Toys ‘R’ Us Officially Files For Bankruptcy Protection

Here goes a sad news for everyone who grew up purchasing toys from their local Toys ‘R’ Us. Apparently, the popular toy store chain has officially filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.

According to industry experts, this event is seen as one the “largest ever” Chapter 11 filings by a specialty retailer. The move is expected to affect about 1,600 outlets and 64,000 employees.

It’s a sad day for the young and the young-at-heart.

Dave Brandon, Chief Executive of Toys ‘R’ Us, issued a statement saying:

“We expect that the financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way.

“Together with our investors, our objective is to work with our debtholders and other creditors to restructure the $5bn of long-term debt on our balance sheet.”

Meanwhile, Toys ‘R’ Us spokesman Michael Freitag was recently interviewed by Bloomberg and he was quoted saying:

“Like any retailer, decisions about any future store closings – and openings – will continue to be made based on what makes the best sense for the business.”

Is Amazon to blame?

A Reuters report told us that the company is working on a loan to reassure vendors that toys will continue to be available at their shelves. Their story, some have pointed out, is similar to other businesses that have been affected by the competition against online retailers such as Amazon.

Naturally, netizens were quick to react to the news.

Over at Twitter, ThatCubeGamer lamented:

“If Toys R Us seriously goes bankrupt, I think I’m gonna cry. That store was a huge part of me when I was younger & I don’t wanna see it go.”

LeeSpielman also tweeted:

“Toys R Us going bankrupt is sad as f**k. This generation replaced Hot Wheels & Legos with Ipads & laptops. Smh.”

If it’s any comfort for the rest of the world, only US and Canada Toys ‘R’ will be covered by the bankruptcy filing as they “operate as separate entities, so are not part of the proceedings, meaning shops will remain open,” reported LadBible.