Toys R Us May Close Over 100 Stores: Report

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Toys R Us management may close at least 100 stores nationwide in the wake of lower-than-expected holiday 2017 sales, according to a report by Bloomberg. People with knowledge of the situation tell the news service that sales in the United States are down 15 percent this holiday shopping season compared to last year.

As many as 200 stores could be on the chopping block, but a spokesperson for the Wayne, N.J.-based retailer said no decision has been made yet.

"Decisions about our real estate portfolio will be made only after careful consideration about the best interests of our business, said spokesperson Meghan Sowa. "Any speculation about potential store closures at this time is premature and likely to be inaccurate."

The closings are the latest in a series of rough news for the once-dominant giant since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.

Toys R Us operates 879 retail stores in the United States, according to Bloomberg, citing the company's latest annual report. There are 16 Toys or Babies R Us locations in North Carolina, according to the Toys R Us website. There are no indications any of these would be closing.

The North Carolina locations are:

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

Toys R Us has struggled to compete with online retail giant Amazon and stores like Walmart, the New York Times reported, and owes about $5 billion in debt. The company has a $400 million debt payment due next year and was "burning through cash," according to the Times, and hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis to devise a strategy for moving forward.

In other reports, store closings were mentioned as a possibility almost immediately after the bankruptcy protection was filed. According to a NorthJersey.com report, citing the company's bankruptcy filing, 40 percent of company's toy vendors refused to ship merchandise unless their outstanding bills were paid or they received cash on delivery or cash in advance.

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled earlier this month 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 holiday season.

"Timing, of course, is everything," they wrote in a Nov. 14 filing on which The Washington Post reported. "Now more than ever the senior management team must be properly motivated and incentivized to handle the panoply of responsibilities attendant to their two full-time jobs of leading the Debtors through this restructuring and, at the same time, implementing a worldwide strategy to increase sales following a near shut-down of operations just eight short weeks ago. The task at hand cannot be underestimated."

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.

Story and photo by Daniel Hubbard, Patch staff