Toys "R" Us Isn't Closing Stores
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 12/29/2017, 7:55 a.m.
This should be the most wonderful time of the year for Toys "R" Us. Instead, the ailing toy store chain, which filed for bankruptcy in September, is staving off reports about imminent store closures. Same-store sales fell 4.4% last quarter, which ended October. In the U.S., same-store sales were down 7%. In the wake of the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Toys "R" Us has had to contend with lost consumer confidence and strained vendor relationships, Brandon said. There was even a temporary interruption in shipping that hit inventory. Then there's the baby problem. Much of the growth in baby product sales is online, Brandon said. But there's an enormous amount of pressure in that environment to bring down prices, making slim Babies "R" Us margins even slimmer. Sales of learning products have also been weak, Brandon said. Like other retailers, it's wrestled with declining foot traffic amid the online shopping boom ushered in by Amazon. But Toys "R" Us is also up against other headwinds in the toy industry.
