What used to be your favorite childhood haunt is going through some slippery time. Toys R Us, a name synonymous with the innumerous toy brands it stocks, closed 200 more stores in line with its reorganization under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
With this move, the toy retailer would cut its store count to half from the total 800 US stores. Consolidation retailers such as Best Buy, Kohl’s, JCPenney, and the disruption giant Amazon bolstering their toy inventory seems to have taken a big chunk out of Toys R Us.
While Toys R Us might get some respite from its $5-billion long-term debts with this move, jobs of its very many employees hang in the balance. Market analysts expect the total store closure to affect about 8,000 employees.
Toys R Us closing 200 more stores might affect about 8,000 employees
The child-friendly retailer is also seeking bids for its European stores, with its move to put its British operations into administration as part of the bankruptcy process.
The winding down operations of a brand, whose shelves once housed many a toy that made its way into the rooms of generations of kids worldwide, has international implications. While the changing landscape in commercial retail could be the culprit, it is to be noted that the traditional big players and their reluctance to adapt to change catalyzed this process.
With more names to follow Toys R Us, we would soon see a polarizing sector with one end clearly nailed to the ground by the giant that is Amazon Inc.