Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, announced Thursday that one of its franchisees plans to close 100 Dunkin' Donuts stores in the United States this year and next.

The company did not provide a list of what stores would be closed, but said that they were all owned by the Speedway gas station and convenience store chain.

Grant Benson, vice president of global franchising and business development for Dunkin' Brands, added that the stores were not being closed due to poor performance.

But Dunkin' Brands (DNKN) also lowered its outlook for the third quarter -- to just 1.1% same-store sales growth -- as fewer customers came to the stores.

Toys R Us is going out of business, its website is shuttered, its gift cards will expire soon, and some of its store locations are on the auction block.

But one businessman is determined to bring the bankrupt toy store franchise back to life.

"I will make Toys R Us a fun place again," toy mogul Isaac Larian tells NPR's Rachel Martin.

To do that, Larian is raising money through a GoFundMe campaign. Larian is the head of MGA Entertainment, maker of the Bratz line of dolls and Little Tikes, which are sold in Toys R Us stores.


MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian has launched a campaign to try to save Toys R Us through a GoFundMe campaign.
Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MGA Entertainment
The campaign itself relies on nostalgic appeal for a childhood icon — one that spans generations and includes a catchy commercial jingle. "You can be a part of this historic movement to #SaveToysRUs by donating today!" the campaign page says. "Your donation will help to ensure that generations to come can 'always be a Toys R Us kid' and save employee jobs that are at stake should the company cease operation."

So far, the #SaveToysRUs campaign to raise $1 billion has brought in a little over $2oo million — though most of that is a pledge from Larian and other big investors. The rest is from people making smaller donations in return for stickers and toys. (According to the campaign, if the goal is not met by May 28 and the donations are not used to buy Toys R Us, the money will be returned.)

Game Over For Toys R Us: Chain Going Out Of Business
THE TWO-WAY
Game Over For Toys R Us: Chain Going Out Of Business
Toys R Us announced last month that it would go out of business, telling its more than 30,000 employees (including those at Babies R Us) that it would sell or close all of its U.S. stores. The chain's problem, as described by NPR's Alina Selyukh, has been managing its debt:

Toys R Us has struggled with a heavy load of debt inherited from a 2005 buyout, as well as intense competition from Walmart, Amazon and Target — made worse by disappointing holiday sales.

The chain — whose history traces back to a post-World War II baby furniture store — has spent many decades as the country's largest dedicated toy emporium. In 2017, Toys R Us accounted for roughly one-fifth of toy sales in the U.S., according to Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink.

But in recent years, Toys R Us has found itself amid a trifecta of demographic and social changes, Wissink says.

Today's parents are the millennial generation who grew up with the Internet and approach purchasing decisions and time they spend with children differently from baby boomers. Generally, foot traffic is falling at brick-and-mortar stores. And children are playing differently than they used to decades ago.

Larian says if he is able to buy it, he plans to reinvest in the company in ways the chain has been unable to because of the debt — though he would likely keep only about 150 to 200 of its 735 U.S. stores.

As for his imagined revamp, he won't give details. "We are still competing to buy Toys R Us, and I don't want other people to know what we plan to do," he says. "It's not going to be a minor thing. It's going to be a major thing."

Other potential buyers, he says, would simply flip the company, and if that happens, "Toys R Us is not going to last. It needs a crazy person who lives, breathes and eats toys like I do."

The CEO behind Bratz dolls and Little Tikes toys is officially making his bid for Toys "R" Us.
Isaac Larian said Friday that he's entered a formal offer of $675 million to buy many of the Toys "R" Us stores in the United States, along with an additional $215 million for Toys "R" Us stores in Canada.

Larian is looking to buy more than 200 of the remaining 735 locations in the US, and almost all of more than 80 locations in Canada, a spokesperson said.

Larian, who runs MGA Entertainment, will use his own money for the bid, along with financing from banks and additional investors, according to a press release.

"The liquidation of Toys 'R' Us is going to have a long-term effect on the toy business. The industry will truly suffer," he said in a statement. "The prospect of bringing the Toys 'R' Us experience to a new generation, my new grandson's generation, is enough to motivate me to Save Toys 'R' Us."

Toys "R" Us declined to comment.

Related: Amazon didn't kill Toys "R" Us. Here's what did

The company said in March that it would shut or sell all its US stores after a failed turnaround bid. Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy last fall.

Previously, Larian tried to raise $1 billion to save Toys "R" Us through a crowdfunding campaign. But he won't tap any of those pledges for his actual offer, and those who pitched in will get their money back, according to the spokesperson. The crowdfunding effort was designed only to raise awareness, she said.

Larian's vision for Toys "R" Us includes turning its stores into entertainment hotspots.

"We will make Toys 'R' Us an experience in and of itself; a fun and engaging place where families can spend an entire day," he said in his statement on Friday. "Imagine a mini-Disneyland in each neighborhood."

In the past, Larian has blamed the demise of Toys "R" Us on its private equity owners, which saddled the company with debt.

"Every penny it made went to paying the debt service," he said in an interview with CNNMoney