The final days of Toys R Us in Fairview Heights coming. Here's what you need to know

If you’re waiting for the “good sale” to begin at Toys R Us and Babies R Us, the wait is over.

Store locations around the country are expected to close in the next few weeks, or when their inventory runs out.

No one in Fairview Heights is sure of the exact date, but the toy store chain sent an email to customers Wednesday reminding them of deepening discounts.

"Closing forever, our final weeks," the email said in big bold letters.

Store merchandise is now 50 to 70 percent off, and if you’re still in denial about the store entering it final days, all locations are getting rid of fixtures and furniture, too.

Toys R Us closed its Illinois distribution center and regional office last month, letting go of 180 employees. According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, regional operations shut down May 14.

Layoff dates for local stores in Illinois have not been released, but in other states reports indicate that the stores are expected to close sometime in June.

Jacquelyn Reineke, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, said her department is working with Toys R Us to "ease the transition of impacted employees."

As for the vacant buildings that will be left behind as a result of the closure, Fairview Heights Economic Development Director Paul Ellis doesn't expect them to sit empty for long. The buildings are in a highly coveted area and will be auctioned off, he said.

Both Babies R Us and Toys R Us will close as a result of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, which wipes out debt. Toys R Us Inc. had initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which reorganizes debt.

Toys R Us had about 60,000 full-time and part-time employees worldwide.

This story was originally published June 13, 2018 at 3:41 PM with the headline "The final days of Toys R Us in Fairview Heights coming. Here's what you need to know."