You read that right. This Monday, Toys R Us is expected to appear at a bankruptcy hearing and shutting down all its stores and liquidating its entire US operations is one of the options they are considering. There are other options, of course, but this is the option certain lenders are pushing for, after a weak holiday performance. They had already planned to close 20% of their US stores (184 to be precise).
This comes to us from the
Wall Street Journal which refers to unspecified people in the know.
Just to be very clear, this does not mean that all stores are closing Monday, it just means that the decision to close all stores in the US could be made official Monday. Liquidation would happen soon after. Also, this is just for US operations.
Here are the key parts from the Wall Street Journal Article:
- Troubled toy chain Toys R Us Inc. is preparing to liquidate all of its U.S. stores and abandon efforts to restructure through the bankruptcy process, people familiar with the matter said, after a weak holiday season torpedoed plans to reorganize.
- An announcement could come as soon as Monday when the parties are expected to appear at a bankruptcy hearing in Richmond, VA., the people said. How much Toys R Us decides to liquidate will depend on the size of the liquidator bids it receives, the people said.
- The plan to shut down the stores and liquidate the U.S. operations is one of several scenarios in play, one of the people said, and while some lenders are pushing that route, others want to find other options for Toys R Us to continue operations.