After 70 Years of Service, Toys”R”Us Seeks Court Approval to Liquidate All Inventory of US Stores

Toys”R”Us, a toy company, announced that it has filed a motion seeking Bankruptcy Court approval to begin the process of conducting an orderly wind-down of its US business and liquidation of inventory in all 735 of the company’s US stores, including stores in Puerto Rico.

The company will provide more details about the plans for the liquidation of its US stores and going out of business sales in the near term.

“I am very disappointed with the result, but we no longer have the financial support to continue the company’s US operations. We are therefore implementing an orderly process to shutter our US operations and will pursue going concern sales or reorganisations of certain of our international businesses, whilst our other international businesses consider their options.

“There are many people and organisations who have remained in our corner every step along the way. I want to thank our extraordinary team members who helped build Toys”R”Us into a global brand. I also want to express my appreciation for my colleagues on our board who have continued to provide support to sustain the brand and our operations throughout the restructuring process. I would also like to thank our vendors who we owe a great deal of gratitude to for their decades of support. This is a profoundly sad day for us as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served for the past 70 years,” said Dave Brandon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

The company also announced that it is pursuing a going concern reorganisation and a sale process for its Canadian and international operations in Asia and Central Europe, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The company’s international operations in Australia, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain are considering their options in light of this announcement, including potential sale processes in their respective markets. Its stores in all these international markets are currently open and serving customers.

In connection with the sale process, the motion the company filed with the Bankruptcy Court included bidding procedures for the Canadian operations. It also disclosed that it is engaged in discussions with certain interested parties for a transaction that could combine up to 200 of the top performing US stores with its Canadian operations.

Whilst discussions continue on this potential transaction, the company is seeking court approval to implement the liquidation of inventory in all the US stores, subject to a right to recall any stores included in the proposed Canadian transaction.

The previously announced administration of the UK business continues.

The company and its advisors are working to minimise the impact of the US liquidation on the Canadian and other international markets. As part of these efforts, it is implementing a transition services arrangement for the next 60 days and is developing plans for a potential shared service function to support the international operations going forward.

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