Fans of Toys R Us have expressed their sadness after it announced “everything must go” from its US headquarters – including a life-sized statue of mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe.
It comes after the retailer filed for bankruptcy and announced in March that it would be closing all of its branches in the United States.
Toys R Us UK also announced that administrators had stepped in and all of its branches would close too.
The liquidation of the company’s US assets got under way at its head office in New Jersey – to the despair of many on social media.
Image: Also for sale is this massive Minion figure. Pic: Toys R Us
Image: The life-sized Sulley model from the Monsters Inc film. Pic: Toys R US
Included in the sale – among office equipment and furniture – were the brand’s giraffe mascot, a giant Minion figure and and life-sized Sulley from the Monsters Inc film.
The firm uploaded photos of everything for sale and posted it to Twitter.
“Not Geoffrey,” responded one user, posting with a crying face emoji.
“SOMEONE SAVE GEOFFREY,” posted another, while another Toys R Us fan wrote: “Geoffrey deserves better than this.”
“Geoffrey deserves to be bought or donated to a local children’s hospital so ill children can look up to him and smile!” said a further tweet.
In a statement in March, Toys R Us chairman and chief executive Dave Brandon said he was “very disappointed” the business was shutting up shop.
“I want to thank our extraordinary team members who helped build Toys R Us into a global brand,” he said.
“I also want to express my appreciation for my colleagues on our board who have continued to provide support to sustain the brand and our operations throughout the restructuring process.
“I would also like to thank our vendors who we owe a great deal of gratitude to for their decades of support. This is a profoundly sad day for us as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served for the past 70 years.”
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Video: Toys R Us and Maplin collapse leaving retailers feeling a chill
The firm later announced it planned to auction off the rights to the Geoffrey the Giraffe logo and the Babies R Us brand to raise money to pay creditors.
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In total, 735 branches will close in the US and a further 100 in the UK.
“This is so depressing,” wrote one Twitter user. “Thanks @ToysRUs for always being one of me and my family’s favorite places to hang out. We’ll miss you.”
Source: Sky