Toys R Us In North Haven Slated To Close

NORTH HAVEN, CT — The Toys R Us in North Haven is slated to be among the four Connecticut locations that will close as the retailer attempts to emerge from bankruptcy protection. A total of 180 Toys R Us stores are slated to be shuttered nationwide and the closings will begin early next month and run through mid-April, according to a corporate announcement posted Wednesday. Other Connecticut locations scheduled to close are in Manchester, Newington and Waterbury. Stores in Milford, Danbury, Norwalk, Waterford and West Hartford will remain open, at least for now.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Toys R Us chairman and CEO David Brandon said in a release. "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."

A court still has to sign off on the mass closures. In addition to the closures, Brandon said an undisclosed number of surviving locations will be co-branded as Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

The moves come four months after Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid declining sales and climbing debt. Savvy shoppers can take advantage of going-out-of-business sales, which are slated to begin in February.

In California alone, 27 stores are planned to be shuttered. Florida has 11 locations due for closure, New Jersey has 12 and New York has 15. The toy store chain has faced stiffening competition from Amazon, Walmart and Target.

Last year was a disaster for brick-and-mortar retailers that announced plans to close more than 7,000 stores - a whopping 224 percent increase in announced store closures compared to 2016.

Chains that already have confirmed they will be shuttering locations in 2018 include Bon-Ton, Gap, Sears-Kmart, Tevana and Walgreens.

The addresses of those Toys R Us stores closing in Connecticut are: North Haven 376 North Universal Drive, Waterbury 275 Union St., Newington 3491 Berlin Turnpike, and Manchester 169 Hale Road.

Patch Editor Eric Heyl and Dan Hampton contributed to this story

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel; Manchester Economic Development