Toys R Us enters administration placing 3,000 jobs at risk
The hunt is on for a potential buyer of the chain.
The UK branch of the children's toy giant Toys R Us has gone into administration placing thousands of British-based jobs under threat.
Moorfields has been appointed to begin "an orderly wind-down" of the UK's biggest toy retailer.
All stores are expected to remain open until further notice.
The chain has 698 stores across the world, including 105 in Great Britain, and employs 64,000 people with 3,000 of them in the UK.
Joint administrator Simon Thomas said: "Whilst this process is likely to affect many Toys R Us staff, whether some or all of the stores will close remains to be decided."
Thomas added that they were looking to "secure a buyer for all or part of the business."
The chain managed to avoid entering administration back in December 2017, when it was able to reach a deal with the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to inject £9.8m into its retirement scheme over the next three years.
'Sad but not surprising'
The first branch of the store in the UK opened in 1985 but 26 stores are st to close in the spring.
Thomas said that "The newer, smaller, more interactive stores in the portfolio have been outperforming the older warehouse-style stores that were opened in the 1980s and 1990s."
But the writing had been on the wall for a long time for the company which struggled to adapt to a rapidly changing online market.
Hannah Maundrell, Editor in Chief of money.co.uk told IBTimes UK that "The waiting game is over for Toys 'R' Us and they've finally filed for administration; their future has been uncertain since they announced store closures last year.
"It's sad but unfortunately not surprising as we know they've been struggling to find a buyer."
The the online service and click-and-collect have been closed immediately, with stores expecting large-scale sales in the coming days and weeks.
Shoppers who have Toys R Us gift cards and vouchers should spend them in stores as soon as possible before the shops are closed down. No more gift cards will be sold.
