Last week, we learned that “the world’s greatest toy store,” Toys ‘R’ Us, is shutting down all of its remaining stores in America. For anyone who was ever a “Toys ‘R’ Us Kid”, it’s a sad goodbye to a cultural touchstone. Now that the end is officially in sight, it’s time to plan the final visits to TRU.
Via USA Today, the remaining Toys ‘R’ Us stores will kick off the “going out of business sale” on Thursday, March 22. It’s part of the ongoing liquidation of the company’s assets, which is expected to take around 14 weeks. However, the stores may close even earlier if they run out of inventory. There are no plans to restock the stores once the company’s distribution centers shut down, which is scheduled to occur well before the rest of the franchise closes its doors.
Toys ‘R’ Us fate mirrors that of KB Toy Stores, as both franchises were purchased by Bain Capital and other venture capitalists before being saddled with insurmountable debt which hastened their decline. If there’s a silver lining in this mess, it’s the recent report about KB Toys’ potential return and the possibility it could take over some of the Toys ‘R’ Us stores which are about to close down. If this news comes to pass, the resurrected company could potentially save some of the 33,000 jobs which are about to be lost.
The Canadian branch of Toys ‘R’ Us is also clinging to life, according to the USA Today report. The company is looking for a Canadian buyer to take over its stores in that country, and there’s even the possibility of the new owner picking up a few of the top performing stores in America as well. It’s far from a reprieve, but we’ll take what we can get.
Will you visit Toys ‘R’ Us one last time for the final sale? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Toys ‘R’ Us/Strategic Marks, LLC
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