Toys "R" Us facts for kids
Logo used since September 22, 2007
|
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded |
|
| Founder | Charles Lazarus |
| Headquarters |
United States
|
|
Number of locations
|
4 stores (excluding 451 branded concessions inside Macy's) |
| Owner |
|
Toys "R" Us is a well-known American store that sells toys, clothes, and baby products. It was started in April 1948 by Charles Lazarus in Washington, D.C..
The store first opened as Children's Supermart, selling furniture. But in June 1957, it changed its focus to toys and became Toys "R" Us. By the end of the 1970s, Toys "R" Us had stores all over the United States. It grew even more in the 1980s, becoming one of the top toy stores in the U.S. In the mid-1980s, it also opened stores in other countries, like Toys "R" Us Canada and Toys "R" Us UK.
In September 2017, Toys "R" Us faced financial difficulties in the U.S. and Canada. By June 2018, most Toys "R" Us stores in the United States had closed. However, some international stores outside the U.S. continued to operate.
In January 2019, the Toys "R" Us brand (except for Canada) was taken over by a new company called Tru Kids, Inc.. In August 2021, Tru Kids announced that Toys "R" Us would open over 400 smaller stores inside Macy's department stores, starting in 2022. A few new standalone stores also opened in late 2021. The main flagship store is in New Jersey at the American Dream mall. Another large store opened inside the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in November 2023.
Contents
History of Toys "R" Us
.png){kind=small}
How Toys "R" Us Started
In April 1948, Charles P. Lazarus started a store called Children's Supermart. It sold baby furniture in Washington, D.C.. This was during the time after World War II when many babies were being born.
In June 1957, the store changed its focus. The first Toys "R" Us store, which only sold toys, opened in Rockville, Maryland. Charles Lazarus also designed the Toys "R" Us logo. It had a backwards "R" to make it look like a child wrote it. The store chain became very popular. It was a well-known brand for many children from the 1960s to the 1990s. It became successful with popular toys like Star Wars action figures, Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, and Nintendo video games.
Toys "R" Us in the 21st Century
In May 2000, John Eyler became the CEO of Toys "R" Us. He planned to update the stores. Because of strong competition from stores like Walmart and Target, Toys "R" Us thought about separating its toy and baby businesses.
In March 2005, a group of companies bought Toys "R" Us for $6.6 billion. After this, Toys "R" Us became a privately owned company. This means its stock was no longer traded on the public market.
In December 2013, just before Christmas, Toys "R" Us announced that its U.S. stores would stay open for 87 hours straight. The main store in Times Square was open 24 hours a day from December 1 to 24. This was to help customers during the busy holiday season. The company also hired 45,000 extra workers for this time. More than 40% of the company's sales happen in the last three months of the year.
In 2014, Toys "R" Us started a plan called "TRU Transformation." This plan aimed to make stores less messy and improve the shopping experience. They also wanted clearer prices and better ways to connect their stores with their online business. In 2015, they opened a new type of store called the "Toy Lab" in New Jersey. These new stores had more space for interactive displays where kids could play with toys before buying them. This idea was later used in stores in other states.
Financial Challenges and Closures
On September 18, 2017, Toys "R" Us, Inc. filed for a type of legal protection for companies facing financial problems. This was to help them manage their large debt and get money to pay suppliers for the upcoming holiday season. The company had not made a profit since 2013. It was spending a lot of money each year just to pay off its debt. This made it hard to invest in new ideas to compete with companies like Amazon and Walmart.
At first, it was said that only the U.S. and Canadian stores would be affected. The stores and online sales were expected to continue. However, in January 2018, the company announced it would close up to 182 stores in the U.S. as part of its plan.
On March 15, 2018, Toys "R" Us got approval from the court to close all its U.S. stores. Some buyers were interested in buying groups of stores or the brand name itself. The company noted that its Canadian stores were doing well and hoped to sell them so they could keep operating.
Sales to clear out inventory began on March 23, 2018. The online store shut down on March 29. On April 24, 2018, the Canadian division was sold to Fairfax Financial for about $234 million. These stores continued to operate under the Toys "R" Us name.
On June 29, 2018, Toys "R" Us permanently closed all its remaining U.S. stores after 70 years of business. In early July 2018, some unknown people bought all the remaining toys from two stores in North Carolina to donate them to charity.
In November 2018, it was noted that Toys "R" Us not being around for the 2018 holiday season meant about $4 billion in toy sales that other stores could get. Party City, a party supply store, opened temporary "Toy City" stores in some of the empty Toys "R" Us locations.
New Beginnings and Relaunch
On October 1, 2018, the company announced it would not sell its brand name. Instead, its main lender planned to bring back the Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us brands. They wanted to keep existing agreements and find new ways to sell products.
The company also introduced a new idea called Geoffrey's Toy Box. This was a "store-within-a-store" concept. They planned to sell Toys "R" Us brand products inside other stores. In November 2018, the grocery chain Kroger started adding Geoffrey's Toy Box displays to some of its locations.
On January 20, 2019, the company officially came out of its financial difficulties as Tru Kids.
Relaunch of Stores
By June 21, 2019, Tru Kids planned to open new, smaller Toys "R" Us stores in the U.S. These stores would be about one-third the size of the old large stores. On November 27, 2019, a new Toys "R" Us store opened in Paramus, New Jersey. On December 7, 2019, a second store opened in Houston, Texas.
On October 8, 2019, the Toys "R" Us website was relaunched. It focused on showing popular toys with videos and information. Customers were sent to Target.com to buy items. In 2020, this agreement ended, and Amazon became the partner for online orders.
In 2021, due to financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, the two new U.S. stores closed again. The Houston store closed on January 15, 2021, and the Paramus store closed on January 26, 2021. The company said they wanted to find new store ideas and places with more customers.
On March 15, 2021, a company called WHP Global bought a main share in Tru Kids. WHP Global now manages the Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us, and Geoffrey the Giraffe brands. WHP plans to open new Toys "R" Us stores in North America, possibly before the holiday season. These could be large flagship stores, temporary pop-up shops, airport locations, or small stores inside other retailers.
On August 19, 2021, WHP announced a new partnership with Macy's. Toys "R" Us toys would be sold on Macy's website, and smaller Toys "R" Us sections would open inside 400 Macy's department stores.
On December 16, 2021, a large, two-story Toys "R" Us flagship store opened at the American Dream Meadowlands mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
On August 7, 2022, Toys "R" Us opened new sections inside Macy's stores in nine states. These sections ranged from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet. The company planned to have a Toys "R" Us section in every Macy's store in the United States by October 15, 2022.
A second flagship store opened inside the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in November 2023.
On September 29, 2023, WHP announced plans to open 24 new standalone Toys "R" Us stores in the United States, starting in 2024. They also announced smaller stores in airports and on cruise ships. The first airport store opened in November 2023 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
In 2024, a new store opened at Harlem Irving Plaza in Norridge, Illinois.
On June 5, 2025, the Australian part of Toys "R" Us faced financial difficulties again. This part had been an online store since 2019 after its previous closure in 2018.
Times Square Flagship Store
On November 17, 2001, Toys "R" Us opened a huge flagship store in New York's Times Square. It cost $35 million. The store was 110,000 square feet and had different themed areas. These included a Barbie section with a life-size dreamhouse, a Jurassic Park area with a moving T-Rex, and a Lego section. It also had a famous indoor Ferris wheel. The store was also a place for gaming. It was the first place in the world to launch the original Xbox console on November 15, 2001. Later, the store added an arcade called "R"Cade.
In August 2017, Toys "R" Us announced a smaller, temporary store near the original one. It was open during the Christmas shopping season.
Giving Back to the Community
From 2004 until the company's financial issues in 2018, Toys "R" Us Inc. worked with the Toys for Tots foundation. Toys "R" Us stores were places where people could donate new, unwrapped toys or money. However, there is no information that the current company, Tru Kids Inc., has continued this partnership with Toys for Tots since 2018.
Product Safety Standards
In 2007, Toys "R" Us said it had very high safety standards. They promised to make sure that companies making toys for them met these standards. The former CEO, Gerald L. Storch, spoke to the government in September 2007 about toy safety. He supported new laws to make toy safety standards stronger. He also talked about new things Toys "R" Us was doing to tell customers quickly about any toy recalls, including a new website.
In 2008, the company made its product safety rules even stricter than federal requirements. For example, toys made only for Toys "R" Us had to have very low levels of lead. They also required baby products to be made without certain chemicals called phthalates, which had raised safety concerns for babies. The company changed its rules to meet new federal standards that were put in place in 2008.
Movies Featuring Toys "R" Us
A movie about Toys "R" Us is being made by Story Kitchen and Toys "R" Us Studios. This was announced on April 22, 2025. Toys "R" Us stores have also appeared in several other movies. These include The Blues Brothers (1980) and Eloise at Christmastime (2003), which showed the Times Square flagship store. The movie Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022) was filmed in a building that used to be a Toys "R" Us store.
Other Brands by Toys "R" Us
Imaginarium
Imaginarium was a brand of toys owned by Toys "R" Us. Toys "R" Us bought Imaginarium in 1999. After the purchase, Imaginarium also had its own stores until 2004.
Kids "R" Us
Kids "R" Us was a store that sold children's clothes at a lower price. The first Kids "R" Us stores opened in February 1983 in Paramus, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York. The chain closed in January 2004. This was because sales were going down, and the company wanted to focus more on the Toys "R" Us brand. While the separate Kids "R" Us stores closed, some stores combined with Toys "R" Us stayed open until at least 2007.
Babies "R" Us
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | April 1996 |
|
Number of locations
|
1 (2023) |
| Parent |
|
The first Babies "R" Us store opened in April 1996 in Westbury, New York. In February 1997, Toys "R" Us bought another chain of baby stores called Baby Superstore, Inc. for $376 million. These 78 stores were then changed into Babies "R" Us stores. Babies "R" Us sells many products for newborns, infants, and toddlers. It grew to about 260 stores in the United States. The stores also offer a baby registry and classes for new parents.
In 2011, Toys "R" Us started opening stores that combined Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us sections.
Babies "R" Us reopened in July 2023 with a new main store inside the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
On May 10, 2024, it was announced that Babies "R" Us would open 200 smaller sections inside Kohl's department stores. These opened in the fall of 2024.
FAO Schwarz
In May 2006, Toys "R" Us, Inc. bought the toy store FAO Schwarz. This included its famous store on Fifth Avenue in New York City and its website. Toys "R" Us closed the FAO Schwarz store in New York on July 15, 2015, because of high rent costs. However, they continued to sell FAO Schwarz-branded toys in Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores until 2017.
Toys "R" Us Express
For the 2009 holiday shopping season, Toys "R" Us tried a new idea: smaller stores. They opened 90 "Holiday Express" stores across the United States and Canada. These stores were smaller than regular Toys "R" Us stores, often found in malls. They offered a smaller selection of toys. Many of these stores opened in spaces left empty by other stores that closed during the Great Recession. Toys "R" Us planned to close these Holiday Express stores in early January 2010. But they were so successful that many stayed open and were renamed "Toys "R" Us Express." By May 2010, Toys "R" Us had opened a total of 600 Express stores. Four more were changed into Toys "R" Us outlet stores. Like the larger Toys "R" Us stores, these Express and outlet locations also closed in the United States during summer 2018.
Online Shopping
Toys "R" Us started selling toys online with Toysrus.com in 1998. After some problems with delivering gifts on time in Christmas 1999, Toys "R" Us made a ten-year deal with online retailer Amazon in 2000. Amazon was supposed to be the only seller of toys on its website for Toys "R" Us. However, Amazon later allowed other sellers to sell toys, saying that Toys "R" Us didn't have enough variety. In 2006, Toys "R" Us sued Amazon and won $51 million in damages in 2009.
Toysrus.com was one of the most visited websites for toy and baby product stores. Babiesrus.com also offered many baby products and a baby registry.
In February 2009, Toys "R" Us bought the online toy seller eToys.com. Around the same time, it also bought Toys.com for about $5.1 million. Today, Toys.com is used to show special deals and exclusive items available on their other online stores.
In 2010, Toys "R" Us, Inc. reported that its online sales grew by almost 30% to $782 million. In April 2011, the company announced plans to open a special center in Nevada just for fulfilling online orders. The company later reported online sales of $1 billion in 2011 and $1.1 billion in 2012.
Under Tru Kids, the Toys "R" Us website was brought back in 2019 in partnership with Target. Online orders were sent to Target.com. In 2020, the site switched to Amazon for fulfilling orders. This lasted until 2021, when Macy's took over the online order fulfillment as part of their deal with Toys "R" Us.
Geoffrey the Giraffe
Geoffrey the Giraffe was first known as "Dr. G. Raffe" in advertisements in the 1950s. Over the next ten years, his name and look changed, and he became the official mascot of Toys "R" Us. He first appeared in a TV commercial in 1973. Geoffrey's design changed several times over 50 years before his current look, with stars, was finalized in November 2007.
In 2017, the company sponsored a live camera broadcast of April the Giraffe. This helped support giraffe conservation. The sponsored camera of April, who was pregnant, became very popular online with millions of views.
See also
In Spanish: Toys "R" Us para niños
- Toys "R" Us, Inc. v. Step Two, S.A
