A Toys R Us Obituary
by Ben "Zombie" Bedgood
Toys R Us: February 1948 – March 2017
Friends, family, and co-workers: we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our dear friend Toys R Us. They have been a staple of childhood, retail, and joy for the past sixty-nine years. They are survived by more than 80,000 loyal employees in the United States, United Kingdom, and other international locations who have given their time to supporting Toys R Us through their retail locations, distribution centers and corporate offices. Also surviving this loss are countless Toys R Us kids, who spent hours dreaming of winning the coveted Toys R Us shopping spree, or making a wish list based on the Toys R Us Big Book and later in life helping their own children create their list in the same way.
From humble beginnings in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington D.C., Toys R Us grew to become a powerhouse of the retail world. They eventually become the proud parent of Kids R Us in February 1983. Their family grew with Babies R Us in April 1996, Toysrus.com in March of 1998, and Toys R Us Express pop up stores in February of 2007. Continuing its love of being a parent they adopted their competitors KB Toys, FAO Schwarz, eToys.com, and Toys.com welcoming them into its family in the mid 2000’s. Sadly after just over 20 years of operation, in March of 2003, Toys R Us' eldest child Kids R Us had to move back home, splitting time with Toys R Us and their little brother, Babies R Us in their respective locations.
Time Square Flagship
In 2001, Toys R Us opened its biggest and grandest store; the Times Square Flagship store. Located in iconic Times Square of New York City, this store gave them a foot print in the most prestigious retail corner of the world. The Times Square store was more than a toy store, it was truly an experience. There was a 60-foot functional Ferris wheel, a life size Barbie Dream house, a Lego recreation of Downtown Manhattan, a candy store that would put Willy Wonka to shame and so much more. Unfortunately for Toys R Us, the cost of operating a store of that magnitude was as grandiose as its presentation. It also didn’t help that shoppers were frequently turning to online shopping and other avenues. It was only 14 years later that they were forced to abandon what their dream location. This costly venture would be the beginning of the end for the toy chain.
Contrary to popular belief, Toys R Us was not murdered by its competitors like Walmart, Target and Amazon. It was a long-term illness that brought our beloved friend to an end. Chronic and overwhelming debt from over-expansion, hubris, lack of modernization and the cost of building and maintaining its Times Square Flagship store are what eventually caused this drawn out self-inflicted death. While overridden with debt, they were forced to focus on paying those back instead of investing enough money into necessary and innovative changes. They weren't able to offer competitive wages for new employees, offer raises for existing employees, or afford remodeling their stores to move away from the cold, warehouse-style into more inviting and warm shopping environments. There was even discussion of expansion into a small-box style, more cost effective specialized business model, such as a Games R Us selling only video games, Bikes R Us selling only bikes, as well as Toys R Us Express while closing down larger less cost-effective locations. None of these reached their full potential as they were unable to afford these innovative changes.
On March 15, 2018 all managers, retail location and distribution center alike, joined together on a conference call notifying them that the stores had 60 days from that day to liquidate “Everything”. To the 80,000 employees that had become family and built their lives around Toys R Us, this was a critical blow to the deepest part of their hearts. Many had met their spouses through working there and many had become part of a multigenerational work force. For them, this news was shocking and meant the only thing they will be certain is the uncertainty of their collective futures.
It is now that we look back on this staple of our childhood and bid it a fond farewell. For unlike other retail giants that have fallen in recent years like Blockbuster, Circuit City, Sunny’s Surplus, Best Products, DEB, Warner Brothers Studio Store, Radio Shack, Hollywood Video, Tower Records, Boarders and more Toys R Us closing its doors is an emotional hardship that hits at the childhood and heartstrings of those aged 0-70 and up. We were all and always will be Toys R Us Kids. Your father and founder, Charles Lazarus will be joining you, in a heart-breaking yet fitting manor. Rest in Peace my dear friends.
