Toys R Us Liquidating North Carolina Stores

Liquidation sales are set to begin Thursday at Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores across the country, including 15 stores in North Carolina. The liquidation comes a week after the struggling retailer said it would close all of its 735 U.S. locations. Nationwide, the closings will impact 33,000 jobs in what the company called "an orderly wind-down."

The news that all locations were shutting down comes more than a month after the late January announcement that some Toys R Us stores would close, including locations in North Carolina. The Toys R Us bankruptcy and closure all of its U.S. locations — a move that could jeopardize the jobs of 33,000 people — comes as the toy retailer winds down its operations six months after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court.

Here's what you should know about the liquidation sales:

Can I return something I recently purchased?
Items bought at a store before its liquidation sale begins may be returned to any open store. Once a store has a liquidation sale, returns will not be accepted. Purchases made prior to store closings will be accepted per normal store policy as long as the store is open. Purchases made during the store closing process are all final at sale.

What about my gift cards and coupons?
Endless earnings will be honored until Wednesday. Gift cards are redeemable through April 12. Merchandise credits will also be honored.

What will happen to my Babies R Us gift registry?
Loyalty programs, including the Babies R Us Registry in the U.S., will continue as normal in their current forms, according to the company.

What about price matching?

Toys R Us' Price Match Promise is not available at closing stores.

Company officials plan to start liquidation sales at most U.S. stores on Thursday, and wrap up the sales by the end of June, USA Today reports.

Closings will affect Toys R Us and Babies R Us locations throughout North Carolina:

• Cary
• Raleigh
• Fayetteville
• Smithfield
• Greensboro
• Winston-Salem
• Concord
• Jacksonville
• Wilmington
• Charlotte
• Pineville
• Gastonia
• Hickory
• Greenville
• Asheville

Chief Executive Dave Brandon had shared the despairing news with employees in a conference call, according to The Record. Brandon told employees it was a sad day and that customers and others would be sad to see the brand disappear, a spokeswoman for Toys R Us told The Record.

The company began the year with more than 800 stores across the country under the Toys R Us and Babies R us monikers. In January, Toys R Us said it would close 180 locations, including two stores in Durham.

The demise of Toys R Us would be a significant blow to the toy industry as the chain makes up about 15 percent of American toy revenue.

The New Jersey-based Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017 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 initially set to close about 180 of its stores, or about 20 percent.

Toys R Us also had a bad spell in November when a glitch allowed customers to "stack" three coupon codes for a total discount of 60 percent off their online order. Toys R Us learned of the glitch and cancelled orders placed using the glitch.

— Patch editors Kara Seymour, Tom Davis, Eric Heyl and Mike Carraggi contributed to this report; photo by Autumn Johnson, Patch staff

Photo by Autumn Johnson, Patch staff