KB Toys plans store closures

By Staff -- Playthings, 8/31/2007 9:34:00 AM

PITTSFIELD, Mass.—KB Toys will close at least 30 stores in the coming months as the toy retailer looks to return to its roots as a purveyor of primarily close out merchandise under new president and CEO Andrew Bailen.

In an interview this week with the Berkshire Eagle, a Massachusetts newspaper, Bailen said KB plans to shutter “more than 30” of its stores, based on profitability, out of its current chain of 566 locations in malls and strip centers nationwide. He told the paper that he expects to have a better picture of how many locations to close by the end of October. Bailen also said the company will cut staff at its headquarters.

The moves are meant to “make this company great again,” Bailen said of what he is calling a “shrink to grow” strategy. He rebuffed questions that he was steering KB towards liquidation. “I have zero interest in any type of liquidation,” he told the newspaper.

According to the story, KB will look to once again stress to consumers its stores as an inexpensive toy shopping alternative. Starting next week its windows will feature signage simply touting the word “value.”

Bailen’s strategy is a shift from KB’s post-bankruptcy efforts to reposition itself under former CEO Gregory Staley, a period during which the retailer launched a merchandising strategy centered on a deeper selection of first-line product, displays tied to promotional efforts surrounding hot children’s properties and major toy brands and upgrades to the stores’ aesthetics.

Bailen joined KB this summer. He most recently served as president of art supplies maker Loew-Cornell, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. He worked for KB Toys from 1978 to 1987.