2 Toys R Us Stores In Tampa Bay To Close

TAMPA, FL - Toys R Us is planning to close 182 stores across the country so it can emerge from bankruptcy protection. Company officials say they plan to shutter these locations beginning in early February through mid-April, according to multiple reports. The closures still need court approval.

The locations include stores at 1900 Tyrone Blvd. in St. Petersburg and 3908 West Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa. Nine other stores in Florida also are expected to close, including two in Kissimmee.

The company said a number of its existing locations will be co-branded as Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores, according to CNBC. The retailer filed for bankruptcy protection about four months ago. The company, based in Wayne, New Jersey, has about 880 stores in the U.S. The number of closures nationwide are about 20 percent of its U.S. stores, according to court documents filed in a Virginia bankruptcy court.

David Brandon, chairman and CEO of the toy retailer, said the brand is reinventing itself, and that requires some “tough decisions about our priorities and focus.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Brandon said in a letter posted on the company's website late Tuesday.

Savvy shoppers can take advantage of going-out-of-business sales, which are slated to to begin in February.

In California alone, 27 stores are planned to be shuttered. New Jersey has 12 stores closing and New York has 15.

Photo by Daniel Hubbard, Patch staff