Midlands losing its Babies ‘R’ Us among 180 store closings nationwide
Struggling toy store giant Toys “R” Us is closing its baby store in the Midlands.
Columbia is the only location in South Carolina that will lose its Babies “R” Us, at 254 Harbison Boulevard, according to a list by USAToday.
The Toys “R” Us just down the road at 140 Columbiana Drive is not listed among stores closing.
Toys “R” Us announced it was shuttering about 180 stores across the country, which is one fifth of its locations, in hopes of restructuring the company to help it emerge from bankruptcy protection, CNBC reported Wednesday.
In a statement to customers, David Brandon, Toys “R” Us chief executive officer, said the company planned to turn a “a number of locations into co-branded Toys ‘R’ Us store and Babies ‘R’ Us stores.” It’s unclear if that’s the plan for the stores on Harbison Boulevard and Columbiana Drive.
Company lawyers cited increased competition and a shift to online shopping as the reason why the company is closing so many stores, CNN Money reported. In his statement, Brandon said store closing sales would begin in early February, with the majority of locations closing mid-April.
Cynthia Roldán: @CynthiaRoldan
Reporter’s note: An earlier version of this story inaccurately reported which store was closing in the Midlands.
This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Midlands losing its Babies ‘R’ Us among 180 store closings nationwide."