Ian Ritter is national online editor of GlobeSt.RETAIL.

PITTSFIELD, MA-Mall-based KB Toys is closing between 141 and 238 stores as part of its emergence from Chapter 11, leaving the company with about 600 units. The retailer expects to close the stores by Jan. 31, 2005, pending approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in January. KB Toys then closed 389 stores between February and May and an additional 38 from May to August. The company now operates 819 units in the US, Guam and Puerto Rico.

"These store closings represent a significant element of KB Toys plan of reorganization and will not hinder our holiday operations," says Michael L. Glazer, the company's president and CEO. "We remain confident that KB Toys will emerge from this reorganization in a stronger position to compete more effectively in the marketplace." The company expects to emerge from bankruptcy early next year.