Bain Destroyed K&B toys

[Pbs1914]

They acquired them and in about 3 years the 100 year old company was bankrupt and gone.
I think this information should go in an add. In some cases it can probably be more relatable to some who may not have been impacted by a steel mill or plant closing in another city, or the auto industry bailout helping the midwest. A lot of people had fond memories of going to the
mall and seeing K&B toys as youths and even as adults. To me Bankrupting K&B toys is like the equivalent of knocking over someones grandma.

[northoftheborder]

1. Have used this info w/ Rep. mothers to good effect

[sammytko]

2. Isn't it just "KB"?

[kag]

3. My kids used to love running around in K&B.

I remember they used to always have a "barking" little mechanical puppy at the front of the store that my daughter couldn't pass by without stopping to play with it.

[klook]

4. This is detailed in Matt Taibbi's excellent Rolling Stone piece

in the Sept. 13, 2012 issue. Link here.

I took notice of this, also -- I spent a lot of happy times with my kids in a KB Toy Store in the 1980s. Bain took over a cool, fun company and ran it into the ground and out of business. Bastards.

[tridim]

5. I remember when that happened.

It was my favorite store at the mall when I was a kid, and basically overnight it turned into a festering shit-hole. The resulting store actually depressed me enough that I never went back again.

[Odin2005]

6. I was wondering what happened to them.

I liked going there to buy stuff for my neice. I refuse to go to Toys-R-Us because they support Autism Speaks.

[supernova]

11. I always wondered what happened to KB Toys

I loved shopping there for toys and they always seemed like a great store. Malls are definitely poorer in terms of atmosphere without them.

What a waste of space Bain is.

[tavalon]

20. What is your problem with Autism Speaks?

[Odin2005]

21. They are Eugenicists who think I'm "broken" and need to be "cured".

They are allied with hysterical anti-vax nuts in pushing the "autism epidemic" BS.

They attacked Obama for appointing Ari Ne'eman to the Presidential Council on Disabilities because he is a critic of their "Autistic people are damaged goods" rhetoric.

[tavalon]

22. Some people with autism are severely damaged

My son for instance, who has the vocabulary of an 18 month old, even though he is seventeen. Yeah, those on the less damaged end of the spectrum, such as yourself completely have a right to say they aren't damaged and having known a number of people with Aspergers and even one interesting woman who has full blown autism, I can concur that there comes a point on the spectrum where the individual's preference in how they see themselves should be paramount.

In my son's case, though, I will continue to work to help him get just a little more out of his autistic world. While I've seen things through his eyes (he loves cameras and has a really unique way of seeing the world) that have amazed me, I don't believe for a second that he doesn't have a severely limited life.

[Odin2005]

29. But they are rather offensive even to low-functioning autistics.

Google the Autism Ransom Note ads Autism Speaks put on billboards until the outrage caused them to pull the ads.

[yardwork]

7. Bain destroyed Federated Department Stores.

None of the stores I remember from my childhood exist anymore, or they are empty shells of their former selves.

Think of how much Bain has destroyed of our culture. Think of the high quality products that used to be made in America that are no more, or at best cheapened down versions of the originals, now made by slave laborers in China. Think of the thousands of Americans who lost their jobs - and Romney dares to call them lazy!

It makes me very angry.

[Initech]

16. I'm pretty sure they're behind the destruction of Mervyn's and Best Products as well.

If corporations are people - Bain Capital is a serial killer.

[yardwork]

17. "Bain Capital is a serial killer." That's good!

[Initech]

19. I kind of stole that from Stephen Colbert.

[Jennicut]

8. Destroyed one of my favorites stores from when I was a child.

During the mad 1980's rush to buy Cabbage Patch Kids, got one from a KB store. I still have it and my daughters play with it now. Not to mention all of my Barbies and My Little Ponies came from there. Bain just destroys, they haven't done much good for any of the companies they were involved in.

[HopeHoops]

9. I so loved that store. Not a sea of the same items, but small numbers of MANY items.

It was always an adventure - especially after my kids were born. That's when the REAL fun began. So yeah, I'm royally pissed at rMoney for that.

[Downtown Hound]

10. I used to go buy my Nintendo and Atari games from KB

I'd always make a stop there every time we went ot the mall just to check out the latest selection. I remember when they disappeared. Had no idea Romney was involved, but it makes sense that that creep would destroy something that represents fun and innocence to so many.

[Systematic Chaos]

12. I did the same thing. They were an awesome clearing house for Atari 2600 games in the mid 80s.

Just about everything for 5 to 10 bucks, tops.

[Odin2005]

13. I got my Nintendo games there, too.

I remember using the birthday money I got for my 9th birthday to buy Final Fantasy 3, there.

[Downtown Hound]

15. I remember getting Super Mario Bros. 2 from there

It was crazy popular when it first came out and every other store was sold out of it, even Toys R Us and Sears. KB was the only store to carry it. I remember walking out of that store with game in bag, thinking I had just scored the most valuable treasure ever. LOL.

[lpbk2713]

14. That was our toy store of preference when my kids were youngsters.

They had the latest stuff, the best variety and usually the best prices.
There were several other toy stores around but KB was usually the
first stop. Damn shame the vulture capitalists did them in.

[cbdo2007]

18. When I was growing up, they were always the "overpriced" toy store at the mall.

Don't know if this is something Bain did or not, but I clearly remember never shopping in KB in the late 80's cause my money would go so much farther at Children's Palace or even Toys R Us, and I was a little kid.

[True Earthling]

23. Factcheck.org... Romney left Bain 2 yrs before they acquired KB Toys

The film claims Romney was involved in the acquisition, management and demise of the now-defunct KB Toys. He wasn’t. Bain bought the toy company nearly two years after Romney left Bain.

http://www.factcheck.org/2012/01/facts-strained-in-king-of-bain/

[BumRushDaShow]

24. Then he is a felon

because his claim of leaving Bain in 1999 per the fact check assertion you link to means that he lied on his forms regarding his residency in Massachusetts to qualify to run for Governor. He claimed he attended Bain board meetings through to 2002 and even signed multiple Bain documents post 1999, several of which were were prominently shown on TV the past couple months.

[Pbs1914]

25. OP only mentioned Bain.

Even though Bain is Romney, and Romney is bain.

[grantcart]

26. Lol It was Romney who came up with the formula, and he got the profits.

He continued to receive special overrides after he left, one of the reasons that he won't show his taxes and that he has $ 100 million in an IRA.

[Ikonoklast]

27. You do realize thay Romney is STILL getting deferred compensation from Bain, right?

He never really left.

Never.

[ProSense]

30. This is absolute nonsense.

That's from January when the fact checking organizations/media were still covering for Mitt based on his own claim.

It's long before the "retroactively retired" claim and long before all the other information came out, including information that Mitt is earning income from companies acquired well into the 2000s.

[Raine]

28. I loved KB Toys. :-( nt

[DainBramaged]

31. They ALWAYS had the best selection of scale metal models from Ertl and Maisto

now you have to buy them on Ebay