Toys R Us Has Gone Into Administration Putting 3,200 Jobs At Risk

• Long struggling retailer will be shutting down
• “Orderly wind down” of the stores will begin tomorrow
• Over 100 stores will close

Retail giant Toys R Us has fallen into administration, putting its’ 3,200 employees at risk of losing their jobs.

Administrator Moorfields Advisory, which will be overseeing the closure, has started an “orderly wind-down” of the company’s stores.

Yesterday, the firm needed to find £15 million to pay off its VAT bill, or find a buyer to pay it, but it failed to do so.

Toys R Us is one of the nation’s biggest toy retailers, with more than 100 stores in the UK, and 1,500 in 33 countries around the world.

It has been struggling for years due to falling consumer spending, soaring inflation, and high levels of competition, which all dented its sales performance.

Some tension was relieved when it was saved by a voluntary agreement to close some of its stores and turn the remaining ones into smaller, interactive stores.

However, poor sales over the crucial Christmas period was the nail in the coffin for the retailer, which was unable to come up with the money to pay its bills.

Simon Thomas, Moorfields partner and joint administrator, said, “We will be conducting an orderly wind-down of the store portfolio over the coming weeks.

“All stores will remain open until further notice and stock will be subject to clearance and special promotions.

“We’re encouraging customers to redeem their gift cards and vouchers as soon as possible.

“We will make every effort to secure a buyer for all or part of the business.”

Employees were informed of the closing down process this morning and will be kept updated on the developments.

Gift cards and vouchers will be honoured while the stores continue to trade, so if you have one, make sure to spend it quickly.

No more gift cards will be sold from today.

If you are intending to take an item back to get a refund, then do this as soon as you can.

While a company is still trading, it should continue to honour your refund rights, but this cannot be guaranteed once it goes into administration.

If the company does close down before you can get a refund, then if you’ve paid by credit card you’ll be covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, as long as you have spent over £100 and under £30,000.

If you paid with a debit card, then you may be able to get money back from your bank by using Chargeback, but this will depend on who you bank with.