No changes over festive season, but closures will begin in the spring.
Toys R Us has confirmed that it will begin closing UK stores from spring 2018, with at least 26 stores earmarked.
The retailer reiterated that there would be no changes over the crucial festive period, however during the next year it would look to “transform” the business so that it can better meet customers’ evolving needs.
Once the closures begin, TRU will look to redeploy staff to smaller ‘more interactive’ stores. However, it has been reported that around 800 jobs – a quarter of its workforce – are at risk.
Sky News broke the news that an announcement was imminent on Friday (December 1).
The parent company of the toy chain filed for bankruptcy protection in the US in September.
Steve Knights, TRU’s UK md, commented: “Like many UK retailers in today’s market environment, we need to transform our business so that we have a platform that can better meet customers’ evolving needs.
“The decision to propose this CVA was a difficult one, but we (are) determined it is the best path forward to make essential changes to the business.”
Dave Brandon, group chairman and chief executive, added: “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.
“Through the CVA process, we hope to receive authorisation to restructure our UK lease obligations so that we will be better able to invest in our UK business and further improve the customer experience.”
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