Toys R Us In Matteson 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 Matteson 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 5001 Lincoln Highway in Matteson.

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.

RELATED: Target's Matteson Store To Close In February

The Toys R Us closing is another in a growing list of retail outlets shuttering locations throughout Matteson. In November, Target said it was closing 12 of its underperforming stores, including the Matteson location at 4647 Promenade Way, near the abandoned Lincoln Mall, which was shut down in 2014. Target's last day in Matteson will be Feb. 3.

Earlier this month, Sam's Club announced its Matteson location, 21430 S. Cicero Ave., was closing as part of parent-company Walmart's plan to shut down as many as seven of its 19 Illinois warehouse stores. Other stores to be closed include locations in Naperville and Romeoville.

RELATED: Sam's Club In Matteson To Close (VIDEO)

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 Rd., Highland Park
• 16 East Golf Rd., Schaumburg
• 295 Center Drive, Vernon Hills
• 6420 W. Fullerton, Bricktown
• 7750 South Cicero Avenue, Burbank
• 5660 Touhy Avenue, 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.

Photo by Leon Neal | Getty Images News | Getty Images