Kay-Bee Toys was founded by the Kauffman Brothers in 1922. The successful toy store would explode nationwide in the 1950's & 1960's as it embraced smaller format mall locations.
The stores began having issues in the late 1990's, facing huge competition from Wal-Mart and Target. The larger stores were able to undercut Kay-Bee because they sold more than just toys. After going through numerous bankruptcies, the chain was finally felled by the credit crunch of 2008. Toys R Us currently owns Kay Bee's trademarks, website and intellectual property yet rarely uses them.
