Toys R Us, squeezed by Amazon.com and huge chains like Walmart, will begin closing 180 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores nationally starting in February, including two stores in Maine.

The Toys R Us at 6 Bangor Mall Boulevard in Bangor and the Babies R Us at 200 Running Mill Road in South Portland are on the closure list in the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last September.





The Toys R Us at 303 Maine Mall Road in South Portland is not on the closure list.

The Wayne, New Jersey, company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, in September 2017. The toy store company is updating the status on its restructuring website.

At the time of the Chapter 11 filing the one-time toy retail giant was $4.9 billion in debt.

Chairman and CEO Dave Brandon said in a letter to customers Wednesday that tough decisions are required to save Toys R Us.

“Our primary focus is on reimagining our business with you in mind. This past season we were successful in accomplishing this objective for millions of customers,” he wrote. “However, there were also far too many transactions where this wasn’t the case — due to our operational missteps.”

He added the company is addressing problems, but meantime, customers should take advantage of the deep discounts and deals available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news