Toys ‘R’ Us files for liquidation, shutdown of 740 US stores amid competition and crushing debt

Toys ‘R’ Us is headed toward shuttering its U.S. operations, jeopardising the jobs of some 30,000 employees while spelling the end for a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot.

The closing of the company’s 740 U.S. stores over the coming months will finalise the downfall of the chain that succumbed to heavy debt and relentless trends that undercut its business, from online shopping to mobile games.

CEO David Brandon told employees Wednesday the company’s plan is to liquidate all of its US stores, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by Associated Press.

Brandon said Toys ‘R’ Us will try to bundle its Canadian business, with about 200 stores, and find a buyer. The company’s U.S. online store would still be running for the next couple of weeks in case there’s a buyer for it.

It’s likely to also liquidate its businesses in Australia, France, Poland, Portugal and Spain, according to the recording. It’s already shuttering its business in the United Kingdom. That would leave it with stores in Canada, central Europe and Japan, where it could find buyers for those assets.