RETAILER Toys R Us has confirmed that its Swindon branch will not be one of 26 stores across the UK to close its doors.
On Monday morning the toy shop giant announced plans to close more than two dozen stores, putting up to 800 jobs at risk, citing testing trading conditions for the controversial decision.
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 offering.
"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," he said.
While Swindon's Oxford Road branch remains safe for the meanwhile, staff at the affected stores were informed about the plans on Monday morning.
It is likely that the 26 Toys R Us UK stores will close in spring 2018 but all stores across the UK remain open for business as normal through Christmas and well into the New Year.
The company will continue to honour gift cards and Take Time To Pay agreements and there will be no change to the returns policy.
The affected stores include:
1 Aberdeen
2 Basingstoke
3 Belfast Newtownabbey
4 Birmingham St. Andrews
5 Bolton
6 Bradford
7 Brislington
8 Cambridge
9 Cardiff
10 Derry City
11 Doncaster
12 East Kilbride
13 Exeter
14 Hayes
15 Kirkcaldy
16 Leicester
17 Livingston
18 Old Kent Road
19 Plymouth
20 Scunthorpe
21 Shrewsbury
22 Tamworth
23 Tunbridge Wells
24 Watford
25 York
26 Manchester Central Retail Park (already earmarked for closure)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel