February 16 2026 was not just #Family Day in Canada.
It was also "Redeem Your Toys R Us Gift Card" day.
It was the busiest I've seen the flagship store in Toronto.
Parking lot full.
The line for checking out stretching through aisles.
Merchandise picked clean.
Why?
The proximate cause is Toys R Us Canada going through creditor restructuring.
But the cause of the retail mayhem? The gift cards expired on Febuary 17th.
Why?
Because the cards are a $36 million liability on their balance sheet.
Unredeemed gift cards are treated as unearned income.
That means they are a liability.
For #restructuring, companies try to clear up debt, as simply as possible. The simplest way - write down the gift cards to $0.
Simple #accounting. Pain for #consumers.
I gave up my $100 when I saw the picked over shelves and huge line. I gave it to a shopper in line, who was ambivalent about it.
After all, today it was worth nothing.
Seems like something is wrong with gift cards when they are as volatile as #crypto.