Toys "R" Us to close some stores in the U.K.
Toys "R" wants to trim its store portfolio in Britain.
The retailer, as part of its ongoing financial restructuring efforts, is seeking approval to close at least 26 of its approximate 105 stores in the United Kingdom in 2018. Toys "R" Us, which filed for Chapter 11 in September, said its British arm has submitted a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) plan to its creditors and would seek their approval in the next 17 days. (Toys "R Us in the U.K. is owned by its U.S. namesake, but run as a separate financial entity.)
"As we continued to work through the financial restructuring process, we made the decision to take action to put our UK operation on stronger financial footing," said chairman and CEO Dave Brandon. "Through the CVA process, we hope to receive authorization to restructure our U.K. lease obligations so that we will be better able to invest in our U.K. business and further improve the customer experience. Importantly, our stores and operations in our other global markets will not be impacted by this process."
Toys "R" Us said all its U.K. stores would remain open as normal through Christmas and into the new year.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Toys "R" Us U.K. managing director Steve Knights said "the business has been loss-making in recent years and so we need to take strong and decisive action to accelerate the transformation.”
The retailer, as part of its ongoing financial restructuring efforts, is seeking approval to close at least 26 of its approximate 105 stores in the United Kingdom in 2018. Toys "R" Us, which filed for Chapter 11 in September, said its British arm has submitted a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) plan to its creditors and would seek their approval in the next 17 days. (Toys "R Us in the U.K. is owned by its U.S. namesake, but run as a separate financial entity.)
"As we continued to work through the financial restructuring process, we made the decision to take action to put our UK operation on stronger financial footing," said chairman and CEO Dave Brandon. "Through the CVA process, we hope to receive authorization to restructure our U.K. lease obligations so that we will be better able to invest in our U.K. business and further improve the customer experience. Importantly, our stores and operations in our other global markets will not be impacted by this process."
Toys "R" Us said all its U.K. stores would remain open as normal through Christmas and into the new year.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Toys "R" Us U.K. managing director Steve Knights said "the business has been loss-making in recent years and so we need to take strong and decisive action to accelerate the transformation.”