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Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

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Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#141

Post by jackcosgrove »

dadrian wrote: post #111
dadrian wrote: post #104

The CEO of Toys 'R' Us as of 2015 is Dave Brandon. He was the former CEO of Dominoes Pizza. After he left Dominoes in 2009 is when they started the "We used to suck, we don't anymore, please come try us again!" advertising campaign. After Dominoes, Dave Brandon was the athletic director at the University of Michigan. During his time as AD, he managed to alienate the majority of the fan base, hire a coach who got wors…

I'll also note that in the time since Dave left Dominoes, their stock has outperformed Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple, with slightly under 12x returns in the last 10 years. Since Dave left Michigan, the interim AD hired Jim Harbaugh, and the football program is now regularly in top 10 in the nation.

So now's the time to buy Toys R Us stock?

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#144

Post by ThrustVectoring »

coredog64 wrote: post #123
narrator wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who's on the board that hired him? Did they have a pre-existing personal relationship from a frat or something? Getting to the bottom of this would probably inform a good stock shorting strategy.

I'm now pondering a "these fratboys are deleterious to boards" index fund thanks to your post.

Bonus points for using social graph data for boardmembers and the fratboys they hire to front-run terrible CEO hiring decisions.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#145

Post by amrrs »

chrisco255 wrote: post #137
nicko9 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's high time people realize something about these positions. Being at the top of a gigantic mature hierarchy in a complex world is more a function of legacy than utility. John D Rockefeller or Thomas Edison were the single BRAIN that shaped and directed where their orgs went. Today's leaders in govt or in the private sector or more like a single neuron most of whose time is engaged in constant power struggles for s…

Leadership is a thing. It really matters. An effective leader can be a force multiplier for everyone in the organization that reports to them, directly or indirectly. An ineffective leader can literally bankrupt an organization.

No one could forget the force of Steve Jobs that brought back Apple and that ambitious Travis Kalanick who built Uber empire.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#146

Post by tssva »

marcell wrote: post #76

Toys 'R' Us might have been a great store when we (I) were kids, but I went there a few months back--what a wasteland. Barbie, GI Joe, and movie tie-in action figures as far as the I can see. Good riddance. People can buy crappy Angry Birds dolls on Amazon just as well as Toys 'R' Us. I hope this opens up opportunities for superior brick & mortar toy stores.

When was it anything but Barbie, GI Joe and movie tie-in action figures? That is mostly what it was in the 70s and 80s when I was a kid. 1/2 the movie action figures are probably Star Wars just like when I was a kid.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#147

Post by quickthrower2 »

pm90 wrote: post #56
product50 wrote: post #39

Though this may have something to do with Amazon (and retail generally trending online), it does appear that the big culprit here were Bain Capital (and its partners) who took it private in 2005 via leverage buyout and ladened Toys r Us balance sheet with untenable debt from thereon. Apparently, they were paying $500M in interests alone per year vs. reinvesting capital in growth of their offline stores or online reta…

I just don't understand the people/institutions that give loans to such entities when a simple analysis would show how burdened by debt they are... are these investors really that stupid to loan money at unsustainable rates?

Stupid? The investors are loaning someone else's money. They probably isolate it legally so if the loan defaults they are not personally liable and it doesn't affect any other investments. The money isn't hard earned. It isn't someone's hard sweat-earned savings invested. It is debt. Debt generally just expands the money supply.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#148

Post by aswanson »

coredog64 wrote: post #123
narrator wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who's on the board that hired him? Did they have a pre-existing personal relationship from a frat or something? Getting to the bottom of this would probably inform a good stock shorting strategy.

I'm now pondering a "these fratboys are deleterious to boards" index fund thanks to your post.

The fratboy short. Hilarious.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#149

Post by jandrese »

jackcosgrove wrote: post #141
dadrian wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll also note that in the time since Dave left Dominoes, their stock has outperformed Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple, with slightly under 12x returns in the last 10 years. Since Dave left Michigan, the interim AD hired Jim Harbaugh, and the football program is now regularly in top 10 in the nation.

So now's the time to buy Toys R Us stock?

He's not fired yet.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#150

Post by freehunter »

ringaroundthetx wrote: post #92
nkrisc wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though it may be an international franchise, it still provides local jobs.

Amazon provides salaried jobs at their regional warehouses, and revenue to the resellers, and revenue to affiliates. Perhaps the only thing missing is a way to sort results on Amazon by locale.

Amazon may be local to my state but the small toy store is local to my _city_. The warehouse four hours away means less to me than someone who pays taxes in my city and lives two miles away.
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