Goodbye, Toys R Us stores!

Toys R Us has 1,781 stores and 62,000 employees worldwide, including 847 stores in the United States. Today(January 24), Toys R Us announced the plan to close 182 stores nationwide in the USA, creating new opportunities for big-box stores, online retailers and mom-and-pop shops to pick up a larger share of the toy business.

Toys R Us, the world's largest toy retailer, has filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2017. This 69-year-old toy retail giant has been heavily indebted since it was acquired by private equity groups in 2005. In addition, video games might be more popular than building blocks and Barbie dolls in recent years. The rapid development of e-commerce makes it even more destined. The traditional toy retail industry will eventually decline and replaced by the online toy store, that is why many people will choose to purchase affordable Squeeze Toys online.

On December 6th, 2017, Toys R Us confirmed the plan to close one-third of UK stores. That means, starting in the spring of 2018, at least 26 Toys R Us UK stores will be closed and about 800 jobs will be abolished. Meanwhile, other Toys R Us UK stores are also looking to downsize to reduce rents in stores. In this regard, Steve Knights, general manager of Toys R Us UK, explained that because of the current warehouse-type stores opened in the 1980s and 90s, the operating costs are too high in today's retail environment, so the company had to take firm decisive action. Toys R Us U.S. headquarters filed for bankruptcy protection in September last year because of its heavy debt of up to 5 billion U.S. dollars. Due to changes in consumer shopping habits and pressure from other competitors, Toys R Us UK also struggled in the same way as its parent company. For the past eight years, Toys R Us UK has been losing money for seven years.

In 2018, Toys R Us plans to launch an online platform to provide a new online sales channel for its "Toy R Us" and "Babies R Us" businesses at its US and Canada stations. The platform allows retailers and brands to join in for further expanding Toys R Us product line and shortening the time of products to market. By the impact of e-commerce, the bankruptcy rate of the traditional retail industry in the United States is close to the level of the global financial crisis in 2008. The toy industry to the online platform seems to have become an irresistible trend.