Algonquin's Toys R Us to close Wednesday as company shutters all stores

Say goodbye to Geoffrey the Giraffe.

The Algonquin Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores will close Wednesday, and area residents shuffled in earlier this week to take advantage of massive markdowns on Power Rangers, Power Puff Girls and electronics.

The village’s Toys R Us and Babies R Us, 826 S. Randall Road, had remained open as the company hurtled toward shuttering its U.S. operations.

“I think it’s terrible,” said Joann Reich of West Dundee. “We’re closing another store in the neighborhood where there’s no income coming in. Things are changing.”

Abi Irizarry of West Dundee expressed similar sentiments.

“It’s difficult seeing it go down. I was here as a kid and now I have my own kids, and they won’t really get to experience it,” Irizarry said, adding that shopping in toy stores is more fun than shopping online.

“We have too many empty storefronts as it is already,” she said. “A lot of the anchor stores have been closing down, the brick and mortars.”

Store employees declined to comment. A large “going out of business” sign could be seen at the front of the store.

In recent months, the company closed hundreds of stores under the Toys R Us umbrella.

Toys R Us said it officially will close all remaining locations by Friday. The closing of the company’s 700 U.S. stores jeopardizes the income of about 30,000 employees. No purchases can be made on the company’s websites.

Over the years, Toys R Us has succumbed to competition from fellow retailer Walmart and online giant Amazon that left it reeling under $5 billion in debt. The troubled retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall.

It pledged then to stay open, but CEO David Brandon told employees the company had a “devastating” sales performance during the holiday season.

That made its lenders more skittish about investing in the company. In the months before its closing, Toys R Us encouraged shoppers to take advantage of its final liquidation sales and help clear items off store shelves.

The company also is counting down the days until it closes for good on its official Twitter account.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.