Toys R Us Closing Four Pittsburgh-Area Stores

PITTSBURGH, PA - Four southwestern Pennsylvania Toys R Us stores are among 180 the retailer will close as it attempts to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Toys R Us locations in Ross, Monroeville, Washington and Beaver are among the roughly 20 percent of the chain’s locations to be shuttered. The closings will begin early next month and run through mid-April.

"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 amid waning sales and mounting debt. The toy store chain has faced stiffening competition from Amazon, Walmart and Target.

Last year was a disaster for brick-and-mortar retailers that announced plans to close more than 7,000 stores - a whopping 224 percent increase in announced store closures compared to 2016.
Chains that already have confirmed they will be shuttering locations in 2018 include Bon-Ton, Gap, Sears-Kmart, Tevana and Walgreens.

Photo: Getty Images.