The more than 700 stores of the nation’s largest toy chain will close, according to a new report.
- Toys R Us is set to sell or close all of its more than 700 stores in the US, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal.
- The decision threatens the jobs of the 33,000 people that Toys R Us employs.
- The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2017.
Toys R Us is about to sell or close all of its US stores, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which Business Insider has confirmed.
CEO David Brandon informed the chain's corporate employees on Wednesday that the chain was preparing to file liquidation papers with the bankruptcy court that evening.
The liquidation puts into question the status of the 33,000 workers Toys R Us currently employs across its 700 stores and Wayne, New Jersey, headquarters. They will get at least 60 days' severance.
In the call, Brandon blamed some of the downfall on a devastating holiday season, when sales were less than half of the $600 million usually made in a year. Vendors scaled back shipments to the struggling chain during the holiday season, and shoppers went elsewhere.
Brandon said in the call that these vendors and shoppers "will all live to regret what's happening here," according to the Journal.
There's still some hope that some 200 Toys R Us stores could live on in a different form, according to CNBC. The company expects to find a buyer for them, along with its Canadian stores.
"I have always believed that this brand and this business should exist in the U.S.," Brandon said on the call.
The chain's UK arm announced plans to liquidate its business on Wednesday as well, and it will close its 100 stores over six months.
Business Insider has learned that the plan calls for stores to close over a period of time. Stores in France, Spain, Poland, and Australia will all also liquidate. The company will seek a buyer for its Central European and Asian stores.
Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2017. The goal was to renegotiate the company’s $5 billion debt load, which it has carried since a leveraged buyout in 2005. The company has also been slow to adapt to changing retail trends, like sales primarily driven by e-commerce and in-store innovations.