First Toys R Us US liquidation figures show $184.7 raised

With figures in from the first 155 store closures, Toys R Us raised $184.7m in revenue during the liquidation sales.

Toys R Us in the USA generated “$184.7m in revenue, with the liquidators charging $2.45m in commission and $5.4m in expenses”, Toy World reports. The figures only apply to the 155 stores that closed on May 28, and do not apply to the stores that closed subsequently.

With the retailer indebted to creditors to the tune of billions of dollars, the money raised will make little impact on the company’s debts. The liquidators receive 1.1% of all inventory sales and 15% of all furniture and fixtures sales.
The closure of Toys R Us stores pushed vacant retail space in the US up to 10.2%, the highest that statistic has been since 2014.

Four liquidation companies – Hilco, Gordon Brothers, Tiger and Great America – collected $2.45 million in return for liquidating for the stock. The liquidation plans caused controversy, with companies including the LEGO Group objecting to the selling off of existing inventory.

Toys R Us had a difficult, debt saddled decade since being bought out by a private equity firm in 2005. In recent months, moves to rescue the company have failed, including the attempted sale of the European subsidiary businesses. Poor Christmas trading was blamed for delivering the final blow that killed off any chance of the retailer surviving.