It’s hard to imagine a more descriptive photo, this picture truly is worth a 1,000 words. Toys “R” Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe has packed up his suitcase. He was seen leaving his toy kingdom for good. The heartbreaking photo of Geoffrey has gone viral just a day before Toys “R” Us goes away for good.
The photo shows the giraffe in an empty Toys “R” Us store. He’s holding a suitcase and waving goodbye. The photo was taken by Rene Johnpiere, who appears to work at a Toys “R” Us. Johnpiere posted several other sad photos of the empty store on Facebook.
The photos depicted empty shelves, vacant shopping carts and several employees locking the doors.
“My heart is breaking,” Johnpiere wrote with a photo of the store’s sale signs.
The store employee also shared nostalgic Toys “R” Us commercials from the ’80s and ’90s to commemorate the end of the company. But it was her photo of Geoffrey the Giraffe leaving that got the most attention, receiving nearly 300,000 shares on Facebook and almost 8,000 “likes.”
That photo captures the end of an era, many people are watching their favorite store close forever. Hoards of kids grew up watching Geoffrey the Giraffe in TV commercials. They sang along with the iconic jingle: “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys “R” Us kid.”
The toy mega-store filed for bankruptcy in September 2017 and announced liquidation sales shortly after.
Does this picture stir any memories for you from your childhood? Is this a sign of what may happen to more mega-stores like Toys “R” Us due to growing online sales from giants like Amazon? We look forward to hearing from you so let us now what you think in the comment section below.