LONDON: Toys R Us stores in the Gulf remain open for business despite the US parent company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A statement from the company said that the US operation and its Canadian unit would file for bankruptcy but that some 255 overseas stores were not part of the proceedings.
“The company intends to use these court-supervised proceedings to restructure its outstanding debt and establish a sustainable capital structure that will enable it to invest in long-term growth,” it said.
It added: “The company’s approximately 1,600 Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores around the world — the vast majority of which are profitable — are continuing to operate as usual.
Managers who spoke to Arab News at Toys R Us stores in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai said that they were trading as normal and were owned by separate entities.
Dubai-based Al Futtaim Group operates the largest number of Toys R Us stores in the region.
It has outlets in 19 locations across the Middle East and North Africa that include Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, according to its website.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
Several big high street names that have gone bust in Europe and the US in recent years have continued to trade in the Gulf states where they typically operate through standalone companies under licensing agreements with one of the big regional retail players.
Toys R Us is filing for bankruptcy as the global toys market begins to ramp up for its busiest time of the year.
CEO Dave Brandon said the company intended to work with creditors to restructure $5 billion of long-term debt on its balance sheet “which will provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, continue to improve the customer experience in our physical stores and online, and strengthen our competitive position in an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing retail marketplace worldwide.”
Gulf Toys R Us stores remain open as US company files for bankruptcy
Gulf Toys R Us stores remain open as US company files for bankruptcy
G7 countries to release oil reserves as IEA agrees to largest ever market intervention
- IEA recommends release of 400 million barrels
RIYADH: Germany, Japan and Austria will release part of their oil reserves after the International Energy Agency recommended the release of 400 million barrels of oil from stockpiles, the largest such move in IEA history.
In a statement, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the flow of oil, gas and other commodities through the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped, leading global energy supply to fall by around 20 percent.
Ahead of the confirmation of the move, a larger intervention than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several countries began setting out plans to bring their reserves into play as countries grapple with soaring crude prices amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Birol said: “I can now announce that IEA countries have decided to launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency's history.
“IEA countries will be making 400 million barrels of oil available to the market to offset the supply lost through the effective closure of the strait.
“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets.”
Germany’s Economy Minister Katherina Reiche confirmed on Wednesday her government plans to limit petrol price increases at filling stations to once a day and to introduce more stringent antitrust regulation of the sector.
She did not give an exact timing for those measures, but added that the US and Japan would be the largest contributors to the release of the oil reserves.
The US has not confirmed it would do so, but its Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News on Wednesday that “these are the kinds of moments that these reserves are used for.”
The announcements did not stop oil prices rising, with Brent crude up 3.26 percent to $90.66 a barrel at 4:29 p.m Saudi time, and West Texas Intermediate up 3.12 percent to $86.05. Both were some way below the $119 a barrel seen earlier in the week.
“The situation regarding oil supplies is tense, as the Strait of Hormuz is currently virtually impassable,” Germany’s Reiche said.
“We will comply with this request and contribute our share, because Germany stands behind the IEA’s most important principle: mutual solidarity,” Reiche said about the IEA’s request.
According to a statement by Reiche’s ministry, Germany will contribute 2.64 million tonnes of oil. This corresponds to 19.51 million barrels.
Reiche stressed there was no supply shortage in the country, which has a legally mandated reserve of oil and oil products intended to cover 90 days’ demand.
Austrian Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said his country was releasing part of the emergency oil reserve and extending the national strategic gas reserve, adding: “One thing is clear: in a crisis, there must be no crisis winners at the expense of commuters and businesses.”
Acting ahead of the IEA move, G7 member Japan announced plans to release 15 days' worth of private-sector oil reserves and one month's worth of state oil reserves.
“Rather than wait for formal IEA approval of a coordinated international reserve release, Japan will act first to ease global energy market supply and demand, releasing reserves as early as the 16th of this month,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a broadcast statement.
Following a meeting with the IEA on Wednesday, G7 energy ministers said: “In principle, we support the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves.”
All IEA member countries are required to keep 90 days’ worth of their nation’s oil use in reserve in case of global disruption.
