Toys R Us is set to sell all of its intellectual property to pay off creditors in what is believed to be one of the most valuable brands ever sold by a failed company.
The collapsed toy retailer is due to sell its own name, the Babies R Us brand, its famous Geoffrey the Giraffe logo and a swathe of domain names.
These include: lodges-r-us.com, bistros-r-us.com, recipes-r-us.com, burgers-r-us.com, even cigars-r-us.com and sex-toys-r-us.com.
Brand specialist Bob Phibbs told Reuters that brands as big as Toys R Us often buy up similar domain names to ensure other brands don’t hijack it for traffic.
“They just went crazy,” Phibbs said.
“I’m sure they were laughing and drinking Red Bull and then just came up with every iteration they could.
“It shows the power of the brand. The ‘R’ Us is the key to the brand, not the Toys.”
Just before Christmas last year, Toys R Us’ UK operations secured a company voluntary agreement (CVA) – weeks after its US counterpart filed for bankruptcy.
Months later, both its UK and US arm officially fell into administration, placing a total of 33,000 jobs as stores have been gradually closing down.
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