Babies R Us In Schaumburg To Close On Heels Of Company Bankruptcy

MATTESON, IL — Toys R Us plans to close 182 stores nationwide — about 20 percent of its stores in the country — including its Schaumburg location, according to court documents filed in a Virginia bankruptcy court. The company plans to begin the mass closures early next month, documents filed late Tuesday stated. That process will last through April, and it will include seven other Illinois locations besides the store at 16 East Golf Road in Schaumburg.

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.

A court still has to sign off on the mass closures.

Toys R Us, based in Wayne, New Jersey, has about 880 stores in the U.S. Existing stores will be combined into Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

The moves come four months after Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid declining sales and climbing debt.

Savvy shoppers can take advantage of going-out-of-business sales, which are slated to to begin in February. Along with the Matteson location, these Illinois stores are slated to close:

• 1610 Deerfield Road, Highland Park
• 5001 Lincoln Hwy., Matteson
• 295 Center Drive, Vernon Hills
• 6420 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
• 7750 S. Cicero Ave., Burbank
• 5660 Touhy Ave., Niles

While Illinois is losing multiple stores, other states were even harder hit. In California alone, 27 stores are planned to be shuttered. Florida has 11 locations due for closure, New Jersey has 12 and New York has 15.

You can find a complete list of locations here.

Image via Google Earth