Toys R Us Locations In NJ Get Final Closing Date

Stick a fork in your childhood — Toys R Us is closing its 200 remaining stores, including 19 in New Jersey, for good, on Friday.

Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September, a last ditch attempt to save the iconic toy chain. But slow sales during the Christmas season didn’t help. The toy giant announced March 15 that it would close or sell all of its 735 U.S. stores.

Isaac Larian, the billionaire CEO of MGA Entertainment, the company behind the Bratz dolls, last month ceased his efforts to save Toys R Us when he was reportedly unable to come to an agreement with lenders. Toys R Us, based in Wayne, New Jersey, rejected Larian's bid to save 274 U.S. stores.

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 will continue to operate in Europe and Canada after selling part of the business off to other companies.

Stores that have managed to stay open this long are offering discounts on remaining items of 50 to 70 percent off, but many are mostly empty at this point, CNN reported.

Toys R Us’ bankruptcy filing came amid slumping sales and mounting debt, which grew to about $5 billion. The chain has faced increasing competition from Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

CEO David Brandon and at least four other company executives shared $8.2 million in bonuses despite 31,000 employees not receiving any type of severance pay.

Charles Lazarus, Toys R Us' founder, died in March, just days after the company announced it would close its U.S. stores.

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Autumn Johnson/Patch