Consolidated Reaches Deal to Sell K-B Toy Chain

Consolidated Stores Corp. said it reached an agreement to sell the K-B Toy chain to an unnamed buyer, shedding a business that the company said is less profitable than when it was acquired almost five years ago. The company also reported a decline in fiscal third-quarter profit and said fourth-quarter earnings will be below analysts’ estimates because of sluggish consumer spending and price cuts during the holiday season. Columbus, Ohio-based Consolidated, the nation’s largest close-out retailer with such chains as Pic ‘N’ Save, said operating profit fell 15% to $6.57 million, or 6 cents a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 28, a penny less than analysts expected. Sales from continuing operations rose 9% to $733.5 million. The K-B Toys division was accounted for as a discontinued operation. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.5%, half of what the company had expected. Consolidated shares fell 69 cents to close at $9.94 on the NYSE.