Closing down sale begins at toy store
TOYS ‘R’ Us has begun winding down its big store on Leicester’s St Georges Retail Park.
Consultations are yet to commence with the 35 staff prior to the closure this spring.
The retail giant – which employs 3,200 people in 105 stores nationally – announced last December that it was closing 25 stores in a bid to “meet the evolving needs of customers” and turn the business around.
Under what is called a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), the company sought approval from creditors to reposition its real estate portfolio for “future growth and profitability”.
A newer, smaller store which opened at the Highcross shopping centre earlier last year is unaffected by the closure plans.
A spokeswoman for the business said: “At present we can’t give you a redundancy number as the consultation period hasn’t started but we will always look to accommodate staff in other areas as a first port of call.
“The closure date hasn’t yet been confirmed – but we are potentially looking at spring, encompassing March or April.”
Peter O’Shea, store manager at Toys ‘R’ Us Highcross Shopping Centre, said: “Leicester will still have a store in the centre of the city allowing customers to continue their shopping with us.
“Customers at Highcross will be able to shop the full range including the larger toy items as the store has technology available to make customer orders and accept payments in store for home or store delivery.”
At the time of the December closure announcements, Toys ‘R’ Us managing director Steve Knights said: “Like many UK retailers, we need to transform our business so we have a platform that can better meet customers’ evolving needs.
“Our newer, smaller, more interactive stores are in the right shopping locations and are trading well, while our new website has generated significant growth in online and click-and-collect sales.
“But the warehouse-style stores we opened in the 1980s and 1990s, while successful in the early days, are too big and expensive to run in the current retail environment.
“The business has been lossmaking in recent years, so we need to take strong and decisive action to accelerate the transformation.
“We recognise this process will affect many of our team members and their families, so we are committed to keeping all of our staff informed throughout this process.
“Our teams will continue to play a key role in turning our business around.”
A closing down sale has already started at St George’s Retail Park, with up to 30 per cent off.
A Babies ‘R’ Us department inside the store which will also be closing is also involved in the sale.
Sam Mills-Morrell, who manages the store, said “everything must go”.
He said: “We will continue trading from this location until the spring and would like to invite all our customers to visit us one last time – you would be more than welcome to browse”.