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Las Vegas may see closures for Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Applebees and IHOP

Updated February 22, 2018 - 10:06 pm

Three big-name retail brands will undergo some changes.

But time will tell if or when Las Vegas sees some stores closed by Toys R Us and Babies R Us or restaurants shut by Applebee’s and IHOP. Both restaurant brands are owned by Dine Brands Global.

For Toys R Us, the problem has been competing with online retail and elevating the brand above other retailers that sell toys, said Jeff Mitchell, principal broker at the Las Vegas office of Mountain West Commercial Real Estate.

“The core Toys R Us platform, you can buy at Amazon, Target, Walmart,” Mitchell said.

Toys R Us is expected to close 200 stores after a disappointing holiday sales season, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Las Vegas area is home to fewer than 10 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

(Wes Rand/Las Vegas Review Journal)

A Toys R Us spokeswoman declined to comment on the Journal article, which cited people familiar with the closings.

The restaurants’ story is more positive.

In an earnings call Tuesday, Dine Brands Global CEO Steve Joyce promised at least 85 new IHOP franchises worldwide and at least 10 new Applebee’s franchises.

The company will close about 30 IHOP restaurants and at least 60 Applebee’s restaurants, signaling an emphasis on fast-service restaurants. Where the new locations will pop up and where the old ones will close is not yet known.

The Las Vegas Valley is home to 19 IHOP locations and 11 Applebee’s locations, according to the brands’ websites.

Mitchell attributed the Applebee’s closures to too much real estate and a need to turn more young people into eaters.

“We’ve kind of been in this two-year decline in brick-and-mortar retail,” said Andy Challenger, vice president of Chicago-based hiring firm Challenger, Gray &Christmas. “Now it’s a little bit different with restaurants announcing some of their closures, hitting some of the same problems that retailers did, in a lot of ways, with technology changing things.”

As reported in an investor presentation Wednesday from Applebee’s parent company, 30 percent of Applebee’s guests are 18 to 34 in age. Forty-five percent of guests are under 34.

For IHOP, 29 percent of guests are 18 to 34, and 49 percent are under 34.

“We’re not about niche or polarizing flavor profiles at Applebee’s,” brand President John Cywinski said during Tuesday’s earnings call. “So, it’s unlikely you’ll see Sriracha, quinoa or pomegranate anytime soon. You’ll continue to see an emphasis on abundant value and simplification across our innovation pipeline.”

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4602. Follow @wademillward on Twitter.

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