Customers lament Toys R Us closings at Riverchase, The Summit

Customers at the Toys R Us/Babies R Us stores in the Riverchase Promenade in Hoover and The Summit in Birmingham say they are disappointed to see the company announce plans to close all its U.S. operations.

Toys R Us said on March 15 it was seeking bankruptcy court approval to begin winding down all of its U.S. business and liquidate the inventory at all 735 of its stores in the United States, including Puerto Rico.

The company filed for bankruptcy this past fall and said in January it would close about 180 of its U.S. stores, including the store at The Summit and one in Tuscaloosa. However, about a week later, store employees at The Summit location said they were notified they got a reprieve and the store would remain open after customers complained to corporate headquarters.

Then the hammer fell on March 15.

“I am very disappointed with the result, but we no longer have the financial support to continue the company’s U.S. operations,” Chairman and CEO Dave Brandon said in a news release. “We are therefore implementing an orderly process to shutter our U.S. operations and will pursue going concern sales or reorganizations of certain of our international businesses, while our other international businesses consider their options. … This is a profoundly sad day for us as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served for the past 70 years.”

The store in Hoover has been open since 1989, while the one at The Summit opened in late 2011. Toys R Us also operates stores in Dothan, Foley, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery, according to its website.

Store officials in Hoover and Birmingham said they could not comment about dates for store closings, and the company said more information about going-out-of-business sales would be released soon.

The company also said it is seeking to sell its Canadian operations and is talking with interested parties about including up to 200 of its top-performing U.S. stores in that transaction.

The Washington Post reported that toy giant MGA Entertainment submitted a bid to buy Toys R Us’ Canadian operations, which includes 82 stores, and is looking into buying as many as 400 U.S. stores that the company would seek to operate under the Toys R Us name.

Alex Hudson, a Toys R Us customer from Ross Bridge, said he was surprised by the news of the closings, given the general state of the economy, high consumer confidence and low unemployment in the United States.

He was shopping at the Toys R Us at The Summit today with his 3-year-old daughter. She likes the store, and The Summit seems like it would be a great market for the chain, he said. “It’s hard to get in here on the weekends,” he said.

Rachel Headley, another customer who lives in Clanton, was at the Hoover Toys R Us today and said she guessed the Internet, computer tablets and movies are hurting traditional toy store sales. “It’s taking the fun out of everything for me,” she said.

She and her adult daughter, Carmon Garcia, said they prefer in-store shopping, where kids can see the toys in person before they buy.

Garcia, who has a newborn baby, said she registered her baby at Babies R Us and has been to the store in Hoover four to five times the past seven months.

Dr. Sarah Kunin, another customer who lives within 2 miles of the Toys R Us at The Summit, said she’s disappointed to see a store that specializes in toys not be able to survive. Apparently, “they have to do more than just toys,“ she said.

She has a lot of memories of Toys R Us stores, she said. “This is where I went to shop when I was a kid.”

She registered both of her children, now 2 and 6 months old, at Babies R Us when they were born and visits the store about once every two months, she said. “It’s disappointing.”