Start your holiday shopping early: Toys ‘R’ Us is closing all its stores

Start your holiday shopping early.

Because soon you won’t have Toys “R” Us as a retail destination.

(Insert children’s cries here).

The beloved chain by children, whose first store opened in Washington, in 1948, is planning to sell or close roughly all 800 of its U.S. stores, reports The Washington Post.

The chain operates 10 stores in Dade and Broward counties.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall.

Toys “R” Us’s management has already alerted employees, reports the Post, which adds that as many as 33,000 jobs will be affected.

Jim Silver, a toy industry expert, told the Associated Press that the plan is to liquidate all locations, but could potentially do a deal down the road with its Canadian operation to run some of the U.S. stores.

In January it announced it was shuttering about 180 stores, including the combined Toys “R” Us/Babies “R” Us in Coral Springs, 6001 W. Sample Road.

“The liquidation of Toys R Us is the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion of a retailer that lost its way,” Neil Saunders, managing director of the research firm GlobalData Retail, wrote in an email to The Post. “Even during recent store closeouts, Toys R Us failed to create any sense of excitement. The brand lost relevance, customers and ultimately sales.”

Liquidation sales will take place over the next few months, reports The New York Times, which says Babies “R” Us stores are also included in the closures.

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This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Start your holiday shopping early: Toys ‘R’ Us is closing all its stores."