Toys “R” Us is planning to shutter a fifth of its U.S. stores.
The troubled retailer, which declared bankruptcy in September, is looking to close down as many as 182 outlets across the country, according to a court filing late Tuesday.
Over nearly seven decades in business, Toys “R” Us has built up 1,600 stores around the world. About 880 of them are in the U.S.
The filing Tuesday by the company’s lawyers said the decision to shut so many stores was prompted by increased competition and a shift by customers toward online shopping.
The planned closures, which need court approval, are expected to begin early next month and be mostly completed by the end of April, Toys “R” Us CEO Dave Brandon said in a message to customers posted on the company’s website.
“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,” he said.
Several other stores will be converted into co-branded Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us outlets, Brandon added.
Toys “R” Us stores outside the U.S. are unaffected.
Melanie Teed-Murch, president of Toys “R” Us Canada, said in a statement that all 83 locations there would continue operating as usual.
The news comes after a brutal year for retailers in the U.S. in which store closings more than tripled from the previous year to nearly 7,000 closings, setting a record.There was also an increase in the number of store openings, as more successful retailers moved into vacated locations. But the year marked the first time since the Great Recession of 2009 that there was an absolute decrease in the number of U.S. stores, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail industry think tank.
Much of the problem in traditional brick-and-mortar stores was because of a shift by consumers to buying more goods online. Foot traffic in stores fell 8 percent last year, according to Fung.
But the problems at Toys “R” Us predate the growth of online shopping. It suffered from fierce competition and lost market share to fellow big box retailers like Walmart and Target. It has lost nearly $2.5 billion since its last reported an annual profit five years ago, which has left it reeling under $5 billion in debt.
Unlike other retailers that have been steadily closing unprofitable locations, Toys “R” Us continued to add stores right up until recently. It had 1,691 company owned stores as of a year ago, up from 1,622 a year earlier. Still the store closings announcement was not a surprise. CEO Dave Brandon said in December that the company was studying the question of whether to close stores. The bankruptcy process makes it less costly for retailers to break leases on unprofitable locations.
The company’s same-store sales fell 4.4 percent in the quarter ended October, with its U.S. stores experiencing a sharper drop of 7 percent. The toy industry at large is also facing headwinds, with key manufacturers like Lego and Mattel struggling with declining sales.
Here’s the full list of Toys “R” Us locations slated to close:
Alabama
2600 McFarland Blvd. East, Tuscaloosa
335 Summit Blvd., Birmingham
Arizona
801 W. 32nd Street, Yuma
12801 North Tatum Blvd., Paradise Valley
9139 Indian Bend Rd., Scottsdale
4619 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson
7000 E. Mayo Blvd., Scottsdale
US 60 and Signal Butte Rd., Mesa
Arkansas
2616 S. Shackleford Rd., Little Rock
California
42500 Jackson St., Indio
1189 Simi Town Ctr. Way, Simi Valley
26573 Carl Boyer Dr., Santa Clarita
960 Lakes Dr., Covina
1600 S. Azusa Ave., Puente Hills
2575 E. Imperial Highway, Brea
530 Westminster Mall, Westminster
20120 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance
2550 Canyon Springs Pkwy S., Riverside
700 “A” Onstott Rd., Yuba City
2785 E. Bidwell St., Folsom
1330 Fitzgerald, Pinole
4505 Century Blvd., Pittsburg
600 Francisco Blvd., San Rafael
5461 Lone Tree Way, Brentwood
1400 Gateway Blvd., Fairfield
3938 Horton, Emeryville
2179 Monterey Hwy., E. San Jose
865 Blossom Hill Rd., San Jose/Almade
3520 W. Shaw Ave., Fresno
31250 Court House Dr., Union City
10640 Trinity Pkwy., Stockton
3900 Bristol Street, Santa Ana
3665 Grand Oaks, Corona
1240 W. Morena Blvd., Mission Bay
8181 Mira Mesa Blvd., Mira Mesa
1990 University Drive, Vista
Colorado
1150 S. Ironton, Aurora
Connecticut
376 North Universal Drive, North Haven
275 Union St., Waterbury
3491 Berlin Turnpike, Newington
169 Hale Road, Manchester
Florida
1625 Apalachee Pkwy., Tallahassee
1900 Tyrone Blvd., St. Petersburg
3908 West Hillsborough Avenue, Tampa
6001 Argyle Forest Blvd., Orange Park
Spring 708 West State Rd. 436, Altamonte
21697 State Road #7, Boca Raton
10732 SW Village Pkwy., Port St. Lucie
450 South SR 7, Royal Palm Beach
2601 W.Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee
6001 West Sample Road, Coral Springs
3214 N John Young Pkwy., Kissimmee
Georgia
2601 Dawson Rd., Albany
2955 Cobb Parkway, Smyrna
6380 No. Point Parkway, Alpharetta
1155 Mt. Vernon Hwy., Dunwoody
6875 Douglas Boulevard, Douglasville
8160 Mall Parkway, Conyers
221 Newnan Crossing Bypass, Newnan
132 Pavilion Parkway, Fayetteville
Indiana
3928 E 82nd Street, Indianapolis
8800 US 31 South, Greenwood
Iowa
1211 E. Army Post Rd., S. Des Moines
8801 University Ave., Des Moines
Illinois
1610 Deerfield Rd., Highland Park
16 East Golf Rd., Schaumburg
295 Center Drive, Vernon Hills
5001 Lincoln Highway, Matteson
6420 W. Fullerton, Bricktown
7750 South Cicero Avenue, Burbank
5660 Touhy Avenue, Niles
Kansas
4646 W. Kellogg, Wichita
8500 W 135th Street, Overland Park
Kentucky
4900 Shelbyville Rd., St. Mathews
1155 Buck Creek Rd., Simpsonville
1965 Star Shoot Parkway, Lexington
Louisiana
137 Northshore Blvd., Slidell
Maine
6 Bangor Mall Blvd., Bangor
200 Running Hill Road, Portland
Maryland
8401 Mike Shapiro Drive, Clinton
Massachusetts
302 Providence, Dedham
70 Worcester Providence Tpk/Rt. 146, Millbury
50 Holyoke Street, Holyoke
217 Hartford Ave., Bellingham
6110 Shops Way, Northborough
Shoppers World Plaza, 1 Worcester Road, Framingham
Michigan
5363 Harvey Street, Muskegon
2620 Crossing Circle, Traverse City
5900 W. Saginaw Highway, Lansing
4923 28th Street South East, Grand Rapids
3725 Carpenter Road, Ann Arbor
3725 Washtenaw, Ann Arbor
Minnesota
14100 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka
170 89th Ave., Blaine MN
8236 Tamarack Village, Woodbury
900 West 78th Street South, Richfield
Mississippi
1003 Bonita Lakes Circle, Meridian
200 Bass Pro Dr., Pearl
Missouri
1901 Bernadette, Columbia
201 Silver Springs Rd., Cape Girardeau
5590 St. Louis Mills Blvd., Bridgeton
220 THF Blvd., Chesterfield
Nebraska
3505 S. 140th Plaza, Omaha
Nevada
2150 North Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas
7020 Arroyo Crossing Parkway, Spring Valley
New Mexico
45 Hotel Circle, Albuquerque
North Carolina
801 Fairview Road, Asheville
7001 Fayetteville Road, Durham
3300 Westgate Drive, Durham
New Hampshire
29 Gusabel Avenue, Nashua
New Jersey
1280 Rt. 22 & St. James Ave., Phillipsburg
137 Route 35, Eatontown
100 Promenade Blvd., Bridgewater
2700 Route 22 East., Union
909 US Hwy 1 South., North Brunswick
Rt. 541 & Cadillac Road, Burlington
2135 Route 38, Cherry Hill
7 Wayne Hills Mall, Wayne
545 Route 17 South, Paramus
98 Route 10 West., East Hanover
Kids World 900 Center Drive, Elizabeth
50 International Drive South, Mt. Olive
New York
139-19 20th Ave., College Point
24-30 Union Square E, Union Square
5181 Sunrise Hwy., Sayville
5214 Sunrise Hwy., Massapequa
2335 Marketplace Drive, Henrietta
1569 Niagara Falls Blvd., Buffalo
401 Frank Sottile Boulevard, Kingston
708 Upper Glen St., Glens Falls
221 Wade Road Extension, Latham
2700 Central Park Ave., Yonkers
66 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village
1350 Corporate Drive, Westbury
108 Veterans Memorial Highway, Commack
461 Lycoming Mall Cir, Williamsport
1530 Ridge Rd. West, Greece
Ohio
6251 Glenway Ave., Western Hills
2661 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd., Dayton
7841 Mentor Ave., Mentor
3610 West Dublin-Granville Rd., Dublin
Oklahoma
1119 SE 66th St., Oklahoma City
5609-E Rogers Ave., Fort Smith
560 Ed Noble Pkwy., Norman
Pennsylvania
1061 N. Dupont Highway, Dover
100 Welsh Road, Horsham
6680 Peach St., Erie
3700 William Penn Highway, Monroeville
104 Bartlett Ave., Exton
2003 Cheryl Dr., Ross Park Mall
301 Oakspring Road, Washington
18/Valley View Dr., Beaver Valley Route
Rhode Island
300 Quaker Lane, Warwick
South Carolina
254 Harbison Boulevard, Columbia
South Dakota
450 E. Disk Drive, Rapid City
Tennessee
7676 Polo Ground Blvd., Memphis
5731 Nolensville Rd., Nashville
Texas
801 Mesa Hills Dr., West El Paso
9730 Katy Freeway, Katy
170 E. Stacy Road, Allen
7730 N. MacArthur Blvd, Irving
420 E. Round Grove Rd., Lewisville
13710 Dallas Parkway, Dallas Galleria
1309 W. Pipeline Rd., Hurst
5800 Overton Ridge Blvd., Hulen
Utah
4042 Riverdale Rd., Ogden
1122 Fort Union Boulevard, Midvale
Virginia
14173 Crossing Place, Potomac Mills
12153 Jefferson Ave., Newport News
Washington
3567 N.W. Randall Way, Silverdale
1325A S.E. Everett Mall Parkway, Everett
6104 N. Division Street, Spokane
Wisconsin
18550 W. Bluemound Rd., Brookfield
2161 Zeier Road, Madison
Story by Rishi Iyengar for CNN. CNNMoney’s Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
Additional reporting by Don’t Waste Your Money staff.
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