[UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal has a quote from Chief Executive David Brandon on the matter of Toys R Us stores in other countries. Brandon says that the company is likely to liquidate in France, Spain, Poland and Australia, and has plans to sell its Canadian, Central European and Asian arms. The only real light in the tunnel here is the prospect of purchase; the company is currently attempting to find a buyer for a 'package' of sorts, comprised of its Canadian branch along with 200 US stores. Other countries' stores may also find themselves saved if a buyer happens to come along - Brandon has said that "all anyone has to do is offer one dollar more” than liquidation firms - but this is still not anywhere near a guarantee that Toys R Us stores are safe anywhere in the world.]
Sad news today, Seibertronians. After months of tension regarding its fate since
September last year, Toys R Us has finally made the decision to sell or close all of its US stores, as
reported by CNN. This comes not long off the heels of their postponed decision on
Monday, but now we know the answer for certain and it's not a heartening one.
Employees have already been notified by the company's CEO, as the
Wall Street Journal reports. There is not yet any word on how this will affect Toys R Us' business in Canada and other countries, though with Toys R Us expected to
close all UK stores in the coming weeks as well, things aren't looking too good for the brand at large.
From a more Transformers-centric perspective, it's also unclear how this will affect Toys R Us-exclusive figures like the extremely recent
Studio Series Thundercracker, and fans' attempts to acquire them. There's a lot of uncertainty going around right now, but with such a huge change as this, it's only to be expected that many things are in flux with no clear direction or solution.
Share your thoughts below in the Energon Pub if you have any perspectives on this issue, and you can be sure that Seibertron.com will be on hand to report on any further developments to this situation and its multitude of loose ends. Until next time Seibertronians, don't take your toys for granted.
