Toys R Us is closing a fifth of its stores, including one in Johnson County

Once-giant retailer Toys R Us announced plans to close 182 stores, and the Overland Park outlet is on the list.

The Babies R Us store at 8500 W. 135th St. in Overland Park is one of two of the company’s stores in Kansas that will be shuttered. The other one is in Wichita.

Four stores in Missouri are also slated to close, in Columbia, Cape Girardeau, Bridgeton and Chesterfield.

The closings are part of the retailer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Clearance sales will begin in February and will be over by April.

The closings amount to about one-fifth of the Toys R Us stores across the country, according to CNBC.

“The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus,” said company chairman and CEO David Brandon. “The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings as a more viable and competitive company.”

The New Jersey-based company, which operates a distribution center in Lee’s Summit, has faced competitive pressure from Walmart and Target and from online sales through Amazon.

There are other Toys R Us stores in the metropolitan area.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Toys R Us is closing a fifth of its stores, including one in Johnson County."