Toys 'R' Us to auction iconic mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe

The toy giant announced that it would shutter its stores earlier this year.

ByABC News

May 16, 2018, 3:25 PM

Toys "R" Us is planning to auction its iconic mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe next month, according to Reuters.

The toy giant is planning to sell its intellectual property, which includes its Babies "R" Us brand, in an effort to raise money to pay back its creditors, Reuters reported.

Jahmae Evans, 4, talks to Geoffrey the Giraffe at Toy Fair in New York, in this Feb. 14, 2016 file photo.
Mark Lennihan/AP, FILE

Toys "R" Us is also auctioning off hundreds of website addresses it owns, including sex-toys-r-us.com, ihatetoysrus.com, toysrussucks.com, kinkytoysrus.com and adult-toys-r-us.com, according to Reuters. The company owns those domains as a protective measure.

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Toys "R" Us announced in March that it would shutter its stores after more than seven decades as one of the country's most popular toy stores. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 but announced that it would close all stores following poor holiday sales that year.

The American International Toy Fair opens on Feb. 16, 2003 with a parade of toy characters including Geoffrey the Toys R Us giraffe.
Richard B. Levine via Newscom

Geoffrey the Giraffe first appeared as the company's mascot in 1965, and the first television ad featuring Geoffrey aired in 1973, The Associated Press reported. At the time, Toys "R" Us would sell figurines in Geoffrey's likeness, as well as Lego sets and stuffed animals, according to the AP.