Toys R Us has announced one of its Aberdeen stores is to close next year.
The Berryden branch will shut its doors in the spring as part of plans to close at least a third of its UK stores, putting up to 800 jobs at risk.
The retailer said it is working on a company voluntary agreement (CVA), which would allow it to jettison 26 loss-making stores.
The firm said the transformation plan is needed to “meet the evolving needs of customers in today’s UK retail market”.The retailer said that all efforts will be made to redeploy team members where possible.
Stores in East Kilbride, Kirkcaldy and Livingston are also due to shut.
The firm currently has two shops in Aberdeen, with the unit in the city’s Union Square expected to remain open.
Toys R Us, which trades from 84 stores in the UK and has 21 concessions, employs a total of 3,200 people, but the company said there will be “no disruption for customers” throughout the Christmas and New Year shopping period.
Steve Knights, managing director of Toys R Us UK, said the warehouse-style stores opened by the retailer in the 1980s and 1990s have proven “too big and expensive to run”, adding that “newer, smaller, more interactive stores in the right shopping locations” were trading well.
He also pointed to a “significant growth” in online sales and its click-and-collect service.
“Like many UK retailers in today’s market environment, we need to transform our business so that we have a platform that can better meet customers’ evolving needs.
“The decision to propose this CVA was a difficult one, but we determined it is the best path forward to make essential changes to the business,” Mr Knights said.
As part of the CVA process, Toys R Us UK has submitted its restructuring plan to creditors, with hopes of gaining approval within the next 17 days.
If approved, Toys R Us UK would see its rental obligations “substantially reduce”, and allow it to move forward with a “new, viable business model” that would include a raft of store closures.
The announcement comes just months after the US-based retailer filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and Canada as it battled mammoth debts and increasing competition online.
