Toys 'R Us has started its liquidation sale and everything must go.
The embattled toy retailer faces heavy debts and plans to close hundreds of stores nationwide.
While Carl Westman’s hands were full of recent buys, he also carried a heavy heart.
“Pretty bummed,” Westman said. “Because of their good toys are going away which is kind of making me sad.”
Westman was one of the shoppers checking out the liquidation sales at Toys 'R Us and Babies 'R Us in West Hartford on Sunday.
While signs beckoned customers with offers of up to 30-percent off, the bulk of items were discounted just 10-percent.
“They were okay. Kind of, a little picked over and not great discounts but there were still some deals to be had,” Laura Westman of Berlin, said.
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For some shoppers it was a trip down memory lane, though times have not been kind to the 70-year-old company.
Toys 'R Us started the liquidation sale on Friday, as it plans to close around 800 stores and lay off 31,000 workers across the U.S.
The toy retailer faces crushing debt and has missed payments to vendors.
“It’s kind of sad. We grew up with it,” Westman said.
“I saw Toys 'R Us ever since I could walk. As long as I can remember, there was always a Toys 'R Us,” Anna Ybarra of West Hartford, said.
Nostalgia does not always make up for practicality.
So, many shoppers say they will wait to return, hopeful discounts will soon improve.
“I know they are going to get better towards the end, maybe the last two, three weeks before they close,” Ybarra said.
Anything purchased now is final sale, though returns are allowed until April 21 for items bought before the liquidation sale started.
April 21 is also the deadline for using gift cards.
No word yet on when the stores will close for good.
