Another win for Empire Mall: Sioux Falls Toys R Us avoids closure

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A major retailer is planning to close one fifth of it's US stores. Buzz60

The Toys R Us in Sioux Falls will remain open, despite the company's pending bankruptcy organization plans.

The decision is another win for the Empire Mall, which hosts a number of large national retailers who have fallen on hard times and closed many locations but have chosen to spare their Sioux Falls locations that anchor the mall.

More: How the Empire Mall is beating mass retail closures

The toy retailer on Tuesday filed court documents outlining its bankruptcy reorganization plans. Toys R Us said it would close up to 182 stores.

South Dakota didn't escape unscathed from the Toys R Us plans. the company said it would close its Rapid City location.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Toys R Us Chief Executive Dave Brandon said in a letter posted on the company's website Tuesday night.

See full USA TODAY Network coverage here: Bankruptcy fallout: Toys R Us closing up to 182 stores

The Empire Mall has largely survived closures of national retailers that anchor the shopping center. 

Sears escaped closure earlier this month when its parent company released a list of locations it planned to shutter. JCPenney closed four of its seven South Dakota stores in 2017 but kept its Sioux Falls location open. Macy's survived a round of cuts by its owner in early 2016.

Gordman's, a retailer on a mall outlot location similar to Toys R Us, seemed on the verge of closing but its owner chose to keep the location open last year, according to bankruptcy organization plans. 

The Empire Mall hasn't escaped waves of national closures unscathed. Starbucks-owned Teavana closed its location in the mall Jan. 15, and previous closures driven by retailers' national decisions include similar smaller stores such as Vanity, Limited, Deb Shops and Wet Seal.