Less than two months after announcing plans to shutter one-fifth of its U.S. stores, Toys R Us is now weighing a complete shutdown of its Stateside locations. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the embattled toy retailer is giving up on its “efforts to restructure through the bankruptcy process” following underwhelming sales during the last holiday season.
Back in January, Toys R Us said it would close 184 U.S. stores as part of a plan to work things out with creditors. This announcement came after the company filed for Chapter 11 and prepared to “[reorganize] its roughly $5 billion debt load.” But the WSJ’s sources indicate the flailing company is now “evaluating bids to liquidate the remainder” of its approximately 800 U.S. locations. The imminent shutdown is causing concern among toy manufacturers, who have historically relied on Toys R Us to sell a wider range of their products than can be found at Walmart and Target stores (you know, because it’s a toy store chain, and not a big box retailer). All is not lost yet, though—the liquidation plan is only one option Toys R Us is currently mulling over.