One of the four Toys "R" Us stores recently put on the chopping block in Minnesota has been given a reprieve, a company official said.
When the New Jersey-based big-box retailer announced last week that it was closing more than 180 stores around the country, on that list were the Toys "R" Us outlets in Minnetonka and Blaine and the Babies "R" Us stores in Woodbury and Richfield.
The Blaine outlet, it turns out, will remain open, company spokeswoman Amanda Kahl said Wednesday.
Kahl said the good fortune for the north metro store came "after lease renegotiation."
Blaine, which has both the Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us brands, joins four locations in Minnesota that are staying open: Burnsville, Maple Grove, Maplewood and Rochester.
Closings that are still in the pipeline are set to begin this month and should largely be complete by mid-April.
The retailer has been buried under $5 billion in debt and filed for bankruptcy in September. At that time, the company had roughly 1,600 Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us locations.
Analysts have said that Toys "R" Us is finding it increasingly difficult to coexist with Amazon and needs to improve its online services and offer special experiences in the stores.
