It looked like Santa's headquarters, Utah division.
There were 8,300 of the most popular toys -- Barbie dolls, Legos, Elmos, Disney character puzzles and Iron Giants -- all stacked in a warehouse waiting for distribution. Workers were rushing about figuring out the best way to organize the toys.This was the scene Friday morning at JB Tile Warehouse in Salt Lake City where some $137,000 in toys were being prepared for distribution statewide to various agencies that will be making Christmas this year -- and even birthdays and other events brighter next year -- for thousands of Utah children.
The Utah Attorney General's Office received the toys through what is nicknamed the "Holiday Toy Express" program. That is, it is the settlement Utah and 43 other states reached with toy retailer Toys "R" Us and toy manufacturer Mattel over allegations of anti-competitive practices by the two companies.
"This is really a very happy occasion," Chief Deputy Attorney General Reed Richards said. "We feel a little bit like Santa today."
There's enough money in the $50 million nationwide settlement to repeat this holiday-based program for two more years in Utah.
The settlement stemmed from a 1997 lawsuit Utah and other states filed alleging Toys "R" Us conspired with major toy manufacturers to cut off supplies of popular toys to warehouse clubs and low-margin retailers who threatened to undersell them. The case was settled last May.
Richards also stressed that consumers will benefit from this settlement because it ensures fair competition in the toy business.
The toys will be given to a variety of sources and will end up at hospitals, in the hands of state agencies who assist children and in the U.S. Marines' Toys for Tots program.
The Primary Children's Medical Center expects to use its share of the toys on some 100 families who will have a child in their facility during the holiday season. The toys are also a blessing to area homeless shelters, where children lack even necessities like toothbrushes and almost never have toys.
The Division of Child and Family Services received 2,700 of the toys and will distribute them statewide for children the agency serves.
Children's Justice Centers, the Shriner's Hospital and Family Support Centers in Utah also received a portion of the toys.
Some of the toys will be left in waiting rooms to entertain children in play areas.
Local businessman Jerry Blackburn of JB Tile donated the use of his warehouse at 1000 W. 2480 South to house and distribute the toys. Employees of the Utah Attorney General's Office helped inventory and sort the toys.