Toys “R” Us closed its remaining U.S. stores on June 29, 2018, marking the end of its nationwide retail operations in the country.

Key dates at a glance

  • September 2017 – Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., aiming to restructure rather than immediately shut down.
  • March 14, 2018 – Announced it would liquidate and close all roughly 735 U.S. stores, affecting tens of thousands of employees.
  • Late March 2018 – Large-scale clearance and liquidation sales began across U.S. locations.
  • June 29, 2018 – Last U.S. Toys “R” Us stores officially closed their doors to customers, often described as the “final day” of the chain in America.

International closures and exceptions

The shutdown didn’t happen everywhere at once, and some regions followed different paths.

  • United Kingdom: Toys “R” Us UK entered administration in February 2018, with all stores closed by April 24, 2018.
  • Canada: The Canadian business was profitable and was sold to Fairfax Financial, allowing Canadian stores to continue operating under the Toys “R” Us name.

Why people say “Toys ‘R’ Us closed”

When people ask “when did Toys ‘R’ Us close,” they’re usually referring to that June 29, 2018 date, because that’s when the last wave of U.S. brick‑and‑mortar stores shut down and the brand effectively disappeared from everyday American shopping streets. There have been later attempts to revive or license the brand in smaller or different formats, but the classic big‑box toy stores most people remember ended on that 2018 date in the U.S.

Forum and trending angle

Online discussions and nostalgic posts surged around mid‑2018 as customers shared photos of empty aisles and closing‑sale signs, treating it as the end of an era. Even years later, forum threads still pop up asking why Toys “R” Us closed and debating whether changing retail habits or long‑term debt and mismanagement were more to blame.

“It felt like the childhood version of a landmark shutting down,” is a common sentiment in these forum conversations, where people trade memories of wandering giant toy aisles and hearing the old jingle one last time.

TL;DR: Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017, announced a full U.S. liquidation in March 2018, and closed its last American stores on June 29, 2018, while some international operations (like Canada) lived on under new ownership.

Is your interest more in the exact closure timeline, or in the reasons and business mistakes that led to Toys “R” Us shutting down?