Beloved toy company Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy last September and failed to turn around its financial status during the holiday season. The toy store chain, which initially opened 1948, will now shut down or sell all 800 U.S. locations 70 years later. Coupled with past debt issues, product cost, and competing stores, the once-beloved chain is not going to return.

The company was met with instant success when it emerged, becoming the go-to location for all the needs and wants of American children, selling bikes, toys, baby items, and other trinkets. However, the popularity of other stores, such as Target, Amazon, and Walmart, led to a decline in the interest of shopping at Toys “R” Us. Stores exclusively for toys have become almost non-existent in the 21st century, save for Toys “R” Us up until now. Other stores that offer much more than just toys is seen as easier to shop at due to the convenience they provide.

Toys “R” Us reportedly holds around $5 billion of debt and had annually spent hundreds of millions of dollars to try to pay it off. Due to the toy company’s stocks primarily raising during holiday seasons, when the purchasing of toys rises, Toys “R” Us was relying on the season to drag them out of the danger zone. Unfortunately, the sales from the 2017 holiday time did not even meet the “worst case projections,” significantly lowering the company’s ability to recover from its bankruptcy. The earnings were only a quarter of the sales Toys “R” Us had garnered the previous year and caused the immediate closing of about 200 U.S. stores this January. The poor sales contributed to the loss of over $2.5 billion dollars since 2012 and will leave the once-top company completely broke this May. The extreme circumstances will leave over 30,000 current employees without jobs after the stores finally shut down in two months.

Closure notices put in order by Toys “R” Us require locations to stay open for 60 days, in which the remainder of items within the stores will be available to purchase in an effort to gain as much money as the company can in order to pay off some of its enormous debt. According to CNN, Toys “R” Us “hopes” the Canadian locations can continue to run. As for now, America will lose the New Jersey-based chain that for many, holds special childhood memories.

Photo courtesy of PYMINTS.COM