The retail giant Toys “R” Us has filed for bankruptcy and is closing its stores across the nation. The move is leaving more than 30,000 employees out of jobs, health insurance, and severance pay. It’s the latest retail chain owned by private equity firms to close its doors. Companies taken over by these firms are often shouldered with the firms’ high debt loads, pushing struggling companies to a faster decline. Progressive groups say the pattern is a reminder of the human cost on working class people, and the cycle needs to stop. But others say private equity firms do bring value to some companies.
Toys “R” Us closing its doors also raises another question: can brick-and-mortar retailers survive and thrive in the age of Amazon? Our guests weigh in on the economics:
- Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition
- Amit Batabyal, professor of economics at RIT
- Rocco Pellegrino, owner of Small World Books
