The History of Kay-Bee Toys - Post-Mortar
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- KB Toys was once one of the largest toy companies in the world. They held second place to Toys R Us for decades. You’ll see how a few key missteps and too many buyouts killed an 87-year-old toy giant.
Main Theme:
Branches by DanoSongs
danosongs.com/
Special Thanks to Mike Kalasnik, The Caldor Rainbow (Flickr)
Select images used from www.plaidstallions.com/
UnofficialKBToys, Random Commercial Block, Susie Xu, Before and After These Messages, PublicResourceOrg, Classic Commercials, The Museum of Classic Chicago Television (www.FuzzyMemories.TV), FM1156, The Consumer Capsule, WJHL, Play Pause Video, forever90s, Rewind Me, Craigs0r, AdamL212
"Bossa Antigua" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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"Intractable" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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"Hard Boiled" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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Park Square in downtown Pittsfield in 2014 By Protophobic - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Saugus, MA Child World store By Anthony92931 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Kaufman Brothers, Inc
1:45 - From Wholesale to Retail, The Shopping Boom
5:03 - Retail Slumps and Buyouts
6:25 - Kay-Bee vs Toys R Us: The Last of the Toy Giants
8:59 - Bain: Two Chapters in Bankruptcy
10:51 - Final Words
Videos and images used in this episode belong to their respective owners. Post-Mortar does not hold the copyrights for any material used.
#kbtoys #toysrus #toystore #80s
Alex Nuelle 2021
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When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s there was only one Toys R Us near me and it was over an hour and a half away each way, and I can count the number of times I was in one on one hand. Kay Bee Toys was in every mall, from the Fort Henry Mall in Kingsport to even the Middlesboro Mall in Kentucky. So Kay Bee or KB Toys as it later was called was the toy store I grew up around and went in. I never noticed it had older or markdown/close out toys, if anything it had the toys I couldn't find anywhere else. RIP KB Toys, you are missed and were a part of a lot of our childhoods.
As an ‘80’s kid who still loves toys, Bain Capital basically murdered my childhood.
🤣🤣🤣 Who evey thought that the toy world would be such a cut throat bussines .. XD
Romney is like a mobster
0:27 Love the intro.
Had a KB Toys in my mall growing up - was always a blast going in there.
I always checked out KB Toys when visiting malls, as it seemed most malls I visited had one. It's so sad what happened to KB Toys.
Awesome Video! I was going to release a “Top 5 Forgotten Toy Stores,” but opted out to go ahead and work on a (Part 4) installment of my Forgotten Department Stores
I’d love to see either!
Kay-Bee > Toys-R-Us. Great work! I can tell the amount of research that went into this. Keep it up.
I loves going to Kay-Bee. They carried high end vinyl statues and figures. Not a huge selection, but you could find some treasures there. It's always sad to see somewhere you shopped at go under.
Aisles were narrow, you had to brush against people to get past, the place was always a mess although they had numerous employees who only responsibility was to watch you like you're going to steal.
I remember when they went out of business. That was a blow.
You’re my new favorite CZcamsr man. I hope you know that!
Thanks bro. I appreciate it! That means a lot!
@@PostMortar No prob man! Just keep on the grind! I'll follow right behind you!
Came here for K-B, left remembering K&K toys. I totally forgot about that chain! Good vid! :)
K&K Toys, worked for them in Myrtle Beach SC. Name stood for Kenny Kaufman., nice family company but as they started the Dollar Tree chain, which was a cash cow, they sold K&K off to fund the rapid growth of DT. I ran the former store at Myrtle Square, Briarcliff Mall and Inlet Square which is dead. Myrtle wa the better mail, replaced with the lame Coastal Grand. K&K was a fun job, I hope like K.B.
I remember Kay-bee toys when I was a kid and I was living in great falls Montana at the time in the late 80s to early 2000s and I went to the Kay-bees toys store and I remember the store front has a cool looking design.
When I think of Kay Bee, I think of stores stocked full of toys and very small lanes between isles. I liked Toys R Us much more.
your intro song makes me think of LGR Thrifts, but i know that its just a pick from the YT commons library
Funny you would say that! I chose this song because I heard it on the LGR! I figured it would make a perfect theme, so I kept it in mind for later. It came in handy for the show, so I got permission to use it from its creator, DanoSongs. Good ear!!
@@PostMortar
Eff yes
How about Ann & Hope
Have you done builders square?
Not yet. Planning to do it in the future.
A greek tragedy
Mitt Romney’s company likes Kay bee and toys r us
Mitt Romney wanted to open his own toy stores.
@@danielferstendig mormon toys?
@@FallicIdol bain capitol toys.
Yeah, Bain made a fortune killing toy stores
I worked for K.B for years eventually becoming a District Mnager. Great company until Bain came along, then the end was near. Sadly though, the stores never made real profits, just a good store that most malls wanted as part of the Melville chains of stores: This End Up, Piercing Pogoda, Merry Go Round, CVS, etc. Melville loved to rent multiple spaces at a discount, and used K.B’s sale to fund the CVS growth, which were making $ hand over fist. Let’s not forget that KB did 18+ versions of a larger Toys R Us called: Toy Works. Eventually they bought out Playland Toys, Tons of Toys, Toy Liquidators, Circus World Toys (great southern chain) and a few others. I miss the chain and to this day have fond memories of working there during the holidays.
Am i the only one that refuses to shop at Walmart.
75th like