors led by Geoffrey, LLC’s existing secured lenders.
The announcement was made following a five month marketing effort by Boston-based Consensus, an investment bank retained to market the assets of Geoffrey, LLC, that resulted in several formal and informal proposals to acquire the intellectual property assets. After considering such proposals, it was determined that the proposal from the existing term lenders was meaningfully higher and better than any other global bid or the sum of the bids received on individual assets. The transition of the business to its new owners is pending approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court and all major creditor constituencies are supportive. Geoffrey, LLC thanks all parties that participated in discussions with the company over the prior months, particularly those that submitted proposals, for their thoughtful and diligent engagement.
Geoffrey, LLC, as reorganized, will control a portfolio of intellectual property that includes trademarks, ecommerce assets and data associated with the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us businesses in the United States and all over the world, including a portfolio of over 20 well-known toy and baby brands such as Imaginarium, Koala Baby, Fastlane and Journey Girls. The reorganized company will own rights to the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brands in all markets globally, with the exception of Canada. It will also become the licensor of the brands to the company’s existing network of franchisees operating in countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and in South Africa.
In addition to continuing to service these markets, the new owners are actively working with potential partners to develop ideas for new Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores in the United States and abroad that could bring back these iconic brands in a new and re-imagined way. Geoffrey LLC will provide additional detail on this front as it becomes available.
