On Monday 18 September, US toy giant Toys ‘R’ Us – also very popular in Singapore – filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and Canada.
Due to various financial challenges, the retail company had racked up a long-term debt of a whopping US$5 billion (S$6.7 billion).
CEO of the company Dave Brandon reportedly said the company is “planning to work with debtholders and other creditors to restructure the US$5 billion” debt, so that it could keep serving long-time customers, both online and at their physical stores.
According to a Channel NewsAsia report, “Toys ‘R’ Us said it received a commitment for over US$3 billion in debtor-in-possession financing from lenders including a JPMorgan-led bank syndicate and certain of the company’s existing lenders.”
Is Singapore affected?
Mums and dads, you can let out a huge sigh of relief!
The Asian arm of Toys ‘R’ Us has confirmed that none of the shops it operates in the region – including Singapore – will be affected.
In a statement on Tuesday (September 19), Today reports Toys ‘R’ Us (Asia) as saying that it will not be affected by the US arm’s financial issues and that its stores will be open for business as usual.
This is due to the fact that Toys ‘R’ Us (Asia) is a completely separate legal and financial entity from its US/ Canadian counterparts, as well as other Toys ‘R’ Us companies elsewhere in the world.
In fact, Toys ‘R’ Us Singapore has plans of expanding even further. Just in the last 8 months it opened 3 new outlets in Parkway Parade, Waterway Point and Westgate malls. Last month, renovation work of its Tampines Mall stores finished.
It is also looking to hire another 150 people to gear up for the busy Christmas season.
Toys ‘R’ Us (Asia) operates 226 stores across South-east Asia and China, which can be found in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It also licenses 35 outlets in the Philippines and Macau, says Today.
References: Channel NewsAsia, Today
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