Toys R Us Expected To File For Bankruptcy Ahead Of The Holidays

DETROIT (WWJ) - Just ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, Toys R Us is in trouble.

According to multiple published reports, including by the Wall Street Journal, the iconic toy giant is expected to file for bankruptcy — and soon.

CBS News says Toys R Us must renegotiate $446 million in debt due before the end of its current fiscal year and is also on the hook for $2.2 billion in debt due the following year. As of last April, Toys "R" Us had more than $5 billion in long-term debt.

Citing sources close to the situation, CNBC reported Monday that the retailer could seek court-supervised relief from its debts as early as this week, and reports say the company has already hired a law firm to handle it.

"This filing is really a buildup of financial problems over the past 15 years," Jim Silver an industry analyst and the editor of toy-review site TTPM.com, told Bloomberg. "Finally, the straw broke the camel's back."

Like other brick and mortar chains, Toys R Us has struggled with the steady migration of shoppers to Amazon.com and other online outlets, which have in turn forced prices downward and cut down on in-store visits, The Journal reported. Sears, Kmart and Macy's are among other big retailers struggling in recent years.

Toys R Us has more than 1,600 stores worldwide.