Bankrupt retailer Toys “R” Us may shut all its US stores as soon as next week, according to several reports.
A spokesperson for Toys “R” Us declined to comment on the liquidation chatter.
Toys “R” Us recently went into administration in the UK, paving the path for stores there to shut their doors. And the potential closing of Toys “R” Us in America would be a particularly huge blow to Hasbro and Mattel.
According to recent regulatory filings from both companies, Toys “R” Us accounted for nearly 10% of the companies’ overall sales.
Toys “R” Us is the last megastore dedicated to toys. Without it, toymakers will struggle to promote anything but their most popular items.
That’s terrible news for the two biggest publicly traded toy companies. Investors are clearly preparing for the worst. Shares of Hasbro fell 3.5% Friday morning while Mattel plunged 7%.
Smaller toy company Jakks Pacific fell nearly 5% too. Canada’s Spin Master, which owns the popular line of Hatchimals toys, was down about 3% as well on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
And everything isn’t awesome for privately held European toy giant Lego either. The plastic bricks maker reported its first sales drop in thirteen years earlier this week. So these are clearly tough times for the toy makers.
