- Here are a few familiar names that might have delighted you as a kid, but that no longer exist.
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5 toy stores that aren't around anymore
Plenty of toy stores have been relegated to the proverbial retail attic over the years.
lionel toy trains
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Selling toys isn't all fun and games.
The advent of e-commerce and changing consumer preferences have ensured that the business is as twisty and full of pitfalls as a game of "Chutes and Ladders."
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Certain retailers like FAO Schwarz or Toys R Us have doubled down on running a single flagship store or promised a comeback, respectively. So it's no surprise that some toy-store chains just didn't survive .
Here's a look at a few toy stores that aren't around anymore:
Zany Brainy came onto the toy scene in 1991. The company lasted for a decade before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of slow sales.
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Dan Loh/AP Images
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Source: CNN
The Lionel Corporation was on the right track for decades, opening in 1900 and chugging along until the 90s. The company owned a number of toy store chains, including Lionel Playworld, Lionel Kiddie City, and Lionel Toy City. The company liquidated in 1993.
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Danny Johnston/AP Images
Source: The New York Times
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KB Toys, also called Kay Bee Toys, first launched back in 1922 as a candy store chain. After WWII, the retailer pivoted to toys. The company shuttered in 2009, but it toyed with and later abandoned the idea of launching a second life as a pop-up-based chain in 2019.
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Stefano Paltera/AP Images
Source: Comic Book , The Los Angeles Times
Founded in 1964, Circus World packed up its tent for good in 1996, thanks to a merger with KB Toys.
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Hillery Smith Shay/AP Images
Source: Me TV
Founded in 1962, Child World fell into debt over the decades. Its financial struggles ended in 1992, when the company filed for Chapter 11.
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Source: The New York Times
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