Toys R Us To Close 182 Stores, 3 In Washington

EVERETT, WA - Toys R Us plans to close 182 stores nationwide — about 20 percent of its stores in the country, according to court documents filed in a Virginia bankruptcy court. The company plans to begin the mass closures early next month, according to documents filed late Tuesday. That process will last through April and includes stores in Everett, Spokane, and Silverdale.

David Brandon, chairman and CEO of the toy retailer, said the brand is reinventing itself, and that requires some “tough decisions about our priorities and focus." The moves come four months after Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid declining sales and climbing debt.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Brandon said in a letter posted on the company's website late Tuesday.

A court still has to sign off on the mass closures.

The company, based in Wayne, New Jersey, has about 880 stores in the U.S. Existing stores will be combined into Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

Going-out-of-business sales are slated to to begin in February.

In California alone, 27 stores are planned to be shuttered. Florida has 11 locations due for closure, New Jersey has 12 and New York has 15.

Caption: This Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, file photo shows the logo of toy chain Toys R Us. In September, the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Photo by Michael Euler/Associated Press