This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Toys R Us is to shut all 100 of its UK stores, with closures beginning on Thursday after administrators failed to find a buyer for the collapsed retailer, resulting in the loss of 3,000 jobs.



The chain’s administrators said the group would be extending a nationwide discounting programme and encouraged shoppers to “take advantage of special offers while stocks remain high”.

The toy chain appointed Moorfields Advisory to oversee an administration at the end of February after the firm failed to find a last-minute rescuer.

On Wednesday, staff were told that no buyer had been found for Toys R Us and that all stores would close, with 67 staff at the group’s head office in Maidenhead, Berkshire, made redundant.

The administrators said they “remain open to interest from potential buyers for parts of the business” but it had not been possible to secure a sale by its stated deadline.

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Toys R Us and Maplin fall into administration putting 5,500 UK jobs at risk Read more

About 25 stores will close on Thursday and 541 staff will be made redundant. The remaining 75 outlets are expected to shut over the next six weeks.

Toys R Us is one of the country’s biggest toy retailers, employing more than 3,000 across 100 stores in the UK.

Simon Thomas, joint administrator and partner at Moorfields, said: “We have made every effort to secure a buyer for all or part of the company’s business. This process attracted some interest, but ultimately no party has been able to move forward with a formal bid prior to the expiration of the stated deadline.

“It is therefore with great regret that we have made the difficult decision to make a number of positions redundant at the company’s head office in Maidenhead and proceed with a controlled store closure programme. We are grateful for the hard work of Toys R Us staff during this difficult period and will be providing support where we can to those who have been made redundant.”

The retail sector has had a dismal start to 2018, with the collapse of Toys R Us and Maplin, and a host of firms undergoing painful restructurings, including New Look and eateries run by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, as well as Byron and Prezzo.

High street chains across the board have been hit hard by falling consumer spending, soaring Brexit-fuelled inflation and competition from online rivals.





</s>Toys "R" Us is closing all of its stores in the UK.

The company appointed administrators last month to run the business, and no buyer has since come forward to rescue Toys "R" Us in the UK.

Toys "R" Us has since closed 25 stores. The company announced Wednesday the remaining 75 stores would remain open for now while executives determine a schedule for their closure.

"The closure program for the remaining stores is expected to take approximately six weeks to complete with further announcements to follow," it said in a statement.

In the meantime, the Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores will continue discounting toys, including 30% off outdoor toys and bicycles. The company encouraged shoppers to take advantage of the sales and help clear items off store shelves.

Toys "R" Us is one of the UK's largest toy retailers with 3,000 staff across the country. The company said some buyers were interested in purchasing Toys "R" Us, but the company didn't receive any formal bids. The company laid off 67 people at its headquarters Wednesday.

"We are grateful for the hard work of Toys "R" Us staff during this very difficult period and will be providing support where we can to those who have been made redundant," said Simon Thomas, the company's administrator.

The collapse of Toys "R" Us in the UK follows Toys "R" Us filing for bankruptcy in the United States in September. The company is widely expected to announce this week that it will close all of its US stores.</s>Toys R Us is to shut all 100 of its UK stores after administrators failed to find a buyer for the collapsed retailer, resulting in the loss of 3,000 jobs.

The toy chain appointed Moorfields Advisory to oversee an administration at the end of February.

But on Wednesday, staff were told that no buyer has been found for Toys R Us and that all stores will close.

READ MORE: Toys R Us gift cards no longer being accepted in stores

It is thought that Moorfields will now begin a six-week “wind down” of the store estate.

Moorfields will begin with the closure of at least 26 loss-making stores earmarked late last year, when Toys R Us pushed through a restructuring before its demise.

An official announcement is expected later on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Toys R Us and Maplin both go into administration

Toys R Us is one of the nation’s biggest toy retailers, employing more than 3,000 across 100 stores in the UK.

Moorfields said at the time of the chain’s collapse that it is making “every effort” to secure a buyer for all or part of the business, but no suitor materialised in what is proving to be a dire time for high street retailers.

The retail sector has had a dismal start to 2018, with the collapse of Toys R Us and Maplin and a host of firms undergoing painful restructurings, including New Look and eateries run by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, as well as Byron and Prezzo.

High street chains across the board have been hit hard by falling consumer spending, soaring Brexit-fuelled inflation and competition from online rivals.</s>Have your say

Toys R Us has announced it is shutting all 100 of its UK stores, including 10 in Scotland, after administrators failed to find a buyer of the collapsed retailer, resulting in the loss of 3,000 jobs.

Branches at The Forge, Glasgow and Craigleith Retail Park, Edinburgh are among the Scottish stores expected to close down.

The toy chain appointed Moorfields Advisory to oversee an administration at the end of February.

Read more: All Toys R Us stores in UK to close

But on Wednesday, staff were told that no buyer has been found for Toys R Us and that all stores will close.

It is thought that Moorfields will now begin a six-week “wind down” of the store estate.

Moorfields will begin with the closure of at least 26 loss-making stores earmarked late last year, when Toys R Us pushed through a restructuring before its demise.

An official announcement is expected later on Wednesday.

Full of list Scottish Toys R Us stores expected to close:</s>The store where a kid can be a kid will soon be no more.

Toys R Us announced that it will close or sell hundreds of its stores, marking the end of an era.

It's unclear when it will actually happen; however, employees who work in Connecticut stores told Channel 3 that the stores should stay open until April.

Toys R Us has 800 stores nationwide, 9 of which are in the state.

Its announcement to close all of them comes two months after it unveiled plans to close nearly 200 stores.

Now, about 33,000 jobs are at risk.

Toys R Us said it hasn't earned a full year profit in six years and lost $2.5 billion since then.

"There are a lot of concerns about retailers that are facing intense competition from Amazon and also WalMart and it's also a very difficult time for some of these specialty retailers," said Paul LaMonica, a contributor to CNN.

The closure will also affect toy makers like Lego in Enfield, Hasbro and Mattel.

Customers with gift cards are urged to use them as soon as possible.</s>Toys R Us has collapsed after failing to find a buyer

The toy retailer appointed Moorfields Advisory to oversee an administration at the end of February after the firm failed to find a last-minute rescuer.

On Wednesday, staff were told that no buyer has been found for Toys R Us and that all stores will close.

It is thought that Moorfields will now begin a six-week "wind down" of the store estate.

Moorfields will begin with the closure of at least 26 loss-making stores earmarked late last year, when Toys R Us pushed through a restructuring before its demise.</s>Toys “R” Us is closing its doors after 70 years in business.

The iconic toy retailer will shut or sell all of its almost 800 stores in the United States, a source familiar with the matter told CNNMoney on Wednesday. About 33,000 jobs in the United States are at risk.

The company’s CEO, David Brandon, notified employees earlier in the day, according to an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal.

The announcement marks the end for a company that sold toys to millions of American kids. For half a century, Geoffrey the mascot giraffe invited children to its cavernous playhouses. Legions of adults who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s can probably still whistle its jingle: “I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid.”

But Walmart, Target and other big-box retailers — stores that sold aisles of toys and everything else, too — began to erode its dominance. And then the emergence of Amazon sped its demise.

In September, Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy, hoping to shed debt and reinvest in its stores. But the turnaround didn’t work. In January the company said it would close 182 stores across the United States.

Toys “R” Us is expected to close hundreds of stores worldwide as well. Earlier on Wednesday, Toys “R” Us said it was closing all of its stores in the UK.

Toys “R” Us hasn’t made a full-year profit since 2012 and has lost $2.5 billion since then. It reported a loss of $953 million in the first nine months of last year alone. Sales during the recent holiday period, which the company has yet to report, are believed to have been very bad.

The company was taken over by private equity giants KKR, Bain Capital and real estate investment company Vornado in 2005. Together they paid $6.6 billion, but saddled the company with $5.3 billion in debt.

At the time of its bankruptcy, Toys “R” Us disclosed it had about $5 billion in debt and was spending about $400 million a year just to pay for it.</s>Toys 'R' Us will sell, close all U.S. stores in coming months</s>Toys ‘R’ Us Australia says it is business as usual at its 39 stores despite the US retail giant’s apparent collapse at home and elsewhere, and threats it will move to liquidate more stores in other countries.

The bankrupt chain is reportedly selling or closing all 885 stores in the US, and the administrator of its UK business has confirmed it will have closed a quarter of its stores by the end of this week.

But a Toys ‘R’ Us Australia spokesman this morning said all local stores and services — including gift cards, loyalty programs, lay-by and returns — were unchanged.

“Toys ‘R’ Us Australia stores are open for business and continue to serve customers,” he said.

Toys ‘R’ Us has outlets in Joondalup, Morley, Cannington and Innaloo.

Shutting the US stores has put some 30,000 employees’ jobs in jeopardy while spelling the end for a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot.

Closing the stores will finalise the downfall of the chain that succumbed to heavy debt and relentless trends that undercut its business, from online shopping to mobile games.

Chief executive David Brandon told employees Wednesday the company’s plan was to liquidate all of its US stores, according to an audio recording of the meeting.

Mr Brandon said Toys ‘R’ Us would try to bundle its Canadian business, with about 200 stores, and find a buyer. The company’s US online store would still be running for the next couple of weeks in case there is a buyer for it.

It is likely to also liquidate its businesses in Australia, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain, according to the recording. It is already shuttering its business in the UK. That would leave it with stores in Canada, central Europe and Japan, where it could find buyers for those assets.

Toys ‘R’ Us had about 60,000 full-time and part-time employees worldwide last year.

Mr Brandon said on the recording that the company would be filing liquidation papers and there would be a bankruptcy court hearing Thursday.

“We worked as hard and as long as we could to turn over every rock,” Mr Brandon told employees. He put much of the blame on its woes on the media, saying negative stories about the company’s prospects scared customers and vendors.

The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, saddled with $US5 billion in debt that hurt its attempts to compete as shoppers moved to Amazon and huge chains like Walmart.

It pledged then to stay open, but Mr Brandon told employees that it had a “devastating” sales performance during the critical holiday season as nervous customers and vendors shied away. That made its lenders more skittish about investing in the company.

In January, it announced plans to close about 180 stores over the next couple of months, leaving it with a little more than 700 stores.

The company’s troubles have affected toy makers Mattel and Hasbro, which are big suppliers to the chain. But the likely liquidation will have a bigger impact on smaller toy makers, who rely more on the chain for sales.

Toys ‘R’ Us was also hurt by the shift to mobile devices taking up more play time.

The chain dominated the toy store business in the 1980s and early 1990s, when it was one of the first of the “category killers” — a store totally devoted to one thing.

But the company lost ground to discounters like Target and Walmart, and then to Amazon, as even nostalgic parents sought deals elsewhere.</s>NEW YORK >> Toys R Us, a retail chain that has sold toys and games to millions of children for generations, is closing up shop in the United States.

NEW YORK >> Toys R Us, a retail chain that has sold toys and games to millions of children for generations, is closing up shop in the United States.

The company decided to close or sell its remaining stores after its executives met with creditors today, according to three people briefed on the discussions. More than 30,000 American jobs are at risk as a result.

There are three Toys R Us stores on Oahu: a free-standing store at Pearlridge Center in Aiea, Toys R Us Outlet Center at Windward Mall in Kaneohe, and Toys R Us Express on the third floor on the Ewa side of Ala Moana Center. There is also a Babies R Us store in Pearl City.

One Toys R Us employee in Hawaii who declined to give her name said this afternoon that workers hadn’t receive any official word from the corporate offices of the reported pending store closures.

“We’re in the dark like everybody else,” she said. “As far as I know, we’re still open. We still got to make customers happy and do sales.”

Representatives at the company’s corporate offices could not be reached for comment about the Hawaii locations.

The Kahului Toys R Us Express store on Maui had closed in January.

Liquidation sales will take place over the next few months, as the company clears the shelves at its roughly 880 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores around the country. In September, the private-equity-owned retailer filed for bankruptcy, one of the largest ever in the retail industry.

The company signaled that it was nearing the end this morning when it said it would shut all its stores in Britain.

It is a colossal failure for a company that started out in 1948 as a small store that sold cribs, strollers and other baby items in Washington, D.C.

The company expanded to become one of the world’s leading toy retailers, with about 2,000 stores. It was known for its large inventory of toys for every age group and an advertising jingle — “I Don’t Want to Grow Up, I’m a Toys R Us Kid” — that was embedded in the American consumer consciousness.

Toys R Us was felled by a combination of too much debt and an antiquated business model that could not keep up with Amazon and Walmart.

The global toy industry has been fighting a losing battle for the attention of children obsessed with smartphones and tablets. Global toy sales have been growing slightly each year, but at a slower pace than electronics and video games.

In addition, online toy sales have increased by more than 55 percent in the past two years to $17 billion in the United States, while e-commerce revenue for toys has exceeded brick-and-mortar performance in parts of Europe, according to Clavis Insight, an e-commerce research firm.

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Toys R Us had planned to shed some of its $5 billion debt load and refresh its operations.

But after a languid holiday sales season, the company’s lenders grew worried about whether Toys R Us executives were taking steps drastic enough to restructure the business to allow it to compete over the long term, according to the people briefed on the matter.

In recent weeks, the company’s creditors had begun to lose patience with the management and its turnaround efforts, these people said.

In January, the company said it was closing 182 unprofitable stores in the United States and had already started liquidating those locations.

But a total liquidation of its United States operations, the creditors calculated, may allow them to recover more money than keeping the stores open.

The company is owned by the private equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust, which bought the company in 2005.

Weighed down by the debt that its owners heaped on the company when they bought it, Toys R Us has not adequately invested in its fading stores and e-commerce operations. Unable to compete with other retailers, Toys R Us has lost market share to better capitalized toy sellers.

Toys R Us controlled 13.6 percent of the toy market in the United States in 2016, according to research from IBISWorld. Walmart held 29.4 percent of the market share, Amazon had 16.3 percent and GameStop had 13.9 percent.
Toys "R" Us announce that they will close down all of their stores in the United Kingdom after rescue talks fail, resulting in the loss of about 3,000 jobs.