New Toys R Us Bid Could Keep 200 to 400 Stores Open In US

While it seems Toys "R" Us could indeed close all of its US stores, there is still one avenue of hope.

A new report revealed that Toys "R" Us sent an email to its employees preparing them for impending closings due to the company's continued bankruptcy woes. There is currently a bid though that could keep some of those stores open, which comes from a group led by toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment (via Toy News International).

This group currently has a bid in to buy the Candian arm of Toys "R" Us, which hols about 80 stores. That bid also includes a plan to keep 200 to 400 stores open in the U.S., which would be allowed to operate under the current Toys "R" Us name. While that will still result in a loss of jobs and retail stores, it is much better than losing all of them.

That said, if that bid falls through, then all of the stateside Toys "R" Us stores would indeed close, and probably within the next 60 days.

Toys "R" Us CEO David Brandon prepared store managers for that scenario in the most recent conference call.

"Unless a buyer comes forward, we are going into liquidation. All employees are guaranteed 60 days worth of employment, paid at their regular rates, as long as they choose to stay with the company. Some stores may yet be saved as part of the deal for the Canadian branch of the business."

Toys "R" Us previously announced the closure of 482 stores earlier this year (in two waves), but if all of the stores close that will result in job losses affecting around 33,000 people. Hopefully, that will not end up being the case.

The company is also attempting to sell some of its international operations, including its German, Austria, and Switzerland arms. Other territories are still up in the air, but liquidation is most likely in places like France, Spain, Poland, and Australia.