YOUR GUIDE TO THE HOUSTON TOYS R US STORES NOW GETTING READY TO CLOSE As part of the bankruptcy filing it submitted this morning, Toys R Us announced plans to close or sell all of its 735 stores nationwide. Thirteen of those locations are in the Houston area: at the corner of Kirby and Old Spanish Trail, on Westheimer just east of Fountain View, in the Village Plaza at Bunker Hill shopping center on the Katy Fwy., in the Katy Mills mall, in the Houston Premium Outlets on 290 just east of the Grand Pkwy., on Beltway 8 just north of Fairmont Pkwy., in Pearland Town Center, in the Willowbrook Court shopping center next to the Willowbrook Mall, in Sugar Land’s Colony Square, in Baybrook Square on the Gulf Fwy., on the East Fwy. in Baytown across from the San Jacinto Mall, in Texas City’s Tanger Outlets on the Gulf Fwy., and in The Woodlands’ Pinecroft Center. Standalone Babies R Us locations are on the Katy Fwy. at N. Fry Rd., on Cypress Creek Pkwy. just west of I-45, on 59 northeast of First Colony Mall in Sugar Land, and on the Gulf Fwy. at El Dorado Blvd. in Friendswood. The OST and Westheimer Toys R Us boxes (both of which include in-store Babies R Us departments) measure 45,000 sq. ft. [USA Today] Photo of Toys R Us at 1212 Old Spanish Trail: Nhan N.
From what I read in the WSJ, Toys R Us was not a victim of e-tail (viz. Amazon). The company was loaded with debt after an LBO in 2005 and could never spend what was needed to improve the stores. Plus, Target and Walmart proved to be better toy vendors.
yeah bloomberg says $400 million a year in interest on the debt alone. how does that happen? these private equity guys just loading it up with debt and hoping they could flip it so someone else would have to deal with it?
I always thought toys r us did put up a good fight to try and grow their online business, but at the end of the day if everyone can just price match your sales with no regard as to needing to make a profit on the transaction (amazon) then there’s really no hope.
.
I don’t see how anyone can be successful in selling toys now days without being able to make most of that sales volume with next to no profit margin.
.
Ever since Aliexpress improved I hardly shop on amazon anymore even at that. Not a pretty picture for retailers.
Does anyone know if they’ll be liquidating inventory or just closing the doors?
Asking for a friend.
Now this is a real bummer for Andre Johnson. Where will he take the kids for the Christmas toy giveaway? His foundation has been so generous to abused kids over the years at Toys R Us. I hope they come up with something just as fun for the kids going forward.
Bain Capital strikes again in 2005 they bought them out and loaded them up with so much debt they never get out of it and Bain Capital makes like a billion off this.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/15/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-blame/index.html