KB Toys - wikipedia KB Toys K B Toys Final logo until its 2009 closure Formerly called Kay - Bee Toy & Hobby Industry Toy store Fate Bankruptcy Liquidation Founded 1922 ; 96 years ago ( 1922 ) ( as Kay Bee Toys ) Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S. Founders Harry and Joseph Kaufman Defunct February 9, 2009 ( 2009 - 02 - 09 ) Headquarters Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S. Number of locations 431 ( prior to closing ) Products Children toys and games Number of employees 4,300 ( prior to closing ) Website www.kbtoys.com K B Toys ( also known as Kay Bee Toys ) was a chain of mall - based retail toy stores in the United States. Founded in 1922, it operated, at its height, 1,300 stores across all 50 states, and went out of business in 2009. International retailer Toys `` R '' Us acquired the remains of K B Toys, consisting mainly of its website, trademarks, and intellectual property rights. Contents 1 History 1.1 Operations 1.2 Liquidation 1.3 Official Revival 2 See also 3 References 4 External links History Operations Founded in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1922 as a candy store by the Kaufman Brothers, K B operated 605 stores in 44 U.S. states, Puerto Rico as well as Guam. It was privately held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. K B Toys was owned by Melville Corporation, but that company sold it to Consolidated Stores in 1996. It was also the second - oldest operating toy retailer in North America ( behind FAO Schwarz ) before its demise. Starting in 2001, KB Toys opened temporary `` stores within a store '' at select Sears department stores during the Christmas season. At the time of its liquidation, K B Toys operated three distinct store formats : K B Toys, K B Toy Works ( the result of a merger between KB Toys and The Toy Works ), and K B Toys Outlet ( aka Toy Liquidators ). K B Toys stores were mostly found in the company 's traditional base of shopping malls, where many of its stores were located for years. K B Toy Works stores were typically found in outdoor strip malls. K B Toys Outlet and Toy Liquidators stores, as the name implies, were usually found in outlet centers / malls. The company used the slogans `` America 's Toy Store, '' `` Hot We Got, at KB, '' and `` The Toy Store in the Mall. '' Liquidation K B Toys closed 156 stores on November 8, 2007, leaving the chain with 1,144 stores. Following the company 's second bankruptcy in five years, the chain began going - out - of - business sales in December 2008. The store - closing sales ( as well as the termination of the company 's website ) were concluded on February 9, 2009. The K B Toys brand and related intangible assets were sold by Streambank LLC to Toys `` R '' Us on September 4, 2009, for a reported $2.1 million. Because K B Toys 's 460 stores had been closed and liquidated, the sale applied mainly to the company 's logo, website, trademarks, and other intellectual properties. Toys `` R '' Us was initially unsure of how to integrate the K B name into its business plan. Toys `` R '' Us has used the K B Toys name on self - manufactured toys under the name `` KB Classics '' with the K B Toys logo. Official revival In 2016, Strategic Marks LLC registered a trademark for KB Toys, after Toys `` R '' Us allowed the previous registration to lapse. Founder Ellia Kassoff stated that due to Toys `` R '' Us going out of business, they planned to have pop - up stores up and running before Christmas 2018. See also Ronald Staffieri References Jump up ^ Smith, Jenn ( 15 October 2005 ). `` Former KB Toys owner dies ''. The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` KB Toys History ''. FundingUniverse. Retrieved 18 November 2016. ^ Jump up to : Pereira, Joseph ; John Kell ( September 4, 2009 ). `` Toys ' R ' Us Buys KB Toys ' Brand ''. Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 2016 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Sears to Open Test Sites With KB Toys ''. latimes. Retrieved 18 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` KB Toys in Sears for holidays ''. DeseretNews.com. 8 October 2003. Retrieved 18 November 2015. Jump up ^ Brickley, Peg ( December 11, 2008 ). `` K B Toys Faces Liquidation ''. Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 2010 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ Kinney, Jim ( March 20, 2018 ). `` With Toys ' R ' Us on its deathbed, once Pittsfield - based KB Toys poised for resurrection ''. The Republican. Springfield, MA. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 20. Jump up ^ Kassoff, Ellia ( March 16, 2018 ). `` We 're going to save the toy industry ! ''. LinkedIn. LinkedIn. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 19. External links Official website `` K B Toys -- Company History '', FundingUniverse.com, dense overview of business history as of 2006 ( ~ 15kb ) Exhibit A Delaware Bankruptcy Court Chapter 11 Document `` KB Toys emerges from bankruptcy, names Toys ' R ' Us exec as CEO '', BizJournals.com `` KB Toys files for Chapter 11 after cutthroat holiday season '', usatoday.com Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KB_Toys&oldid=833005367 '' Categories : Defunct retail companies of the United States Toy companies of the United States Privately held companies based in Massachusetts Retail companies established in 1922 Retail companies disestablished in 2009 Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Toy retailers Toys `` R '' Us 1922 establishments in Massachusetts 2009 disestablishments in Massachusetts Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 29 March 2018, at 04 : 21. 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Question: when did kb toys go out of business
Answer: 2009