Toys ‘R’ Us to Close 182 Stores as Part of Restructuring
The toy chain, which filed for bankruptcy in September, said in a court filing late Tuesday
that the stores selected for closing had failed to meet “performance standards.”
The planned closings represent about 20 percent of Toys “R” Us stores in the United States, which span from California to New York.
Like many other brick-and-mortar retailers, Toys “R” Us has struggled to adjust its business models to deal with the rise of e-commerce.
Even as other retailers experienced banner sales in November and December, Toys “R” Us said, its sales were disappointing.
Toys “R” Us is planning to close as many as 182 of its stores as it struggles to reorganize in bankruptcy.
When Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy, it initially kept all of its stores open and hired more workers ahead of the holidays.
A spokeswoman said the company would try to find positions in other stores for as many of the displaced workers as it could.
But all along, many lawyers and creditors involved in the case had expected
that the company would eventually seek to close stores to cut costs, soon after Christmas.