Santa Ana Toys R Us store won't be shut down after all

Santa Ana Toys R Us store won’t be shut down after all

A Toys R Us store in Santa Ana, which was initially slated for closure, will remain open. Above, a store in Highland Park, Ill.

Jan. 30, 2018 3:50 PM PT

A Toys R Us store in Santa Ana that was slated to shut as part of the toy retailer’s recent decision to close up to 182 stores nationwide will remain open after all, the retailer said.

The Wayne, N.J., company had noted in a filing last week that conversations and negotiations about the store closures were ongoing with landlords. As a result of those talks, the Santa Ana store was removed from the closure list, a company spokesperson said Tuesday.

That reduces the total number of Toys R Us and Babies R Us store closures in California to 26. In Southern California, 13 stores will be closed.

Store-closing sales are expected to begin in early February, with the majority of closures to 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,” Dave Brandon, Toys R Us’ chief executive, said in a blog post last week.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.

Although its numbers have been shrinking, Toys R Us still sells about 20% of the toys bought in the U.S., according to Stephanie Wissink, an analyst at Jefferies.

Competitive pressures will force the company to take a close look at all of its stores, and it probably will shut more in the next year or two, Wissink said.

Analysts have said that to compete with big-box chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. and with e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. — which offer a wide selection at lower prices — Toys R Us needs to improve its store experience and its website, and that it must hire well-trained employees who are knowledgeable about the products.

Brandon said in the blog post that the company recently relaunched its price-match program and would take “additional steps to ensure that we provide greater overall value” through promotions, an improved loyalty program and more personalized modes of customer communication.

Toys R Us said it also plans to convert about a dozen locations into co-branded Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

The company’s struggles have rippled outward, hurting its suppliers. Rumors continue to swirl around the possibility of a merger between Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc., the nation’s largest toy makers. Wissink estimated that Toys R Us accounts for about 11% of Mattel’s annual sales and about 9% of Hasbro’s.

Toys R Us operates 881 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores nationwide, including in Puerto Rico and Guam.

The Los Angeles County stores that are slated to be closed are: