Toys R Us will shut its final stores in just under two weeks, resulting in the loss of more than 2,000 jobs, the retailer’s administrators have confirmed.
The toy chain collapsed in February and insolvency specialist Moorfields has been selling off the retailer’s stock at knockdown prices.
However, Moorfields said on Thursday that all Toys R Us’s 75 stores would close on April 24, with 2,054 employees set to be made redundant.
Simon Thomas, joint administrator at Moorfields, said: “We are grateful for the hard work of everybody at Toys R Us during this extremely difficult and challenging time.
“We are working closely with the 2,000 employees affected by the closures to ensure they receive the support they need for redundancy and other compensatory payments.”
Toys R Us appointed Moorfields to handle the administration when the company was unable to pay a £15m tax bill.
After failing to find a buyer for the business, Moorfields said in March that it would be necessary to close all of Toys R Us’s 106 stores, and immediately made 67 staff at the chain’s Maidenhead head office redundant.
Mr Thomas added: “The stores across the county will be open as usual until the last day of trading and we would encourage shoppers to make the most of the great deals on offer.
“Extended discounts of up to 70% are in place from today and offers are available on some of our best-known brands.”
Toy R Us was one of the most high-profile retail casualties in the first quarter of the year.
Electronics retailer Maplin went into administration on the same day, putting a further 2,500 retail jobs in doubt.
Maplin is also clearing stock, and administrators at PwC have been forced to make staff at the retailer’s head office redundant.
Meanwhile, New Look and Carpetright have both announced plans to shut stores as part of restructuring plans.
This morning, Carpetright said it was seeking agreement from landlords to close 81 stores , while slashing rents on a further 113 outlets.
High street retailers such as Toys R Us have been battling against a combination of rising costs and a fall in consumer confidence.
Many retailers have also struggled to keep up with the rise of online retailing and a change in shopping habits.
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