Economic Recession Litter: KB Toys Closes Store Leaving Rubbish on the Streets

I have always hated KB Toys, and I have honestly only been the store three times in my life. I’ve searched the packed shelves of junk toys for a glimmer of something that I could give my children that was not made of plastic, commercialized, oversexualized, gender specified, or Chinese made.  Thus, I was not saddend to hear this junk toy store was going out of business.

For the second time in four years, KB Toys filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed doors for good after the winter holidays.  NorthJersey.com describes the company’s financial downfall:

KB blamed the difficult economy for the filing, but toy industry experts said wrong decisions by the retailer hastened its demise. It had shifted its focus to mall-based stores, saddling itself with high rents just as shopping-center traffic was dropping; it stopped selling video-game consoles; and it moved its merchandise mix away from hot toys and toward closeouts.

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I feel compassion for the 10,850 employees that lost their jobs as a result of KB Toys going out of business, but did the company need to leave trash all over the streets when closing their Brooklyn store? A Consumerist reader describes the toy litter:

They really don’t care about the people around them once they’re going out of business.  Picture speaks a thousand words, so I have little left to say. 86th St and 4th Ave, Brooklyn NY

There really is no justifiable reason to leave such garbage on the streets after a store’s closing. It also further demonstrates what junk toys the store sold if they do not care enough to dispose of them properly when liquidating. Why weren’t the unsold toys donated to homeless shelters, orphanages, or hospitals?  It is such a waste and disgusting to see rubbish all over the streets like this, although it doesn’t look that much different than the inside of KB Toy store.

Image:  Consumerist

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