Amazon Considers Buying Toys R Us Stores To Establish Brick-And-Mortar Presence
Amazon is eyeing soon-to-be vacant Toys R Us stores to potentially expand its physical footprint.
The stores could be used for a number of purposes, Bloomberg reports, such as new bookstore and convenience store concepts. The Toys R Us sites could also act as a showcase for technology like Alexa and Amazon's line of Echo products. The e-commerce giant could also use the locations as distribution hubs to deliver online products and fresh groceries to consumers faster.
Any talks of a deal are still in the early stages, and little has been confirmed by Amazon. In 2015, the e-commerce behemoth considered a similar transaction after RadioShack filed for bankruptcy, but discussions dissolved quickly and ultimately failed to amount to anything, according to Bloomberg.
Toys R Us is still in the process of liquidating its U.S. operations, putting an estimated 33,000 people out of work.
The toy store filed for bankruptcy in September in an attempt to deal with a $5B debt load. After holiday sales failed to offer a reprieve from its financial woes, the chain was forced to begin the process of closing stores, ultimately leading to the full liquidation of its U.S. and U.K. business.
