Significant industry interest has prompted Ellia to issue a statement on LinkedIn. 

In a LinkedIn post published over the weekend, Ellia writes: “I just got back from the licensing show in Vegas and after so many people stopped me to ask the status of @kbtoysstores, I thought I would make a brief statement here.

Our strategy is ready to go! We’re still in the process of raising money to fund the rebirth of Kay Bee Toys and we’re close to picking an investment bank to represent us. If you are an investment bank or investor and we have not talked to you, feel free to message me so we can discuss the project. Ideally, we’re looking for companies tied to the toy/retail ecosystem so you have a vested interest in our success. While we have tons of interest, our goal is to pick an investor that will look at this play as long-term and not disrupt the company with a short-term exit strategy. With the $8-11 billion-dollar hole TRU created and still no one to fill that gap, we are the best solution to fix the toy industry. Our strategy is amazing and our name is clean. I believe the ‘new’ TRU still has an uphill battle trying to convince vendors to work with them and employees/customers to trust them. We’re working from a clean slate.”