Toys R Us go bankrupt: The i-G

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Toys R Us go bankrupt: The i-Generation claims its most high-profile victim

i-Pad killed the toy store…

Toys R Us go bankrupt: The i-G

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Ouch. Right in the childhood. Imagine telling the 10-year-old you that Toys R Us might go bust. It would be the apocalypse and life would not be worth living.

You tell a 10-year-old about Toys R Us’ demise nowadays, and you’d be lucky to get a shrug. Some would be bamboozled, as they try and figure out how to download the Toys R Us app.

The toy store has become the i-Generation’s most high-profile victim. Both the demand for tech-based gadgets and rise of chains like Amazon.com have crippled the ‘bricks and mortar’ industry: Internet conglomerates have swallowed-up store-based business.

i-Generation puts Toys R Us on the shelf:

According to a report in the IOL, the company haven’t posted an annual profit since 2013, and are currently straddled with $1 billion worth of debt.

They brought in new Chief Executive David Brandon two years ago. Though he managed to limit the damage, he hasn’t been able to revive the struggling toy-store giant. The company reported net losses of $164m in the first quarter of 2017: $40 million more than losses made in 2016’s FQ.

Toys R Us have attempted to keep themselves afloat as they wait for court-approval on a $3 billion loan from lenders that include Morgan Stanley. The funds will be used to restructure the company and cover existing operational costs.

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Where are Toys R Us stores in South Africa?

(Major outlets)

Western Cape: Seven stores in Cape Town, one in George.

Eastern Cape: Two in Port Elizabeth, one in East London.

KwaZulu-Natal: Eight in Durban, one in Pietermaritzburg, one in Richards Bay.

Free State: One in Bloemfontein, Welkom and Bethlehem.

Northern Cape: One in Kalahari Mall and Kimberley.

Gauteng: Eight stores in Johannesburg, Four stores in Pretoria.

North West: Two in Rustenburg.

There are 46 Toys R Us outlets across South Africa in total.

Will there be store closures?

The shockwave may not be felt across stores just yet, though. No store closures have been announced as of yet, and the company’s spokesman Michael Freitag said that they would do ‘whatever makes the best sense for business’ to keep Toys R Us going.

Part of our childhood might still be alive, then. It’s just relying on an intravenous cash-drip.