Toys R Us announced it is closing or selling all of its more than 800 stores across the U.S. CNBC reported that the company is working out a plan to save at least 200 stores from going dark if it can find a buyer.
Toys R Us is already planning on liquidating 180 stores under both the Toys R Us and Babies R Us banners as part of the restructuring process.
In September, Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to restructure its outstanding debt and establish a sustainable capital structure that will enable it to invest in long-term growth.
Toys R Us also had a brutal holiday season, partly due to Amazon and big-box retailers slashing prices, when many other retailers were seeing gains.
MCM Musings: Should Toys R Us point fingers at Amazon for its demise? The ecommerce giant was probably a major contributor but it’s not the whole story. There is a long list of reasons why this company – like too many others in today’s brutal retail climate – is closing its doors. It was saddled with too much debt, the toy market could no longer support a big-box model, and Toys R Us couldn’t pivot to omnichannel fast enough. Shoppers today are dictating the terms of how, when and where they want to shop; unfortunately, retailers like Toys R Us haven’t been able to keep up with the rapid changes.