Toys "R" Us – which is $5 billion in debt, according to the Associated Press – has announced it is closing 180 stores nationwide, including 11 stores here in Florida.
WJCT News has confirmed that the Orange Park store at 6001 Argyle Forest Blvd. is among the stores that will be closing, although a local representative could not say when the closing would take place.
The Associated Press reports store closings will begin next month and the majority of the targeted locations will go dark by mid-April.
USA Today is reporting other Florida locations that will be closing are in Tallahassee, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Altamonte Springs, Boca Raton, Port St. Lucie, Royal Bach Beach, Coral Springs and two stores in Kissimmee.
Toys "R" Us, which is the largest U.S. toy chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
Toys "R" Us is headquartered in Wayne, N.J. It operates about 1,600 stores around the world and has nearly 65,000 employees worldwide, according to NPR.org and about 900 stores in the U.S., according to the Associated Press.
The closings will amount to approximately 20 percent of the U.S. locations that Toys "R" Us currently operates.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
