{{Short description|Defunct American toy store chain}} {{Infobox company | name = Children's Palace Toy Stores | logo = ChildWorld_ChildrensPalace_logo.png | type = Corporation | founded = {{start date and age|1962}} | defunct = {{end date and age|1992|9|12}} | fate = Liquidation | industry = Retail | products = Toys }}
'''Child World''' was an American toy retailer founded in 1962. The company also operated the '''Children's Palace''' chain of toy stores after acquiring it in 1975.
At its peak, Child World operated 182 sites between its two brands and had revenues of $830 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=830000000|start_year=1992}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). However, the company ran into severe financial difficulty at the beginning of the 1990s which led to bankruptcy and eventually the 1992 liquidation of the stores.
== History ==
;Beginnings and early expansion [[File:Child World 1993.jpg|thumb|Saugus, Massachusetts Child World store, 1993]]
Child World was founded by Joseph Arnesano & Sid Schneider in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1962. It became a publicly-traded corporation in 1968, based in Avon, Massachusetts.<ref name="Bryant">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1DF153EF93BA35756C0A964958260|title=Child World Files for Bankruptcy|last=Bryant|first=Adam|date=May 8, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=2007-11-30|archive-date=2008-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529093327/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1DF153EF93BA35756C0A964958260|url-status=live}}</ref>
It acquired Children's Palace from Kobacker Stores in 1975.<ref name="wsj-1975apr14">{{cite news |title=Child World Buys Toy Division |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=April 14, 1975 |page=3 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/134015602 |url-access=subscription |quote=Child World Inc., said it bought for $3.5 million K.B. Marketing Systems Inc.'s toy division, consisting of nine retail stores under the name Children's Palace. |access-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305075805/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/doc/134015602.html |id={{ProQuest|134015602}} |url-status=live }} </ref> Post merger, Child World began incorporating the Children's Palace stylized castle decor into its new stores.
In 1981, Child World was purchased by Ohio businessman Joseph E. Cole's Cole National Corporation; it came under the ownership of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts following its 1984 purchase of Cole's firm.<ref name=FU>{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Cole-National-Corporation-Company-History.html |title=Company History: Cole National Corporation |website=Funding Universe |access-date=2008-11-03 |archive-date=2008-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027060745/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Cole-National-Corporation-Company-History.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
;Downfall Cole National began restricting the amount of money it provided to the subsidiary causing cash shortages. Vendors including LEGO refused to extend credit which left stores with empty shelves. Meanwhile Toys "R" Us continued to grow and Child World had to defend a lawsuit from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.<ref name=FU/>
Child World ended 1990 with US$830 million in assets but US$1 billion in liabilities. Cole National sought to sell the ailing chain. A US$157 million deal fell through and there were no other buyers. In 1991, it emerged senior executive James Maybury had been diverting revenue to fund a museum he intended to open in Dracut, MA. Cole National had to perform a debt trade with fellow venture capital firm Avon Investment Limited Partnership later that year in order to shed the business. Avon appointed former Toys "R" Us executives, but results remained poor and in early 1992 Child World closed 26 stores.<ref name=FU/>
;Bankruptcy, failed merger, and liquidation In April 1992, Child World applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection causing former Child World managers and Cole National executives to file a class-action lawsuit against Avon, accusing it of sabotaging the company so they could liquidate it and avoid payments to them.<ref name=DSN>{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_/ai_12540143 |title=Child World is grounded: rescue by Lionel falters – Lionel Kiddie City |first=Laura |last=Liebeck |date=August 3, 1992 |work=Discount Store News |access-date=2009-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104051523/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_/ai_12540143 |archive-date=January 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> A further 54 stores were identified for closure as Child World focussed on 71 previously profitable Northeastern United States stores it sought funds to keep open.<ref name= Bryant /> Lenders were not forthcoming and the business reported further losses.<ref name="Bryant"/> Avon sought a last ditch merger of Child World with Lionel Corporation's also financially troubled Lionel Kiddie City<ref name= DSN />, while beginning a massive clearance sale to try to raise cash. The merger talks proved fruitless, and Child World began liquidation sales in the summer of 1992 while terminating many of its executives. The last Child World locations closed in September of that year.<ref name= DSN />
== Store design == [[Image:Storeentrance.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Entrance to former Children's Palace in Englewood, Colorado (later a Big Lots, as seen above the door, with the design from the store still in place), this location has since closed as of early 2023.]] Child World was known largely for making its stores resemble castles, complete with turrets, battlements, and three arches (two small, one large) in the front door.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.plaidstallions.com/toystores/five.html |title=Vintage Toy Store Pictures Part Five |website=Plaid Stallions (blog) |first=Brian |last=Heiler |date=<!--undated--> |access-date=2008-04-12 |archive-date=2008-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510065017/http://www.plaidstallions.com/toystores/five.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== In popular culture == A Child World store that stood at 7600 West Roosevelt Road in Forest Park, Illinois (since demolished), was used in Martin Scorsese's 1986 film ''The Color of Money'' as the place where Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise) worked as a toy-store clerk, and where retired pool hustler Eddie 'Fast Eddie' Felson (Paul Newman) came to see him to convince him to be his protégé in pool.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fast-rewind.com/colorofmoney.htm|title=The '80s Movies: Rewind...The Color of Money|website=fast-rewind.com|access-date=2017-04-27|archive-date=2017-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428054219/http://www.fast-rewind.com/colorofmoney.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itsfilmedthere.com/2010/02/color-of-money.html|author=Demster, Chas|title=Filming Locations of Chicago and Los Angeles: The Color of Money|website=itsfilmedthere.com|access-date=2017-04-27|archive-date=2017-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826221440/http://www.itsfilmedthere.com/2010/02/color-of-money.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Mark Wahlberg mentions it in Ted 2, as the place where Ted the foul-mouthed bear was purchased.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2637276/characters/nm0805476|title=John Slattery:Shep Wild|website=IMDB|access-date=2022-11-13|archive-date=2022-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113152826/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2637276/characters/nm0805476|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Portal bar|1980s|1990s}}
Category:Defunct retail companies of the United States Category:Companies based in Massachusetts Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992 Category:Retail companies disestablished in 1993 Category:Retail companies established in 1970 Category:Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Category:Toy retailers of the United States