Oman Daily Observer

Toys ‘R’ Us mulls bankruptcy filing

-

VIRGINIA: Toys ‘R’ Us Inc could file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks as pressure from skittish suppliers intensifie­s, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company and its restructur­ing advisers are considerin­g filing for Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia, according to the WSJ report.

The privately-held toy retailer had previously said it was working with investment bank Lazard Limited Inc to help address its approximat­ely $5 billion in debt, of which roughly $400 million comes due next year.

The potential Chapter 11 filing could be a result of the company’s suppliers tightening trade terms, including holding back on shipments unless the toy retailer is able to make cash payments on delivery, the newspaper reported.

Toys ‘R’ Us declined to comment on the report.

The move by Toys ‘R’ Us to potentiall­y file for bankruptcy comes at a time when more and more consumers increasing­ly make purchases from online retailers like Amazon.com Inc and avoid visiting brick-and-mortar shops.

There have been more than a dozen significan­t retail bankruptci­es this year, but none for retailers as big as Toys ‘R’ Us, which has more than 1,600 stores worldwide.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Oman