Child World
Encyclopedia
Child World was an American chain of toy store
s that was founded in Avon, Massachusetts in 1970. Child World once boasted 182 stores and revenues of approximately $830 million annually. From 1977 until its closure Child World also operated the Children's Palace chain of stores after acquiring it from Kobacker Stores, and later incorporated most of the aesthetic design features from the latter chain into Child World stores.
(see below), Milford, Connecticut
, East Haven, Connecticut
, Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania
, Henrietta, New York
, Cincinnati, Ohio
, Indianapolis, Indiana
, and Totowa, New Jersey
.
Child World also began incorporating elements of the Children's Palace store design into its stores that opened post-merger, with many of the new stores taking on a castle-like design (see below).
In 1981 the chain was acquired by Cole National Corporation, a retail ownership group that is now a division of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Into the early 1990s, Child World was led by then-President Peter Hayes. The chain was known for, largely, a 'warehouse' style of merchandising, with long aisles and so-called "over-stock" storage above selling-floor-level shelves.
Although sales had begun to decline by the late 1980s, in 1989 the chain announced a new 29000 sq ft (2,694.2 m²) store prototype designed to appeal to customers and real estate developers alike. The first store remodeled into the new prototype was in Framingham, Massachusetts, near the Shoppers World mall and key competitor Toys "R" Us, just one block away. Initially, the prototype was well-received, with strong first-day openings, and good performance in the critical Christmas selling season. Owing partly to that success, Child World management announced that the new prototype would be used to renovate 11 existing sites, and new market expansion would be targeted in 1990, 1991 and 1992 using the new design. However, Child World would not have the chance to implement the design, as problems began to arise.
), helped to send Child World into a steady decline.
Peter Hayes and a large portion of Child World's executive board were fired in 1990 and Cole National began to restrict capital to the stores. As a result, Child World was unable to procure their needed merchandise for the upcoming holiday season and sales dropped. The combination of cash restriction and lack of sales caused Child World to default on payments to creditors and suppliers. These companies, such as LEGO
, responded by refusing to accept orders for merchandise and Child World was not only unable to spend money, but store shelves were also becoming empty due to the suppliers' unwillingness to do business with the chain. Child World suffered a yearly loss of $192 million (US) on $830 million in sales for fiscal year 1990. Its profile was not helped by Toys "R" Us's continued growth, as well as the chain's being named a co-defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Cole National decided to seek a buyer for their ailing toy store but a $157 million (US) dollar deal fell through when the buyer failed to come up with enough capital. Meanwhile, Child World was continuing to lose money at a rapid pace and without any monetary interest from potential buyers Cole National was forced to find another way. This resulted in a debt trade with another venture capital firm, Avon Investment Limited Partnership, in 1991. In the deal Cole National gave Avon $30 million in short-term debt in exchange for a larger amount of long-term debt and the remainder of the short term debt. Avon installed a group of former Toys "R" Us executives who sought to bring the company back to prominence.
The already precarious situation, however, did not improve entering 1992 and store closures began. Child World closed 26 stores and exited certain markets altogether in January, then was forced into bankruptcy in April after its line of credit was not renewed. On May 7, 1992, in addition to making the bankruptcy filing public, Child World announced that 54 more stores would be closing. This left Child World with less than half of the stores they had at the end of 1991, and the financial situation was further compromised after company executives failed to secure a line of credit that would have ensured the stores would remain open until at least January 1994.
Child World's management then approached Lionel Kiddie City
, another bankrupt toy store chain, about a merger that Child World declared would be its only chance for survival. The chain set a deadline of July 12, 1992, to complete the merger. Eleven days before the deadline Child World announced a chain-wide inventory clearance sale in order to raise cash. July 12 came and passed with no merger announcement, and Child World announced the inventory clearance sale was now a full-fledged going out of business sale. Despite this, merger talks continued in the hopes that Child World and Lionel Kiddie City might be able to pull off a last-minute deal. Unfortunately for Child World, the deal ultimately failed and on August 3, 1992, the chain announced that the remaining 71 stores would accelerate their liquidation sales and close as soon as possible; this occurred over a period of two to six weeks. (Lionel Kiddie City would meet the same fate as Child World, going out of business in 1993.)
Child World was known largely for making its stores resemble castles, complete with turret
s, battlements, and three arch
es (two small, one large) in the front door http://www.plaidstallions.com/toystores/five.html. The corporate logo was written in a "refrigerator-magnet" like typeface. The design starting showing up in newer Child World stores after the 1977 acquisition of Children's Palace. After the company went out of business some of the retailers that took over the Child World spaces retained the design but most did not.
and Nintendo
video game consoles and software. One of the child actors featured in the video was Lacey Chabert
.
Toy store
A toy store or toy shop is a retail business specializing in selling toys. No longer held to the limitations of a physical outlet, many toy shops now do business over the Internet. Many department stores have toy sections.-External links:...
s that was founded in Avon, Massachusetts in 1970. Child World once boasted 182 stores and revenues of approximately $830 million annually. From 1977 until its closure Child World also operated the Children's Palace chain of stores after acquiring it from Kobacker Stores, and later incorporated most of the aesthetic design features from the latter chain into Child World stores.
Beginnings and early expansion
After the acquisition of Children's Palace, Child World became the second largest toy retailer in the United States after Toys "R" Us, its chief competitor. In many areas Child World stores were operated close to Toys "R" Us locations, as in Framingham, MassachusettsFramingham, Massachusetts
Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...
(see below), Milford, Connecticut
Milford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...
, East Haven, Connecticut
East Haven, Connecticut
East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 28,189. The town is just 3 minutes from downtown New Haven...
, Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania
Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania
Pleasant Hills is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,268.-Geography:Pleasant Hills is located at ....
, Henrietta, New York
Henrietta, New York
Henrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Rochester. The population was 42,581 at the 2010 census. Established in 1818, the town is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, a major British...
, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, and Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 9,892.Totowa was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1898, from portions of the now-defunct Manchester Township and Wayne...
.
Child World also began incorporating elements of the Children's Palace store design into its stores that opened post-merger, with many of the new stores taking on a castle-like design (see below).
In 1981 the chain was acquired by Cole National Corporation, a retail ownership group that is now a division of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Into the early 1990s, Child World was led by then-President Peter Hayes. The chain was known for, largely, a 'warehouse' style of merchandising, with long aisles and so-called "over-stock" storage above selling-floor-level shelves.
Although sales had begun to decline by the late 1980s, in 1989 the chain announced a new 29000 sq ft (2,694.2 m²) store prototype designed to appeal to customers and real estate developers alike. The first store remodeled into the new prototype was in Framingham, Massachusetts, near the Shoppers World mall and key competitor Toys "R" Us, just one block away. Initially, the prototype was well-received, with strong first-day openings, and good performance in the critical Christmas selling season. Owing partly to that success, Child World management announced that the new prototype would be used to renovate 11 existing sites, and new market expansion would be targeted in 1990, 1991 and 1992 using the new design. However, Child World would not have the chance to implement the design, as problems began to arise.
Downfall
While the focus of Child World's management was primarily on growing the brand, a recession that began in 1990 and continued into 1991, combined with the lack of a 'must-have' toy (e.g., Cabbage Patch KidsCabbage Patch Kids
Cabbage Patch Kids is a line of dolls created by American art student Xavier Roberts in 1978. It was originally called "Little People". The original dolls were all cloth and sold at local craft shows, then later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia...
), helped to send Child World into a steady decline.
Peter Hayes and a large portion of Child World's executive board were fired in 1990 and Cole National began to restrict capital to the stores. As a result, Child World was unable to procure their needed merchandise for the upcoming holiday season and sales dropped. The combination of cash restriction and lack of sales caused Child World to default on payments to creditors and suppliers. These companies, such as LEGO
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
, responded by refusing to accept orders for merchandise and Child World was not only unable to spend money, but store shelves were also becoming empty due to the suppliers' unwillingness to do business with the chain. Child World suffered a yearly loss of $192 million (US) on $830 million in sales for fiscal year 1990. Its profile was not helped by Toys "R" Us's continued growth, as well as the chain's being named a co-defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Cole National decided to seek a buyer for their ailing toy store but a $157 million (US) dollar deal fell through when the buyer failed to come up with enough capital. Meanwhile, Child World was continuing to lose money at a rapid pace and without any monetary interest from potential buyers Cole National was forced to find another way. This resulted in a debt trade with another venture capital firm, Avon Investment Limited Partnership, in 1991. In the deal Cole National gave Avon $30 million in short-term debt in exchange for a larger amount of long-term debt and the remainder of the short term debt. Avon installed a group of former Toys "R" Us executives who sought to bring the company back to prominence.
The already precarious situation, however, did not improve entering 1992 and store closures began. Child World closed 26 stores and exited certain markets altogether in January, then was forced into bankruptcy in April after its line of credit was not renewed. On May 7, 1992, in addition to making the bankruptcy filing public, Child World announced that 54 more stores would be closing. This left Child World with less than half of the stores they had at the end of 1991, and the financial situation was further compromised after company executives failed to secure a line of credit that would have ensured the stores would remain open until at least January 1994.
Child World's management then approached Lionel Kiddie City
Lionel Kiddie City
Lionel Kiddie City was an American Toy store under the ownership of Lionel Corp.. By the early 1980s, Lionel operated some 150 stores, under the names Toy City, Lionel Kiddie City, Lionel Playworld, Lionel Toy Warehouse, and Lionel Toy Town. For a time it was the second-largest toy store chain in...
, another bankrupt toy store chain, about a merger that Child World declared would be its only chance for survival. The chain set a deadline of July 12, 1992, to complete the merger. Eleven days before the deadline Child World announced a chain-wide inventory clearance sale in order to raise cash. July 12 came and passed with no merger announcement, and Child World announced the inventory clearance sale was now a full-fledged going out of business sale. Despite this, merger talks continued in the hopes that Child World and Lionel Kiddie City might be able to pull off a last-minute deal. Unfortunately for Child World, the deal ultimately failed and on August 3, 1992, the chain announced that the remaining 71 stores would accelerate their liquidation sales and close as soon as possible; this occurred over a period of two to six weeks. (Lionel Kiddie City would meet the same fate as Child World, going out of business in 1993.)
Store design
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, battlements, and three arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es (two small, one large) in the front door http://www.plaidstallions.com/toystores/five.html. The corporate logo was written in a "refrigerator-magnet" like typeface. The design starting showing up in newer Child World stores after the 1977 acquisition of Children's Palace. After the company went out of business some of the retailers that took over the Child World spaces retained the design but most did not.
Mascot
The mascot for Child World was originally a cartoon rabbit named Happy Rabbit who sported the words "I'm Happy" on his T-shirt, but by 1979 was replaced by a cartoon panda bear named Peter Panda, often depicted wearing overalls with his name printed on them.Video catalog
In 1990 Child World produced a video catalog in time for Christmas that year called "Video Toy Chest: A Toy Catalog on Videotape". This catalogue advertised the toys sold, with child actors talking about the toys, including SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
video game consoles and software. One of the child actors featured in the video was Lacey Chabert
Lacey Chabert
Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
.