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VOL. 133 | NO. 18 | Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Toys R Us Closing Memphis Store
By Patrick Lantrip
New Jersey-based Toys R Us will be closing 180 stores nationwide including its 7676 Polo Ground Blvd. location in Memphis as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, according to court documents filed Tuesday, Jan. 23.
In the court filings, Toy R US said that over the past several years, the company has faced “a challenging commercial environment exacerbated by increased competition from traditional competitors and a shift in consumer preferences away from shopping at brick and mortar stores to online retail channels,” which left the company with a significant number of stores operating at sub-optimal levels.
The toy retail giant, which at one time was itself considered a major disrupter in the world of retail, filed for bankruptcy in September 2017 citing $5 billion in debt.
The decision to close the 180 stores was made after “an extensive store-by-store performance analysis” in an effort to right-size the company’s brick-and-mortar presence, according the court filings.
Toys R Us was founded in 1948 by Charles P. Lazarus, and operates roughly 1,600 stores worldwide including more than 850 in the U.S.
Nashville’s 5731 Nolensville Road location and Little Rock’s 2616 S. Shackleford Road location will also close as a part of the restructuring.
The store closings are expected to begin in February and wrap up by mid-April.