It’s a sad day for Toys ‘R’ in the UK, and now in the US too. According to sources close to CNBC, Toys ‘R’ Us is in the process of drafting the court motion for its liquidation plan. The source also told CNBC that the company missed a payment to some of its vendors earlier this week.
Toys R Us, the iconic U.S. retailer, is in the process of drafting the court motion for its liquidation plan, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC on Tuesday.
The retailer could file as soon as the end of Wednesday, making the motion official. It will then begin to wind down the storied toy retailer, after more than half a century in business.
A liquidation will most likely result in the closing of all of Toys R Us’ 800 stores in the U.S.
It will be a blow to the toy industry, which has relied on it for supplying row after row of toys and premium pricing. Toys R Us accounted for 15 to 20 percent of U.S. toy sales last year, according to Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink.
Toys R Us entered bankruptcy in September with $4.9 billion in debt, a vestige from its $6.6 billion acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital Partners and real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust in 2005.
Toys ‘R’ Us has become synonymous with Star Wars and their Midnight Madness events around the globe — those events will be sorely missed. Toys ‘R’ Us accounts for roughly 15% of all toys sold in the US, and their demise will likely have a knock on effect in the toy industry as a whole. Read the full story here.
