Dedham Mall Toys R Us Closing

WAYNE, NJ — Toys R Us plans to close 182 stores nationwide — about 20 percent of its stores in the country, according to court documents filed in a Virginia bankruptcy court. The company plans to begin the mass closures early next month, according to documents filed late Tuesday. That process will last through April and includes six Massachusetts stores.

David Brandon, chairman and CEO of the toy retailer, said the brand is reinventing itself, and that requires some “tough decisions about our priorities and focus.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Brandon said in a letter posted on the company's website late Tuesday.

A court still has to sign off on the mass closures.

Dedham is among the six Massachusetts closures. It marks the second time in less than a year that a major tenant has left the Dedham Mall. Sears closed in July.

The other closing Massachusetts locations are:

• Millbury, 70 Worcester Providence Tpk/Rt 146
• Holyoke, 50 Holyoke Street
• Bellingham 217, Hartford Ave.
• Northborough 6110, Shops Way
• Framingham Shoppers World Plaza, 1 Worcester Road

A Nashua, NH location is also closing.

The company, based in Wayne, New Jersey, has about 880 stores in the U.S. Existing stores will be combined into 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 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.

You can find a complete list of locations here.

By Mike Carraggi (Patch Staff)

Photo: Getty Images