KOP Toys R Us Spared Among Nationwide Closures

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA -- Seven stores in Pennsylvania and 182 nationwide will shut down as Toys R Us executes a bankruptcy protection plan. Both Horsham's and Exton's locations will shut down. King of Prussia, meanwhile, remains safe.

The store closures come about a month after the toy giant announced it would close more than 100 stores due to declining sales and increased competition from Amazon, Walmart and Target.

The closings will begin early next month and run through mid-April, sources say.

In addition to King of Prussia, the Babies R Us in Springfield, the Toys R Us in the Fairfield Place Shopping Center in Exton, and the Toys R Us in North Wales are not among the listed closing stores.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Toys R Us chairman and CEO David Brandon said in a release. "The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company."

In addition to the closures, Brandon said an undisclosed number of surviving locations will be co-branded as Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September.

The King of Prussia Babies R Us and Toys R Us are located at 250 Mall Boulevard in the King of Prussia Mall.

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.

The news is the latest sign of trouble for brick-and-mortar stores across the region. Chains that already have confirmed they will be shuttering locations in 2018 include Bon-Ton, Gap, Sears-Kmart, Tevana and Walgreens. See full list here.

Here are the Toys R Us stores that are closing:

• Horsham, 100 Welsh Rd.
• Erie, 6680 Peach St.
• Monroeville, 3700 William Penn Highway
• Exton, 104 Bartlett Ave.
• Ross Park Mall, 2003 Cheryl Dr.
• Washington, 301 Oakspring Road PA
• Beaver Valley, Rt. 18

With reporting from Kara Seymour

Photo by Dan Hubbard, Patch staff