The writing has been on the wall for some time at chain store Toys R Us, so it should come as little surprise that the company announced today that it would be closing and/or selling all of its 800 remaining stores across the U.S. The company filed for bankruptcy last September with over five billion in debt, and began closing some stores in January.
Like many other chain retailers facing store closures and bankruptcy filings over the course of the past two years, experts say that Toys R Us has suffered largely due to changing trends in online shopping and a decline in traditional big box and shopping mall foot traffic. Toys R Us has been hit extra hard by the older end of the Millennial generation — the 25 to 35 year old parents born between 1983 and 1993 — that now make up the toy shopping demographic, and who are much more likely than prior generations of parents to shop online for the best deals.
Central Ohio is currently home to seven Toys R Us and Babies R Us locations, including a Babies R Us location that was already planned for closure in April. There is currently no timeline on when the remaining six stores will be closed.
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