Update 06/27: All remaining Toys R’ Us Stores will close for good this Friday, June 29th. Since their announcement on March 14th, they have closed a little over 500 stores so the remaining stores will all close by the end of the week.
However all is not lost, the former CEO of Toys R’ Us is working on a plan with a number of investors to reboot the toy store, possibly in time for the end of year holiday season. The first step would be for them to win the auction to Toys R’ Us intellectual rights like its logo, brand names and more. There’s going to be a large demand to win that auction which is expected to take place some time in July.
Original Post From March 14th
Toys R’ Us are planning to close or sell all 800 of its U.S stores, affecting as many as 33,000 jobs, the Wall Street journal reports.
Toys ‘R’ Us has struggled with more than $5 billion in debt from a leveraged buyout. But likely the biggest cause for the closings are that the vast majority of people now shop online where Amazon dominates.
In January, Toys R Us announced plans to close up to 180 of its’ U.S. stores. It began going-out-of-business sales at those stores in early February.
In the weeks that followed the January announcement, reports surfaced about the retailers situation getting progressively worse, with insiders saying that vendors were not being paid and that employees were worried the company wouldn’t meet its payroll.
Outside the U.S, Toys R’ Us will still have roughly 800 stores worldwide. This closure will leave huge mark in the toys industry in the U.S as Toys R’ Us were the main retailer for thousands of small companies.