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IPFS News Link • Business/ Commerce

Toys "R" Us Pivots From Teddy Bears to Surveillance

• https://www.vice.com, by Karl Bode

The last few years haven't been kind to popular toy retailer Toys "R" Us. After accumulating more than $5 billion in debt and struggling to compete with online competitors like Amazon, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017, then shuttered more than 800 retail locations last year. More than 30,000 employees lost their jobs, initially with no severance.

Last month the company re-emerged as a faint echo of its former self, backed by new private equity partners intent on making customer surveillance a cornerstone of their new business model.

Initially the reborn venture looked fairly ordinary. The first of the company's new, smaller flagship stores opened in late November at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jersey. A second store opened last week in Houston.


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