Late last Monday, iconic brick-and-mortar toy retailer Toys R Us filed for chapter 11 reorganization. Once a toy mecca with with their jingle on the tips of every Reagan-era kids’ tongue, more recently Toys R Us has accumulated a heavy debt load that has weighed on the company for years. Combined with tough competition from online retailers, the retailer became the latest casualty in a wave of retail bankruptcies this year.
The bankruptcy filing comes just ahead of the holiday season, the busiest time of year for Toys R Us. The company said it plans on keeping its 1,600 Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us stores open across the world, though the Wall Street Journal reported that the company will eventually close some of its underperforming locations as part of the bankruptcy process.
CEO Dave Brandon on Monday called the retail landscape “increasingly challenging and rapidly changing” but said he was confident that the Toys ‘R’ Us brand will “live on for many generations.”
The company described the bankruptcy as a way to work with its creditors to get back on solid financial footing and invest in long-term growth in a difficult retail environment.
“Today marks the dawn of a new era at Toys”R”Us where we expect that the financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way,” said Brandon.
According to USA Today, that new era means reemerging on the cutting edge of the retail world with 
interactive spaces to thrill both adult and their young customers.
Toys R Us stores will be interactive spaces with rooms to use for parties, live product demonstrations put on by trained employees, and the freedom for employees to remove products from boxes to let kids play with the latest toys,” commented Brandon.
While the store concept transformation will take time and follow other investment initiatives, more immediately, the toy retailer will hire part-time, seasonal workers to staff its stores for the holidays, including the new position of “store demonstrator.” They plan to hire additional cashiers, sales associates, stock associates and staff for their warehouses. Toys R Us has not disclosed the number of people it plans to hire nationwide, though its announced openings for seasonal jobs in some of the biggest U.S. states exceed 12,000 part-time jobs. The company currently employs approximately 64,000 people.
Sources: USA Today, Reuters, NRF Smartbrief
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