Toys “R” Us says Canadian stores will stay open

Statement made as U.K. operations close

TORONTO — Toys “R” Us Canada maintains it’s still business as usual, even as its U.K. counterpart announced it would shutter all 75 locations in the country.

It’s the same message the company repeated last week when it was reported that Toys “R” Us would liquidate its U.S. operations after filing for bankruptcy.

Toys “R” Us Canada’s vicepresident of marketing and store planning Clint Gaudry says its 82 Canadian stores will remain open for business and the company will continue to honour its existing customer policies and baby registry, gift card and loyalty point programs.

The Canadian arm filed for creditor protection in September, a day after the U.S. division filed for bankruptcy.

In January, Toys “R” Us announced it would also close 180 stores in the U.S. in the coming months.

Toys “R’’ Us is the latest brickand-mortar retailer to struggle amid growing competition from online merchants and changing consumer preferences, after Sears Canada filed for CCAA protection in June.

The company said Wednesday that it would close its remaining 75 stores in Britain in addition to the 25 it has already shut.

Toys “R” Us has closed more than 100 U.S. stores in hopes of avoiding liquidation.

The company, which is owned by the private equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, has been hampered by the debt load it was saddled with by the real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust, which bought Toys “R” Us in 2005.

The British arm of the toy seller went into administration, which is similar to a bankruptcy, in February. It had set a deadline of Wednesday to find a buyer for its remaining stores.