Only a year ago, the belief was that the private equity world was doomed. But as is common in the financial markets, this was big exaggeration. If anything, private equity firms have shown that they can adapt quite well.

Just look at KKR (KKR). In its latest quarter, the company posted a profit of $180.6 million or $0.86 per share. The consensus estimate was for $0.42 per share.

But private equity firms like to point to another metric: economic net income, which focuses on fees and gains from investments. This came to $714.6 million in the quarter. Yes, the private equity game can be wildly profitable.

Continue reading KKR Gets Its Groove Back

KKR Gets Its Groove Back originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps it is the cynic in me, but I was not surprised to read this story about Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) from Bloomberg. The news outlet obtained an e-mail that was sent to Walmart managers instructing them to raise prices on an average of 1,800 types of toys per store. The managers were instructed to perform the price markups "as soon as possible" and were told that the price changes were "to better enable your store and the company to have a successful financial month."

Walmart stated that these price increases went into effect because temporary discounts on products (including toys) ended on November 30. Spokesman Ravi Jariwala, spokesman for Walmart, said in an e-mail, "Once a rollback ends, the item returns to its original everyday low price." That said, Eric Johnson director of the Center for Digital Strategies at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth noted that "In previous years Wal-Mart has come out and hammered everyone with unbelievably low toy prices ... They stepped away from that this year and after Thanksgiving their prices have crept back up."

Continue reading Walmart Stores Raise Toy Prices for Christmas -- Surprised?

Walmart Stores Raise Toy Prices for Christmas -- Surprised? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toys R Us announced Thursday morning that it will open 600 temporary "express" stores in malls and shopping centers around the country this holiday season, the Associated Press reported. Toys R Us is looking to capitalize on a dearth of toys stores in malls, a predicament caused when KB Toys went out of business in 2008.

"We've been very aggressive during the economic downturn, and this is another aggressive action," said CEO Jerry Storch. "During the holiday season, mall traffic ramps up, and this will allow customers to purchase fill-in toys."

Continue reading Toys R Us to Open Mall Express Stores for Holidays

Toys R Us to Open Mall Express Stores for Holidays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Toys 'R' Us Plans IPO Five Years After Buyout

Toys 'R' Us Plans IPO Five Years After Buyout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The holidays have ended, and the real sales have begun. Those choosing to sacrifice sentimentality for savings found retailers only too willing to help, as prices were slashed in the wake of the Christmas rush. Recipients of gift cards stand to see their purchasing power extended, as well, now that redemption time has arrived, and retailers are looking to squeeze in any extra sales they can to pump up their top lines before the books close on the fiscal year, which, for many, comes at the end of January.

Toys "R" Us has offered a deal on Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii games, with the second coming at half price, and Target (TGT) is nearly halving the price of wine glasses and dropping the tag on an argyle women's sweater by nearly a third. Walmart (WMT), which kicked off its cuts at the end of September, is throwing a $50 gift card on top of any Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 buy.

Continue reading After Christmas, Retailers Pick Up the Pieces

After Christmas, Retailers Pick Up the Pieces originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Online retail sales are expected to increase 3% to $28.8 billion for this year's holiday season. The analysts at comScore include traditional retailers, like Macy's (M) in this estimate, but don't count auction sites like eBay (EBAY), travel or corporate sales. The estimate compares favorably against the National Retail Federation's forecast of a 1% year-over-year drop for all retail sales and exceeds the industry's most aggressive holiday season sales estimates of 2%.

Last year, online retail sales fell 3% for the holiday season, the first decline since the industry started keeping score in 2001. Even if we don't hit the 3% growth level this year, 2009 is still expected to be better than 2008, now that the economy has stabilized (at least relative to last year).

Continue reading Online sales to be darling of holiday season

Online sales to be darling of holiday season originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If Thanksgiving is a bird, a beer and a football game for you, prepare to have your thinking challenged. Many retailers are looking to get a head start on Black Friday this year, opening a day early, some of them for the first time. Most Old Navy Stores (GPS) will open their doors on Thursday, along with Wal-Mart (WMT), Toys "R" Us, RadioShack (RSH) and Walgreen's (WAG). Rather than bet solely on Friday, retailers are looking to eke every last dime they can out of the holiday season this year.

The National Retail Federation expects holiday spending to drop 1% this year to $437.6 billion. "Retailers need to be competitive," says NRF spokeswoman Ellen Davis. "There's a lot riding on the success of November and December retail sales."

Continue reading Retailers can't wait for Black Friday, open Thursday

Retailers can't wait for Black Friday, open Thursday originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Joining the ranks of Tickle-Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Kids, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ... behold, the Zhu Zhu Pets. These robotic rodents are expected to be the most in-demand toy for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

The five battery-operated hamsters respond to touch with 40 different sounds, and can also run around when set in "explore" mode. It's all the fun of having a pet without the messy clean-up duty.

Parents, you have Cepia LLC, a small company in St. Louis, to thank for these critters. The firm is hoping to ship between 4 million and 5 million pets by the end of the year (banking $300 million to $400 million in sales), but admits they cannot keep up with the demand. Cepia has grand plans, however, for the next part of the Zhu Zhu universe, hoping to roll out hedgehogs, rabbits, and other furry robot friends in the next year or so.

Continue reading And the hottest toy for the holiday season is ...

And the hottest toy for the holiday season is ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz in May and is now ready to do something interesting with it.

It's a pretty bold move for a tough retail market. Toys R Us is opening FAO Schwarz boutiques in some of its stores. It's also relaunching the upscale toy seller's website, FAO.com. A year ago, this would have been suicide, but now, it might work out. With retailers in every sector fighting for an edge, this move may beef up the Toys R Us in-store experience, with the online play helping it reach higher-spending consumers that may not have access to an FAO brick-and-mortar spot.

Continue reading Toys R Us opening FAO Schwarz boutiques for the holidays

Toys R Us opening FAO Schwarz boutiques for the holidays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the wake of last week's public offering of Dollar General, more IPOs are expected to be coming down the pipeline as private equity firms seek a monetary return on investments made during the boom years. Speculation is that Toys "R" Us and Dunkin' Donuts could be next.

Toys "R" Us Inc. is owned by Bain Capital, KKR, and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO). The world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer was a public company from 1978 until its acquisition by the private equity consortium in July 2005 for $6.6 billion. It has more than 1,500 stores in 33 countries, and its businesses include Babies "R" Us, eToys.com, and FAO Schwarz, the latter two acquired earlier this year. Main competitors include privately owned KB Toys, as well as big-box retailers Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Continue reading Toys 'R' Us and Dunkin' Donuts in line for IPOs?

Toys 'R' Us and Dunkin' Donuts in line for IPOs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The market has made a nice rebound over the past few months, and one question is on every investor's lips: Can it continue?

To get an answer, it might not be a bad idea to look at what the private equity firms are planning. Remember when The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) decided to cash out with an IPO and it marked the exact top of the private equity boom? Take a look at how that stock has performed since then.

Well, now The Financial Times reports that "Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the world's biggest buy-out group, is preparing up to six companies for initial public offerings worth billions of dollars, including Toys 'R Us, as it sells some of its most valuable groups back to the stock market."

Continue reading KKR prepares a torrent of IPOs

KKR prepares a torrent of IPOs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This morning, Toys R Us Inc. announced that it purchased high-end toy retailer FAO Schwarz. FAO has struggled mightily for years, thanks to harsh competition from discount toy stores.

Toys R Us CEO Jerry Storch stated, "We will work tirelessly to preserve the distinctiveness and integrity of the FAO Schwarz stores and brand as we grow the business and, indeed, take the brand to even greater heights."

Continue reading A purchase in toyland, Toys R Us buys FAO Schwarz

A purchase in toyland, Toys R Us buys FAO Schwarz originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have always disliked the moniker 'Black Friday.' Explaining that 'Black Friday' refers to the day that retailers go from losing money to making it strikes me as awkward -- particularly when my first instinct on hearing that phrase is to think of something very bad happening on a Friday.

Which is why today's deadly events combining shopping for the holidays and death seem so strange and sad. This morning, a Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) clerk at a store in Valley Stream, Long Island was trampled to death by a crowd of 2,000 people eager to grab bargains. "The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion," according to AP. If store cameras can identify who trampled the store clerk, criminal charges could be brought against them.

Later in the day, two people were shot dead at a Toys 'R' Us in Southern California. The Riverside Country sheriff's department reported an argument between two teenagers preceded the shooting. A third person, a male, apparently pulled out a gun, according to AP.

Continue reading Deadly Black Friday: One at Wal-Mart, Two at Toys 'R' Us

Deadly Black Friday: One at Wal-Mart, Two at Toys 'R' Us originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

Back in the heady dot-com days of 1999, any parent who didn't want to brave the holiday season parking lots knew what to do: Get online and buy those Christmas presents at eToys.com. Unlike Toys-R-Us, which had recently gone online itself, eToys seemed to know what it was doing. It offered a vast array of toys at reasonable prices, and it got them to you on time as promised.

But by March 2001, you were back to the Toys-R-Us option -- by then allied with Amazon.com, and doing online retailing the right way. In the end, eToys proved no more durable than the Furby -- much sought-after, priced up by speculators and hype, only to ultimately end up in the backyard, broken and ignored.

eToys went up fast and crashed hard, (not unlike a pogo stick), and in many ways it remains a textbook example of the excesses and "irrational exuberance" of the dot-com era.

Continue reading Companies that vanished: eToys.com goes up fast, crashes hard

Companies that vanished: eToys.com goes up fast, crashes hard originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Holiday shopping season started early -- Is it that time of year already?

Holiday shopping season started early -- Is it that time of year already? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in March 2005, a group of marquee private equity firms -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Bain Capital -- purchased Toys "R'' Us for $6.6 billion. It was certainly a leap-of-faith. After all, the toy retailer had been under assault from Net upstarts as well as mega retailers like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT).

Well, the environment got even tougher since then. As a result, Toys "R" Us hired Gerald Storch, a top-flight executive from Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT), to run the ailing toy retailer (he came on board in February).

And, he seems to be getting some traction. In fact, according to a piece in Bloomberg.com, the bonds of Toys "R" Us have been rallying lately. Keep in mind that during the summer, bond investors were pricing the bonds as if they would default.

What has Storch done? Well, he has cut 3,000 jobs, closed down a variety of stores and renovated other stores. Perhaps his best move was offering exclusive products, such as the Nitro Notebook computer.

But, the fact remains that the company has $6.72 billion in debt and the competition is not getting any easier.

However, this is high profile deal and it would be an embarrassment if things went awry. In other words, this appears to be an early test of the riskiness of the private equity world.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.

Toys R Us as an example of private equity risk originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.