Toys R Us to close at least nine Bay Area stores
More than 200 employees in the area could be affected
At least nine Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores will close in the Bay Area — part of an effort to close up to 182 stores nationwide as Toys R Us tries to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Stores in San Jose, Emeryville, Pittsburg, Pinole, Brentwood, Union City, Fairfield and San Rafael will close. An additional 18 stores will
close in other parts of California.
More than 200 employees could be affected in the region. The stores average about 25 part-time and full-time staff members, according to a spokesperson. The retailer will place some affected workers at nearby stores while others will be given a severance package.
According to a letter from Chief Executive David Brandon posted on Toys R Us’ website, the retailer expects the closing sales to begin in early February, and the majority of closures will happen in mid April.
“The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company that will provide the level of service and experience you should expect from a market leader,” Brandon said in the post.
The company filed for bankruptcy in September, having struggled in recent years to compete with rivals such as Walmart, Amazon and Target that can offer better prices.
But it also may have done well to heed some of independent stores’ best practices. Local toy stores have mostly held their own in the Bay Area by offering carefully curated selections and staff expertise. Toy store owners and experts say that while Toys R Us once posed a major threat to independent toy retailers, local owners’ understanding of their local market and smaller size
allow them to be nimble in responding to industry changes and offer unique selections and customer service.
In an interview with this news organization in October, Stephanie Sala, owner of Five Little Monkeys toy store company, which has stores in Novato, Walnut Creek, Albany and Burlingame, said she was not surprised by Toys R Us’ bankruptcy.
“They had a huge amount of debt and failed to change with their customer and react appropriately to changes in the toy market,” Sala said. “They got stuck in the middle of trying to offer low prices but failed to deliver exceptional shopping experiences.”
Toys R Us recently relaunched its “price match” program, and Brandon said in the blog post that it is taking other steps to “provide greater overall value.”
The company will also convert a number of stores into co-branded Toys R Us and Babies R Us locations. According to its website, it
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP will continue honoring return policies, warranties, gift cards and layaway programs throughout the closures.