Cherry Hill Toys R Us Heads To Auction Sept. 27

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The former Toys R Us store in Cherry Hill is one of four in the state that will be auctioned off in Manhattan Sept. 27.

The four locations are part of an auction of stores once occupied by the once-dominant retailer. The 82 locations in 32 states range in size from 32,000 to 63,000 square feet.

The Cherry Hill location is at 500 Route 38. The other New Jersey locations are in Bridgewater, Hazlet, and Paramus. (See related: Toys R Us Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Outlines Strategy)

It was previously revealed that the Babies R Us in Cherry Hill would reopen in October as a Spirit Halloween.
A&G Realty Partners, a real estate brokerage, and Raider Hill Advisors, a private real estate advisory firm, will auction off properties. The properties include 52 ground-leased properties, 29 building leases, and a parking lot lease.

“The opportunities here are diverse and include both freestanding and shopping center locations,” said Todd Eyler, a managing director of A&G. “These are well-located, high-visibility big-box sites that can work for single-users or be subdivided, which is precisely the type of flexibility required for the kinds of adaptive strategies that are pulling ahead in today's real estate marketplace.”

A&G led five other auctions for Toys R Us sites, including one last week for 123 locations. Raider Hill is overseeing the sale of 279 sites, including the former Wayne-based corporate headquarters.

Toys R Us has been auctioning off its properties and leases since it closed them down in late June following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in September. The once-dominant retailer announced March 15 it would close or sell all of its 735 U.S. stores. More than 30,000 people lost their jobs when the stores closed and operations ceased at other company-owned properties in June. (See related: Toys R Us Will Sell Or Close NJ Stores, Company Confirms)

Isaac Larian, the billionaire CEO of MGA Entertainment, the maker of Bratz dolls and Little Tykes toys, bid to try to save 274 stores, but Toys R Us rejected his bid, CNNMoney reported in May.

In March, Larian and other investors pledged $200 million and tried to raise another $800 million in crowdfunding in a bid to save the stores.

Toys R Us' bankruptcy filing came amid slumping sales and mounting debt, which grew to about $5 billion. The once-popular chain faced increasing competition from Amazon, Walmart and Target. The chain was set to close about 180 of its stores, or about 20 percent.

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled late last year that Toys R Us may pay 17 executives about $14 million in incentive bonuses if it hits a certain earnings amount. Attorneys representing the company argued that the bonuses would help executives focus on increasing sales during the past holiday season.

Patch file photo