A shopper just bought the last Toys R Us toys to the tune of $1 million and donated them all to the charity, Children in Need, in an incredible act of kindness.
On Friday July 6, every single one of the 700 Toys R Us stores in the US closed their doors for the last time, in a move which means the world has grown up.
But, one adult has turned the sad day into a gesture of goodwill to those who are in need of a little childlike joy, reports Fox 4:
One store, in Raleigh, North Carolina, was completely cleared out of its inventory before the doors were closed for the final time, by a mystery shopper.
While it left bargain hunters a little disappointed on the final day of clearance, the bulk buy has certainly put a smile on others’ faces.
Fox 4 News heard from Toys R Us employees at the store, who confirmed the shopper intended to donate all their purchases. It’s not clear who’ll be on the receiving end of the kind gifts at the time of writing, (Saturday, July 7).
Locals mused over who the generous benefactor could be, with some guessing at Bill Gates or Amazon.
They also dubbed the donation ‘rad’ and ‘pretty nice’, as well as an ‘awesome’ gesture, even though they were disappointed to not pick up a toy or two for reduced prices.
The company was forced to end the magic due to a $5 billion debt which racked up since buyout firms KKR and Bain Capital took it private for $6.6bn back in 2005.
The closures mean more than 15,000 employees are left without work.
Chief Executive Dave Brandon said:
Together with our investors, our objective is to work with our debtholders and other creditors to restructure the $5bn of long-term debt on our balance sheet.
We expect that the financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way.
Toys R Us executives hoped to avoid this measure when they filed for bankruptcy, arguing for a Chapter 7 ruling rather than having to liquidate its assets if they filed for Chapter 11.
But alas, the sales started back on March 22, and it was nowhere near as joyous an occasion as it sounds, even though discounts of up to 25 per cent were available on all products – including all big brand and Babies R Us products.
These hallowed aisles of commodification and consumption will be nothing more than a reminder of our own greedy childhood desires in a matter of time.
Barbie and Action Man will mourn, Lego Deathstars will go unbuilt, the Furbies will cry out for a new home and Care Bears will give up caring. If you’re into the humanisation of inanimate objects, that is.
It was all pretty bleak. So thank goodness someone came along and gave the sorry site a silver lining to the tune of $1,000,000.
In the US, where it all began in 1957, 144 stores began the liquidation process in February, but the remaining 700 stores make up one of the largest retail closures ever seen.
Over the pond in Britain, the closure plan puts 3,000 jobs at risk.
Evidently, kids toys and capitalism just don’t go together like Buzz and Woody.
Yet, Toys R Us was every kid and collector’s dream, and you can see why:
RIP Toys R Us. May your toys have a better life now.
If you have a toy story to tell, contact UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.