"They're always filling up balloons and giving them out." "The staff here is always so great," Roselund said of the Waterford team of about 30 workers. On Thursday morning, Roselund and other customers flooded Waterford's familiar, colorful aisles of Legos, video games, dolls and Fisher-Price products ranging from children's blocks to Power Wheels. "We have helped to create incredible memories that will last forever." "Today is a profoundly sad day for all of us - as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served the past 70 years," he said. With $5 billion in debt choking off its ability to invest in new technologies and compete with Amazon, Target and Walmart, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in September, but had hoped to keep most stores open.īrandon described the news as "beyond heartbreaking." In an email to store employees Wednesday, Dave Brandon, Toys R Us chairman and CEO, said the company planned to liquidate inventory in all 735 stores in the U.S. Waterford - Holding her daughter's hand and wrangling bags of goodies into her car Thursday, Erin Roselund smiled and admitted the Toys R Us here was a "frequent destination."Ī Groton mom of two who doesn't often shop online, Roselund said she heard rumblings earlier this week about Toys R Us planning to shutter its U.S. Toys R Us spokeswoman Amanda Kahl said in an email that Toys R Us and Babies R Us "gift cards, Reward Dollars and Endless Earnings will continue to be honored for the next 30 days." (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints "We had a lot of gift cards to use here," Michelle said as the family bought a bike and lots of other toys. The company has announced it is closing all of its Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in the United States. Toys ‘R’ Us operates about 1,600 stores worldwide, 880 of which are in the U.S.ĮDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been edited to correct the number of Southern California Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us stores that are closing.From left, Michelle Mahoney carries her daughter Tenli, 6 months, as she walk through the parking lot with daughter Luci, 2, and husband, Patrick, all of East Lyme, on Thursday, March 15, 2018, at the Toys R Us in Waterford. “It’s really convenient because you can get stuff right to your door and you don’t have to go anywhere at all.” “I use Amazon a ton, so it’s not surprising the impact that it’s had,” she said. “I went there last summer and there was nobody in there,” she said. But the Santa Clarita store, she said, never seemed to be busy. Tanya Torres, who works at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store a few doors down, hadn’t heard about the closures. It seems like things were finally getting back to normal.” “It makes you worry that bad things are happening with the economy again, and I don’t want it to get as bad as it was. “It’s always disappointing to see stores closing,” the 34-year-old Santa Clarita resident said. The toy industry has been hampered by lower sales for the past few quarters in the face of growing demand for other forms of entertainment, including video games, MP3 players, tablets, smartphones and other electronic devices.Īnd it doesn’t help that more and more customers are buying their toys and other merchandise through Amazon and other online outlets.Īmanda Jones stopped in early Wednesday at a Babies ‘R’ Us store in Santa Clarita that will be among the closures. To get a sense of how deep in debt the company is, consider this: Toys ‘R’ Us owes $7.5 billion to a group that includes virtually every major toymaker in the country: Mattel is owed $136 million, Hasbro ($59 million), Spin Master ($33 million), Lego ($32 million), Radio Flyer ($12 million) and Crayola ($2.6 million). “The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company that will provide the level of service and experience customers should expect from a market leader.” “The successful reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus,” the company said. In a statement posted on the company’s website, the New Jersey-based retail chain said the closures were “part of the next step in the restructuring process and overall turnaround plan.” Riverside: 2550 Canyon Springs Parkway S.Toys ‘R’ Us:Ĭombination Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us stores: Here is the full list of Southern California stores that will be affected.
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