THE HAGUE, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Administrators of Intertoys, the biggest toy store chain in the Netherlands, requested the Amsterdam District Court to declare it bankrupt on Thursday.

The move follows the suspension of Intertoys' payments, granted by the court on Feb. 12.

Intertoys was founded in 1976 and was owned by the Blokker Holding, a retail company focusing on household goods and toys, until Dec. 2017, when it was taken over by the British investment group Alteri.

"The far-reaching step reflects continuing pressure on the entire retail sector," stated Alteri in a press release. "Increasing online sales have reduced toy store sales by fifty percent in ten years. Also, specialist stores like Intertoys have faced increasing competition from discounters outside the traditional toy market."

In total, approximately 3,200 employees across 286 stores in the Netherlands, two distribution centers and the service center in Amsterdam fall under the bankruptcy.

Parts of Intertoys, including its Belgian arm, which operates under the name Bart Smit, are excluded from bankruptcy. Talks are ongoing on the sale of Bart Smit, according to an Alteri statement. Enditem

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