Toys ‘R’ Us is poised to put struggling stores on the chopping block in early 2018 as the company aims to reorganize its operations in bankruptcy following the holiday shopping season, USA Today reported. The big-box retailer revealed in court filings that it had already hired a firm that specializes in evaluating stores for liquidation. Toys ‘R’ Us did not reveal how many stores it plans to close. But the company said in a court filing that it had hired New York-based Malfitano Partners for help "soliciting and evaluating proposals to liquidate the inventory and furniture, fixtures, and equipment in certain store locations that the (company has) identified for closing." Analysts at investment-bank UBS estimated on Dec. 19 that 183 Toys ‘R’ Us stores — or roughly 21 percent of the company’s U.S. locations — could be shuttered in 2018.
