Spectre Brands

GhostToy superstores · Wayne, New Jersey

Toys “R” Us

First Toys “R” Us store 1957. Chapter 11 on Sep 18, 2017. Last U.S. stores closed Jun 29, 2018.

The jingle said “I don’t wanna grow up.” The balance sheet did not give it the choice.

Why ghost: The U.S. chain liquidated all 735 of its stores in 2018; the name now belongs to the brand manager WHP Global, which puts it on shops inside Macy’s and on small, mostly temporary stores run by a partner.141627

A Toys R Us store with a going out of business banner
Modesto, California, Apr 2018Photo: TaurusEmerald, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Toys R Us home page in December 2003 with a yellow background and a Times Square store promotion
toysrus.com, Dec 2003
Toys R Us farewell web page with the words Play on
The farewell page, Jul 2018

Charles Lazarus built a supermarket for toys and, for a while, a quarter of the American toy market.31 In 2005 three investment firms bought the company for $6.6 billion and left it with the bill.3 Over twelve fiscal years it recorded $5.6 billion of interest expense (derived), never went public again, and entered its last Christmas in bankruptcy.28913 This is the full post-mortem, built from the company’s own SEC filings, contemporary press and the archived website.

The company in four numbers

$6.6B
value of the July 21, 2005 buyout, at $26.75 a share3
$457M
interest expense in fiscal 2016, against operating earnings of $460M1
735
U.S. stores put into liquidation on March 15, 201814
$20M
hardship fund from KKR and Bain Capital; workers had asked for $75M1718

Key findings

  1. The stores made money. The capital structure spent it. In fiscal 2016 the company earned $460M from operations and paid $457M in interest. Over fiscal 2005–2016 interest expense totaled $5.6B (derived).1289
  2. It had lost the price war before the buyout. Its share of U.S. toy sales fell from 25.4% in 1990 to 18.4% in 1997, and Walmart was the larger toy seller by 1999.3134
  3. It rented its website to its future rival. From 2000 it paid Amazon a base fee of $50M a year to run toysrus.com. A New Jersey judge ended the deal in 2006, and Amazon paid $51M to settle in 2009.327
  4. The exit never came. An $800M initial public offering, filed in May 2010 to repay debt, was withdrawn in March 2013. Fiscal 2013 ended with a $1.04B net loss.11129
  5. The name outlived the company. Lenders kept the trademarks in 2018. WHP Global took control in 2021 and in 2026 announced 120 U.S. stores, most of them small and on leases of up to twelve months.192327

Post-mortem No. 005 · Every figure links to a numbered source · Derived figures, estimates and unverified claims are labeled

The story

A supermarket for toys, sold three times

Toys “R” Us did not run out of customers. In its last full year it sold $11.5 billion of toys and baby goods. It ran out of room to pay for a buyout that had been charged to its own account twelve years earlier.

Chapter 1 of 6

$7.5M

what Interstate Stores paid for Lazarus’s four toy supermarkets in 1966

Original illustration: the shopping cart Lazarus borrowed from the supermarket.

1948 – 1978 · Birth

Shopping carts, high shelves and a backward R

Charles Lazarus was 25 when he opened Children’s Bargain Town, a baby furniture store in Washington, D.C., in 1948.295 Customers kept asking for toys. In 1957 he opened a store that sold only toys and called it Toys “R” Us, with the R reversed to look like a child’s handwriting.2930 He modeled it on the self-service supermarkets of the 1950s: carts at the door, merchandise stacked high, prices cut.30

In 1966, with four stores and about $12M in revenue, he sold the business to Interstate Stores for $7.5M and stayed on to run it.31 Interstate overexpanded its discount chains and filed for bankruptcy in 1974, when there were 51 Toys “R” Us stores.31 The toy division kept opening stores through the reorganization. In 1978 the company came out of court with 63 toy stores, Lazarus in charge and a new name: Toys “R” Us, Inc.3129 The brand’s first bankruptcy made it; the second ended it.

Chapter 2 of 6

25.4%

share of U.S. retail toy sales in 1990, per a reference history

Commercial · 1990“I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” The jingle at the company’s high-water mark. The uploader dates it to 1990, the year a reference history puts its share of U.S. toy sales at 25.4%.31 Watch on YouTube

1978 – 1997 · Rise

The category killer

The format was simple and hard to copy at scale: every toy, all year, in a warehouse by the highway, tracked by computer. Market share went from 5% in 1978 to 9% in 1981, 15% in 1987 and 25.4% in 1990.31 Sales passed $1 billion in 1983.31 Kids “R” Us clothing stores followed in 1983, the first stores abroad in 1984, and Babies “R” Us in 1996.31

Geoffrey the giraffe, the mascot since 1965, appeared in his first television commercial in 1973.3530 By the 1980s and early 1990s the jingle, “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid,” had become what the Associated Press later called “an anthem for children across the country.”1630 Lazarus stepped down as chief executive in 1994.29

There’s never been a better time to be a Toys“R”Us kid.

toysrus.com home page, December 200338

Chapter 3 of 6

$50M

base fee paid to Amazon each year to run toysrus.com

Toys R Us home page from December 2003 showing a button for the Amazon-run online store
toysrus.com on December 1, 2003. The button at top right reads “Shop online at Toysrus.com, teamed with amazon.com.”38

1998 – 2005 · Squeeze

Walmart on one side, Amazon on the other

Walmart started using hot toys as loss leaders in 1990.31 The Toys “R” Us share of the market fell to 18.4% by 1997 while Walmart’s rose from 9.5% to 16.4%, and by 1999 Walmart was the country’s largest toy seller.3134 By 2003 an analyst put Walmart at about 21% and Toys “R” Us at about 17% (estimates).34

Online, the company launched toysrus.com in 1998 and failed to deliver some 1999 holiday orders by Christmas.3133 In 2000 it signed a ten-year deal that made Amazon its exclusive online outlet, for a base fee of $50M a year plus a percentage of sales.32 It sued in May 2004, saying Amazon had let other merchants sell toys.5 In March 2006 a New Jersey judge found Amazon had breached the agreement and severed it, without damages.32 Amazon paid $51M to settle in July 2009.7 By then the company had spent six years without a website of its own.

In August 2004 the board said it would explore selling the toy business and spinning off Babies “R” Us.5 It sold the whole company instead.

Chapter 4 of 6

$6.6B

the July 21, 2005 merger, at $26.75 a share

Original illustration: a toy block chained to a weight.

2005 – 2016 · The buyout

A profitable retailer with an unpayable mortgage

On July 21, 2005, entities affiliated with Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Vornado Realty Trust took the company private in a $6.6B merger. Shareholders received $26.75 a share, about $5.9B.3 The deal was funded with the company’s own cash, equity from the investors and new debt, including a $1.9B unsecured bridge loan.3 Six months later total indebtedness was $5,947M.3 Interest expense went from $130M in fiscal 2004 to $394M in fiscal 2005 and $537M in fiscal 2006.48

The business underneath kept working. Net sales rose to $13.9B in fiscal 2011 and operating earnings ran between $556M and $784M a year from fiscal 2009 to 2012.910 The plan was to list the shares again and use the money to pay down debt: an $800M offering was filed in May 2010.11 It was withdrawn on March 29, 2013.12 That fiscal year ended with a goodwill write-down and a net loss of $1.04B.9 The owners, who held 98% of the voting stock, had no exit, and the company had no way to shrink the debt.1

Chapter 5 of 6

735

U.S. stores put into liquidation on March 15, 2018

Empty store shelves behind yellow caution tape in a closing Toys R Us
Empty shelves at the liquidation sale in Muncie, Indiana, June 17, 2018. Photo: Talor Berthelson, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.39

2017 – 2018 · Death

One last Christmas, in court

On September 18, 2017, Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 in Richmond, Virginia, with about $4.9B of debt and a commitment for more than $3B of bankruptcy financing.1315 The chief executive, Dave Brandon, called it “the dawn of a new era.”15 The company said it would keep its roughly 1,600 stores open through the holidays.15

It lasted 178 days (derived). On March 15, 2018, the company asked the court for permission to wind down the U.S. business and liquidate the inventory in all 735 U.S. stores.14 Lazarus died a week later, on March 22, at 94.2930 The last stores closed on the night of June 29, 2018, and more than 30,000 people were out of work.16

They were told there would be no severance; the going-out-of-business sales were, in the chief executive’s words to staff as reported by Retail Dive, to be considered their severance.18 After months of protests, KKR and Bain Capital put $10M each into a hardship fund. The workers had asked for $75M.1718

I am very disappointed with the result, but we no longer have the financial support to continue the Company’s U.S. operations.

Dave Brandon, chairman and CEO, press release of March 15, 201814

Chapter 6 of 6

120

stores announced for the 2026 holiday season, most on leases of up to 12 months

Toys R Us farewell page with a cartoon giraffe and the words Play on
The last home page of the old company, captured July 2, 2018: “Promise us just this one thing: Don’t ever grow up. Play on!”38

2018 – 2026 · Afterlife

A name looking for a store

The trademarks were supposed to be auctioned in October 2018. The lenders cancelled the sale and kept them, planning “a new, operating Toys R Us and Babies R Us branding company.”1920 That company, Tru Kids, opened two small stores in late 2019 and closed both in January 2021.2122

WHP Global, a brand management firm, took a controlling interest in March 2021.23 It put Toys “R” Us shops inside Macy’s stores, opened a 20,000-square-foot flagship at the American Dream mall in New Jersey, and in 2023 announced up to 24 flagships with the pop-up operator Go! Retail Group.242526 In September 2026 the plan was 120 stores for the holidays. The Boston Globe found that many are small and temporary; the one in Braintree, Massachusetts, is about 5,000 square feet.27

Timeline

Seventy-eight years, 32 moments

From a baby furniture store in Washington to pop-up shops in malls, with the money and the rivals alongside. Filter by thread.

All 32 events as a list
  1. 19481948
    Corporate

    Children’s Bargain Town

    Charles Lazarus, 25, opens a baby furniture store in Washington, D.C.529

  2. 19571957
    Brand

    The Toys “R” Us name

    Lazarus opens a store that sells only toys, run like a supermarket, with a backward R on the sign.52930

  3. 19651965
    Brand

    Geoffrey the giraffe

    The mascot, descended from an earlier character called Dr. G. Raffe, takes his name. His first TV commercial airs in 1973.3530

  4. 19661966
    Money & debt

    Sold to Interstate Stores

    Lazarus sells his four toy supermarkets for $7.5M and stays on to run them.31

  5. 19741974
    Money & debt

    The parent goes bankrupt

    Interstate files for bankruptcy. There are 51 Toys “R” Us stores, and more open during the reorganization.31

  6. 19781978
    Corporate

    Toys “R” Us, Inc.

    Interstate emerges with 63 toy stores, takes the Toys “R” Us name and is led by Lazarus as a public company.3129

  7. 19831983
    Corporate

    $1 billion in sales

    Sales reach $1.3B. The first Kids “R” Us clothing stores open. Stores in Canada and Singapore follow in 1984.31

  8. 19901990
    Rivals

    Peak share, and Walmart arrives

    Toys “R” Us holds 25.4% of U.S. toy sales. Walmart, at 9.5%, begins using hot toys as loss leaders.31

  9. 19941994
    Corporate

    Lazarus steps down

    The founder hands the chief executive’s job to Michael Goldstein.2931

  10. 19961996
    Corporate

    Babies “R” Us

    The first three baby superstores open.31

  11. 19981998
    Brand

    toysrus.com

    The company starts selling online. Its share of U.S. toy sales has fallen to 18.4% (1997).31

  12. 19991999
    Rivals

    Walmart is the largest toy seller

    Walmart passes Toys “R” Us in U.S. toy sales. That Christmas some toysrus.com orders arrive late.313334

  13. 20002000
    Rivals

    The Amazon alliance

    A ten-year agreement makes Amazon the exclusive online outlet for Toys “R” Us, for a base fee of $50M a year plus a share of sales.32

  14. Nov 20012001
    Brand

    Times Square flagship

    A 110,000-square-foot store opens in New York with a 60-foot indoor Ferris wheel.53136

  15. May 212004
    Rivals

    Suing Amazon

    The company sues to enforce its exclusivity rights. Amazon counterclaims in June.5

  16. Aug 112004
    Corporate

    Strategic review

    The board says it will pursue separating the toy business from Babies “R” Us and may sell the toy business.5

  17. Mar 172005
    Money & debt

    Merger agreement

    Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado agree to buy the whole company for $26.75 a share.5

  18. Jul 212005
    Money & debt

    The buyout closes

    A $6.6B merger takes the company private. By January 2006 total indebtedness is $5,947M and 87 U.S. toy stores are slated to close.3

  19. Mar 12006
    Rivals

    Court severs the Amazon deal

    New Jersey Superior Court Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh rules that Amazon breached the agreement. No damages are awarded.32

  20. 20092009
    Rivals

    Buying up the fallen

    The company acquires FAO Schwarz in May and the KB Toys brand in September. On July 21 Amazon pays $51M to settle.7

  21. May 282010
    Money & debt

    IPO filed

    An S-1 proposes an offering of up to $800M, mainly to repay debt. Total indebtedness is $5,196M.117

  22. Mar 292013
    Money & debt

    IPO withdrawn

    The company says it has “determined not to pursue” the offering “at this time.” Fiscal 2013 ends with a net loss of $1.04B.129

  23. Dec 302015
    Brand

    Times Square closes

    The company declines to renew the flagship lease, citing “meaningful rent savings.”36

  24. Oct 42016
    Corporate

    FAO Schwarz sold

    The brand goes to ThreeSixty Group. Terms are not disclosed.37

  25. Sep 182017
    Death & estate

    Chapter 11

    Toys “R” Us and certain subsidiaries file in the Eastern District of Virginia, with about $4.9B of debt.1315

  26. Mar 152018
    Death & estate

    Wind-down announced

    The company seeks court approval to liquidate all 735 U.S. stores.14

  27. Mar 222018
    Death & estate

    Charles Lazarus dies

    The founder dies at 94, a week after the announcement.2930

  28. Jun 292018
    Death & estate

    Last U.S. stores close

    More than 30,000 workers are left looking for work.16

  29. Oct – Nov2018
    Death & estate

    The lenders keep the name; the workers get a fund

    The trademark auction is cancelled in October. On November 20, KKR and Bain Capital announce a $20M hardship fund.1917

  30. Nov 20192019
    Afterlife

    Two small stores

    Tru Kids opens stores of about 6,000 square feet in Paramus, New Jersey, and Houston. Both close in January 2021.2122

  31. Mar 152021
    Afterlife

    WHP Global takes control

    The brand manager acquires a controlling interest in Tru Kids. A flagship opens at American Dream that December.2324

  32. Sep 20262026
    Afterlife

    120 stores for the holidays

    WHP Global and Go! Retail Group announce 120 U.S. stores, many small and temporary.2728

Older style Toys R Us storefront with rainbow striped panels and a brown roof
Jun 2018 A store in Boardman, Ohio, that kept its older facade to the end: striped panels, a brown mansard roof and the earlier lettering. Photographed on its last day, June 27, 2018, according to the photographer.Photo: Larry Hachucka, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Part 2 of 6

Business

The numbers · Rivals

The money

What the stores earned, and who got it

Toys “R” Us filed annual reports for all twelve of its private years, because its bonds were public. They show a retailer that earned an operating profit in seven of its last eight full years, and a capital structure that took nearly all of it.1910

Seventeen years of sales: flat, up, then down

Net sales by fiscal year, $ billions. Numbered points mark the turns.

$0.0B$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B20002002200420062008201020122014201612345$0.0B$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B2000200420082012201612345
  1. 2000 · The Amazon alliance Online sales are handed to Amazon under a ten-year agreement.32
  2. 2005 · The buyout Taken private on July 21, 2005, in a $6.6B merger.3
  3. 2011 · The peak Net sales of $13.9B in fiscal 2011. The IPO filed in 2010 is still pending.1011
  4. 2013 · The write-down The IPO is withdrawn in March 2013. The year ends with a $1.04B net loss.129
  5. 2016 · The last full year $11.5B of sales, $460M of operating earnings, $457M of interest.1
Data table
Seventeen years of sales: flat, up, then down
Fiscal year (ends late January or early February of the following year)Net sales
2000$11.3B
2001$11.0B
2002$11.3B
2003$11.3B
2004$11.1B
2005$11.3B
2006$13.1B
2007$13.8B
2008$13.7B
2009$13.6B
2010$13.9B
2011$13.9B
2012$13.5B
2013$12.5B
2014$12.4B
2015$11.8B
2016$11.5B
Fiscal 2000–2004: 10-K for fiscal 2004, Exhibit 136. Fiscal 2005–2009: five-year table in the 10-K for fiscal 20097. Fiscal 2010–2013: statements of operations109. Fiscal 2014–2016: 10-K for fiscal 20161. Fiscal 2005 is shown as later presented ($11,333M; originally reported as $11,275M3).

Interest expense, before and after the buyout

$ millions by fiscal year. The buyout closed on July 21, 2005, about halfway through fiscal 2005.

Data table
Interest expense, before and after the buyout
PeriodInterest expense
2001$121M
2002$119M
2003$142M
2004$130M
2005$394M
2006$537M
2007$503M
2008$419M
2009$447M
2010$521M
2011$442M
2012$480M
2013$524M
2014$451M
2015$429M
2016$457M
Exhibit 12 to the 10-Ks for fiscal 20054, 20098, 20139 and 20162, rounded to the nearest $ million. The twelve red bars sum to $5,604M (derived).

Operating earnings against the interest bill

$ millions by fiscal year. What the business earned before interest and tax, and what the debt cost.

Data table
Operating earnings against the interest bill
PeriodOperating earnings (loss)Interest expense
2009$784M$447M
2010$646M$521M
2011$582M$442M
2012$556M$480M
2013$-350M$524M
2014$191M$451M
2015$378M$429M
2016$460M$457M
Consolidated statements of operations in the 10-Ks for fiscal 201110, 20139 and 20161. The fiscal 2013 operating loss includes a $378M goodwill impairment9.

Where fiscal 2016’s operating earnings went

The last full year before the filing, $ millions.

$460M operating earnings, fiscal 2016
$457M 99%Interest expense$3M 1%Left over (derived remainder)$457M 99%Interest expense$3M 1%Left over (derived remainder)
  • Interest expense. 99% of operating earnings (derived: 457 ÷ 460).1
  • Left over (derived remainder). 460 − 457. After $2M of interest income and $34M of income tax, the year ended in a $29M net loss.1
Data table
Where fiscal 2016’s operating earnings went
Where it wentAmountShareNote
Interest expense$457M99%99% of operating earnings (derived: 457 ÷ 460).
Left over (derived remainder)$3M1%460 − 457. After $2M of interest income and $34M of income tax, the year ended in a $29M net loss.
Consolidated statement of operations, 10-K for fiscal 20161. The remainder is derived.
The debt, at four dates
$5,947Mtotal indebtedness on Jan 28, 2006, six months after the buyout3
$5,196Mtotal indebtedness on Jan 30, 2010, when the IPO was filed “to primarily repay certain of our existing indebtedness”711
$4,761Mlong-term debt including the current portion on Jan 28, 2017 (derived: 4,642 + 119), with a stockholders’ deficit of $1,292M1
$4.9Bdebt at the Chapter 11 filing, as reported by CNBC15
10-K filings and press as cited. In twelve years the debt fell by about a fifth while $5.6B of interest was expensed (derived).

Twelve years of interest, measured in hardship funds

Interest expensed from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2016, set against what the owners paid laid-off workers.

$5,604Minterest expense, fiscal 2005–2016
=
280 ×TRU Financial Assistance Fund, 2018 ($20M)

Derived $5,604M ÷ $20M = 280. Interest is the sum of twelve annual figures from Exhibit 12289; fiscal 2005 includes about six months before the buyout. The fund is from the owners’ press release17. Interest was paid to lenders, not to the owners.

Data table
Twelve years of interest, measured in hardship funds
Value
interest expense, fiscal 2005–2016$5,604M
TRU Financial Assistance Fund, 2018$20M
Ratio280 (derived)
10-K exhibits289 and Bain Capital press release17.

The store base

Stores at fiscal year end.

DateU.S. toy storesU.S. Babies “R” UsU.S. totalOutside the U.S.
Feb 3, 2001710145not comparable4916
Jan 29, 2005681217898 (derived)601, of which 302 licensed or franchised5
Jan 28, 2006671230901 (derived)641, of which 336 licensed or franchised3
Jan 30, 2010not broken out herenot broken out here849717 owned, licensed or franchised7
Jan 28, 2017not broken out herenot broken out here879812 operated and 257 licensed1
Mar 15, 2018735 put into liquidationsale processes begun14
10-K filings for fiscal 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2016 and the March 15, 2018 press release, as cited. 2001 excludes 198 Kids “R” Us and 37 Imaginarium stores6. Later U.S. totals include side-by-side and smaller formats, so the columns are not strictly comparable.

The last full year, fiscal 2016

$11,540M
net sales, 62% of it in the U.S.1
$1,495M
e-commerce net sales1
64,000
employees worldwide, 36,000 of them in the U.S., rising to 107,000 at Christmas1
98%
of the voting stock still held by the three sponsors, eleven years after the buyout1

The rivals

The toy store lost to stores that were not toy stores

Toys “R” Us outlasted every other toy chain. It was beaten by retailers for whom toys were one aisle, priced to bring shoppers in for everything else.

Share of U.S. toy sales, holiday 2003

Analyst estimates reported by the Associated Press. Kmart and KB Toys were each put at 4% to 5%; the midpoint is drawn.

Walmart
about 21%
About 3,000 U.S. stores.
Toys “R” Us
about 17%
681 U.S. toy stores.
Target
about 9%
Kmart
4% to 5%
KB Toys
4% to 5%
Data table
Share of U.S. toy sales, holiday 2003
RetailerEstimated shareNote
Walmartabout 21%About 3,000 U.S. stores.
Toys “R” Usabout 17%681 U.S. toy stores.
Targetabout 9%
Kmart4% to 5%
KB Toys4% to 5%
Estimates by Sean McGowan of Harris Nesbitt Gerard, in an AP report of November 30, 200334. Estimates, not measured figures.

Twenty-five years of market share

Toys “R” Us and Walmart, share of U.S. retail toy sales, at the dates we could source.

Data table
Twenty-five years of market share
PeriodToys “R” UsWalmart
19785%n/a
19819%n/a
198715%n/a
199025.4%9.5%
199718.4%16.4%
200317%21%
1978–1997 from a reference history31; 2003 is an analyst estimate34. The points are unevenly spaced in time and come from different sources, so read the direction, not the slope.

Who won, who died

The toy chains are gone or reduced to names. The general merchants and the website remain.

Toys “R” Us

Ghost
735 → 0 U.S. stores liquidated in 2018.1416 The name is licensed by WHP Global.23

Walmart

Survived
about 21% Estimated share of U.S. toy sales in 2003, up from 9.5% in 1990. The largest toy seller by 1999.3134

Target

Survived
about 9% Estimated share in 2003.34 It later ran the relaunched toysrus.com for Tru Kids.21

Amazon

Survived
$51M What it paid in 2009 to settle with the partner whose online toy store it ran from 2000 to 2006.732

KB Toys

Dead
4% to 5% Estimated share in 2003.34 Toys “R” Us bought its brand and trademarks on September 3, 2009.7

FAO Schwarz

Sold twice
2009, 2016 Acquired by Toys “R” Us in May 2009 and sold to ThreeSixty Group in October 2016.737

Child World and Lionel

Dead
152 and 78 stores The two nearest toy superstore rivals in the late 1980s, per a reference history.31 Neither survives; we did not source their closing dates.
Data table
Who won, who died
CompanyOutcomePosition in toysNotes
Toys “R” UsGhost735 → 0U.S. stores liquidated in 2018. The name is licensed by WHP Global.
WalmartSurvivedabout 21%Estimated share of U.S. toy sales in 2003, up from 9.5% in 1990. The largest toy seller by 1999.
TargetSurvivedabout 9%Estimated share in 2003. It later ran the relaunched toysrus.com for Tru Kids.
AmazonSurvived$51MWhat it paid in 2009 to settle with the partner whose online toy store it ran from 2000 to 2006.
KB ToysDead4% to 5%Estimated share in 2003. Toys “R” Us bought its brand and trademarks on September 3, 2009.
FAO SchwarzSold twice2009, 2016Acquired by Toys “R” Us in May 2009 and sold to ThreeSixty Group in October 2016.
Child World and LionelDead152 and 78 storesThe two nearest toy superstore rivals in the late 1980s, per a reference history. Neither survives; we did not source their closing dates.
10-K for fiscal 20097, reference history31, AP34 and press as cited. The headline figures are not like for like.

Currently, the leading discounters are estimated to account for approximately 45% of total sales in the United States toy market, and as their share continues to increase, we are likely to experience ongoing pricing pressures.

Toys “R” Us, Form 10-K for fiscal 2004, filed April 20055

Part 3 of 6

Brand

Commercials & footage · Old website · Brand gallery

Commercials & footage

From the jingle to the last night

Three commercials from the years when the stores were the market, then the news as it happened in 2017 and 2018, and two later explanations of what went wrong.

Commercial · 1983“I’m a Toys R Us Kid” A thirty-second spot built on the jingle. The uploader dates it to 1983; we could not confirm the year. That year the company’s sales passed $1 billion.31 Watch on YouTube
Commercial · 1990“I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” The jingle at the company’s high-water mark. The uploader dates it to 1990, the year a reference history puts its share of U.S. toy sales at 25.4%.31 Watch on YouTube
Commercial · 2001Times Square flagship commercial A spot for the 110,000-square-foot New York flagship, which opened in November 2001 and closed on December 30, 2015.36 The year is the uploader’s. Watch on YouTube
News segment · 2017CNBC: “Bankruptcy Is ‘Balance Sheet Issue, Not Business Issue’” CNBC’s report on the Chapter 11 filing, uploaded September 19, 2017, the day after the petition.13 The headline is the company’s own framing of its problem. Watch on YouTube
News segment · 2018PIX11: workers rally for severance in New Jersey Local news coverage of employees demanding severance, uploaded June 3, 2018. Five months later KKR and Bain Capital announced a $20M hardship fund.17 Watch on YouTube
News segment · 2018KRIS 6: “End of an era” A Corpus Christi station’s report on the last night, uploaded June 29, 2018, when the remaining U.S. stores closed.16 Watch on YouTube
Retrospective · 2018CNBC: “The Rise And Fall Of Toys R Us” A five-minute retrospective uploaded March 16, 2018, the day after the wind-down announcement.14 Its figures are CNBC’s; ours are in the sections above. Watch on YouTube
Documentary · 2019The Wall Street Journal: “How Toys ‘R’ Us Went Bankrupt” A twelve-minute explainer uploaded November 5, 2019. Its figures are the Journal’s; ours are in the sections above. Watch on YouTube

Videos are embedded from the services that host them and load only when you press play. YouTube embeds use youtube-nocookie.com. Each video belongs to its uploader or rights holder and is shown here for commentary; we do not host any of the files. Videos are embedded from YouTube and load only when you press play. Airing years for the commercials come from the uploaders.

The old website

What customers actually saw

Screenshots of pages saved by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, stored as images. Click one to open the original capture. Captures were found with the CDX API in October 2026.38

Screenshot of http://www.toysrus.com/ as archived Dec 1, 2003

Captured Dec 1, 2003

A front door to someone else’s store

The company’s own site was a brochure: store locator, investor relations, a baby registry. Shopping happened at a co-branded store run by Amazon, reached by the button at top right.

Open this capture on the Wayback Machine

Text preserved in the archived pages

“There’s never been a better time to be a Toys“R”Us kid”
Home page banner · Dec 1, 200338
“Shop online at Toysrus.com, teamed with amazon.com”
Header button · Dec 1, 200338
“Visit the Center of the Toy Universe: Toys“R”Us Times Square, New York”
Home page · Dec 1, 200338
“Thanks to each of you who shared your amazing journey to (and through) parenthood with us… Promise us just this one thing: Don’t ever grow up. Play on!”
Farewell page · Jul 2, 201838
“Got some questions? We have answers for you in our Store Closing FAQ.”
Farewell page · Jul 2, 201838

Home page captures from 1998 and 1999 exist but their images were never archived, and a February 2001 capture of the bare domain resolves to an unrelated site, so they are not shown. The footer of the July 2018 page reads “© 2018 Geoffrey, LLC,” the subsidiary that held the trademarks.

Part 4 of 6

People

People · Press

The people

Who built it, who bought it, who closed it

Roles and dates are from filings and the press reports cited. Later careers are included only where we found a source.

People (8)
Name and roleWhat they didAfterwards
Charles LazarusFounder; chairman and CEO until 1994

Born October 4, 1923. Opened Children’s Bargain Town at 25, the first Toys “R” Us in 1957, sold it in 1966, and led it out of its parent’s bankruptcy in 1978.293031

Died March 22, 2018, a week after the wind-down announcement.29
Michael GoldsteinCEO from 1994; later chairman

Succeeded Lazarus as chief executive in 1994 and became chairman in 1998.31 As a friend of Lazarus, he confirmed the founder’s death to the Associated Press.30

John EylerCEO from January 2000

Took over after the 1999 holiday season, when stores ran short of popular toys and the website delivered late. The Amazon alliance and the Times Square flagship date from his tenure.31

Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado Realty TrustOwners, 2005 – 2018

The three sponsors bought the company on July 21, 2005, and still held 98% of the voting stock in 2017.13

KKR and Bain Capital each put $10M into the 2018 hardship fund.17
Dave BrandonChairman and CEO at the end

Called the Chapter 11 filing “the dawn of a new era” in September 2017 and announced the U.S. wind-down six months later.1415

Judge Margaret Mary McVeighNew Jersey Superior Court

Wrote the 131-page opinion of March 2006 that found Amazon in breach and ended the online alliance.32

Richard BarryPresident and CEO, Tru Kids

Led the lenders’ successor company and opened the two 2019 stores.21

Yehuda ShmidmanChairman and CEO, WHP Global

Vice chairman of Tru Kids from 2019; his firm took control of the brand in March 2021.23

The clippings

What they said at the time

Press (6)
Today marks the dawn of a new era at Toys“R”Us where we expect that the financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way.
Dave Brandon, chairman and CEO, on the Chapter 11 filing, Sep 18, 2017, as quoted by CNBC15

  1. Dave Brandon, press release, Mar 15, 201814

    This is a profoundly sad day for us as well as the millions of kids and families who we have served for the past 70 years.

  2. Maryjane Williams, assistant manager with more than 20 years at the company, to Retail Dive, 201818

    My severance was to work for the liquidator for the next 60 days. I’m still walking away with nothing.

  3. Toys “R” Us, risk factors, Form 10-K filed Apr 12, 20171

    Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations or refinance our maturing debt, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industries…

  4. David Mayer, Lippincott, to The Boston Globe, Sep 28, 202627

    Toys ‘R’ Us failed in part because the rules of physical retail had changed. The convenience of a warehouse filled with toys was just no longer enough.

  5. Tru Kids, statement on closing its last two stores, January 202122

    Consumer demand in the toy category and for Toys R Us remains strong and we will continue to invest in the channels where the customer wants to experience our brand.
Shoppers inside a Toys R Us store with everything must go signs
May 2018 A later Times Square store, two days before it closed, according to the photographer. The original flagship there had closed in December 2015.36Photo: A.sostika, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Part 5 of 6

Verdict

Cause of death · What if · Afterlife

Cause of death

The autopsy

Tap a cause to see the evidence. The percentages are our editorial weighting. The evidence under each one is sourced.

Cause of death, by editorial weight

One square is one percentage point. The weights are our judgment, not a measurement.

  1. 40%The buyout debt
  2. 25%Discounters that sold toys at a loss
  3. 15%A decade lost online
  4. 10%No exit for the owners
  5. 10%Credit ran out at the worst time of year
Data table
Cause of death, by editorial weight
CauseWeight
The buyout debt40%
Discounters that sold toys at a loss25%
A decade lost online15%
No exit for the owners10%
Credit ran out at the worst time of year10%

The 2005 merger left total indebtedness of $5,947M. Interest expense went from $130M in fiscal 2004 to between $394M and $537M in every year after. In fiscal 2016 interest of $457M took 99% of operating earnings of $460M (derived). The company’s own risk factors said the debt could “limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industries.”1348

Walmart began using toys as loss leaders in 1990 and Target followed. The Toys “R” Us share of U.S. toy sales fell from 25.4% in 1990 to 18.4% in 1997 and an estimated 17% in 2003, when Walmart had about 21%. In its last 10-K as a listed company it estimated that the leading discounters had about 45% of the market. This damage came before the buyout.53134

After a failed 1999 holiday season online, the company paid Amazon a base fee of $50M a year from 2000 to run its site, sued in 2004 and was released by a court in 2006. In fiscal 2016 e-commerce was $1,495M of $11,540M in sales, 13% (derived).153233

The $800M initial public offering filed in May 2010, meant mainly to repay debt, was withdrawn in March 2013. Fiscal 2013 brought a $378M goodwill impairment and a $1.04B net loss. The sponsors still held 98% of the voting stock in 2017.191112

The 10-K warned that vendors might demand advance payment if they doubted the company’s credit, “including due to pending debt maturities.” It filed in September, before the holiday season, and by March the chief executive said “we no longer have the financial support to continue the Company’s U.S. operations.”11314

Editorial judgment: the weights are an interpretive model by the Spectre Brands editors, not a measured quantity. The filings document the debt, the interest and the lost market share. How much each contributed is a matter of opinion, and the owners’ own account, in their 2018 press release, blamed “the severe disruption in the retail industry.”17

The fork in the road

What if…

Three decisions where the story could have gone differently. The “What if” panels are speculation, labeled as such.

What happened

In August 2004 the board said it would separate the toy business from Babies “R” Us and might sell the toy business alone.5 In March 2005 it agreed instead to sell the whole company for $26.75 a share.5 After the deal closed, total indebtedness was $5,947M and interest expense tripled, from $130M in fiscal 2004 to $394M in fiscal 2005.34

What if speculative

A listed Toys “R” Us with its pre-buyout interest bill of about $130M a year would have had roughly $300M to $400M more each year to spend on stores, prices and its website (derived from the difference in interest expense).48 That is not a guarantee of survival. Its market share had been falling for fifteen years before the buyout, and the discounters were not going away.31 It would probably have meant more time, and the freedom to close stores without asking lenders.

What happened

After late deliveries at Christmas 1999, the company signed a ten-year agreement in 2000 that made Amazon its exclusive online outlet, for a base fee of $50M a year plus a share of sales.3233 It sued in 2004, was released by a court in March 2006 and received $51M in a 2009 settlement.5327

What if speculative

Had it rebuilt its own fulfillment after 1999, it would have entered the 2000s with six more years of online experience and without teaching its future rival the toy business. Whether a retailer with shrinking share could have funded that is uncertain. By fiscal 2016 its e-commerce sales were $1,495M, so the demand was there.1

What happened

The company filed for an initial public offering of up to $800M in May 2010, in a year when it reported net earnings of $312M for fiscal 2009, and said it would use the money mainly to repay debt.11 The filing was amended five times and withdrawn on March 29, 2013.12

What if speculative

An offering completed in 2010 or 2011 could have retired $800M of debt at most, against total indebtedness of $5,196M.711 That would have cut the interest bill but not transformed it. The more important effect might have been a public market for the owners’ shares and with it a path to a normal capital structure. This is conjecture: we do not know why the offering was not priced.

Afterlife

What became of it

The stores, the debt and the jobs are gone. The name, the giraffe and the jingle were the only assets the lenders chose to keep.

Toys “R” Us

  1. The name

    Licensed

    Controlled since March 2021 by WHP Global, a brand management firm, alongside funds managed by Solus and Ares.23 It appears on shops inside Macy’s, a flagship at American Dream in New Jersey, and stores operated with Go! Retail Group.24252627

  2. The U.S. stores

    Liquidated

    All 735 were put into liquidation in March 2018 and the last closed on June 29, 2018.1416 The Times Square flagship had already closed in December 2015.36

  3. The workers

    Dispersed

    More than 30,000 lost their jobs without severance.1618 The $20M fund set up by KKR and Bain Capital was open to those with at least a year of tenure and annual income between $5,000 and $110,000.17 Vornado is not named in the fund’s announcement.17

  4. The founder

    Died

    Charles Lazarus died on March 22, 2018, a week after the wind-down was announced. He was 94.2930

  5. The idea

    Smaller

    The new stores are a fraction of the old ones. The 2019 stores were about 6,500 square feet, “about one-seventh of the size of the old Toys R Us stores,” and a 2026 store near Boston is about 5,000.2227 The toy supermarket, as a format, has not come back.

Who has owned the name

Six owners in seventy years. Two of the changes of hands happened in bankruptcy court.

  1. 1957

    Charles Lazarus

    Opens the first store under the Toys “R” Us name.529

  2. 1966

    Interstate Stores

    Buys the four-store chain. Lazarus stays to run it.31

    $7.5M
  3. 1974 – 1978

    Interstate in bankruptcy

    The parent fails; the toy division carries the reorganized company, which is renamed Toys “R” Us, Inc.31

  4. Jul 2005

    Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado

    Take the public company private at $26.75 a share.3

    $6.6B
  5. Sep 2017 – 2018

    Chapter 11

    The U.S. business is liquidated. The trademark auction is cancelled and the lenders keep the brand.131419

  6. 2019

    Tru Kids

    The lenders’ new company relaunches the website and opens two stores, which close in January 2021.2122

  7. Mar 2021 – today

    WHP Global

    Acquires a controlling interest and licenses the name to Macy’s and store operators.232527

    not disclosed
Data table
Who has owned the name
WhenOwnerWhat happenedPrice
1957Charles LazarusOpens the first store under the Toys “R” Us name.
1966Interstate StoresBuys the four-store chain. Lazarus stays to run it.$7.5M
1974 – 1978Interstate in bankruptcyThe parent fails; the toy division carries the reorganized company, which is renamed Toys “R” Us, Inc.
Jul 2005Bain Capital, KKR and VornadoTake the public company private at $26.75 a share.$6.6B
Sep 2017 – 2018Chapter 11The U.S. business is liquidated. The trademark auction is cancelled and the lenders keep the brand.
2019Tru KidsThe lenders’ new company relaunches the website and opens two stores, which close in January 2021.
Mar 2021 – todayWHP GlobalAcquires a controlling interest and licenses the name to Macy’s and store operators.not disclosed
10-K filings35, reference history31, 8-Ks1314 and press as cited.

Sources & data notes

Show your work

Primary sources first. SEC filings link to the original text on EDGAR (CIK 1005414). Toys “R” Us kept filing with the SEC after the 2005 buyout because its debt was publicly held, which is why the private years are documented.

  1. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2016 (year ended Jan 28, 2017), filed Apr 12, 2017. Statements of operations: R2; balance sheet: R4.
  2. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2016, Exhibit 12, ratio of earnings to fixed charges (interest expense, fiscal 2012–2016).
  3. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2005 (year ended Jan 28, 2006), filed Apr 28, 2006. Describes the July 21, 2005 merger and its financing.
  4. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2005, Exhibit 12 (interest expense, fiscal 2001–2005).
  5. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2004 (year ended Jan 29, 2005), filed Apr 29, 2005. The last annual report as a listed company.
  6. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2004, Exhibit 13 (five-year net sales, net earnings and store counts by division, fiscal 2000–2004).
  7. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2009 (year ended Jan 30, 2010), filed Mar 24, 2010. Selected financial data for fiscal 2005–2009, the Amazon settlement, the FAO Schwarz and KB Toys purchases.
  8. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2009, Exhibit 12 (interest expense, fiscal 2005–2009).
  9. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2013 (year ended Feb 1, 2014), filed Mar 31, 2014: statements of operations and Exhibit 12 (interest expense, fiscal 2009–2013).
  10. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 10-K, fiscal 2011 (year ended Jan 28, 2012), filed Mar 21, 2012: statements of operations for fiscal 2009–2011.
  11. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form S-1 registration statement for a proposed initial public offering, filed May 28, 2010.
  12. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Registration withdrawal request (Form RW), Mar 29, 2013.
  13. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 8-K, filed Sep 19, 2017, reporting the Chapter 11 petitions of Sep 18, 2017 (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division).
  14. Toys “R” Us, Inc. — Form 8-K, filed Mar 15, 2018, and its Exhibit 99.3, press release “Toys“R”Us to Wind Down U.S. Business”.
  15. CNBC — “Toys R Us files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection”, Sep 18, 2017.
  16. Associated Press, via Fox 32 Chicago — “Goodbye, Geoffrey: Toys R Us closes its last stores”, Jun 29, 2018.
  17. Bain Capital — press release, “KKR and Bain Capital Establish $20 Million TRU Financial Assistance Fund”, Nov 20, 2018.
  18. Retail Dive — Ben Unglesbee, “Toys R Us owners announce $20M employee fund”, Oct 1, 2018, updated Nov 21, 2018.
  19. Retail Dive — Ben Unglesbee, “Toys R Us cancels IP auction, leaving brand property for its backers”, Oct 3, 2018.
  20. Kidscreen — Alexandra Whyte, “Toys “R” Us to hold onto & revive brand”, Oct 3, 2018.
  21. CNBC — Lauren Thomas, “Toys R Us is back. Here’s a look inside its first new store”, Nov 27, 2019.
  22. Associated Press, via Fox 26 Houston — “Toys R Us shutters its last 2 US stores, including Houston location”, January 2021.
  23. WHP Global press release of Mar 15, 2021, as carried by aNb Media; and Kidscreen — Elizabeth Foster, “WHP Global takes controlling stake in Tru Kids”, Mar 16, 2021.
  24. CNN Business, via ABC13 — Jordan Valinsky, “Toys “R” Us opening new store in New Jersey in mid-December”, Dec 1, 2021.
  25. WHP Global — press release, “Macy’s & WHP Global Bring Toys“R”Us To Every Macy’s Store In America”, July 2022.
  26. Retail Dive — Nate Delesline III, “Toys R Us to open up to 24 US flagship stores”, Sep 29, 2023.
  27. The Boston Globe — “Toys ‘R’ Us is back. But the toy aisle isn’t what it used to be.”, Sep 28, 2026.
  28. Commercial Observer — Emily Davis, “Toys R Us Bets on Brick and Mortar With 120 New Stores”, Sep 28, 2026.
  29. CNBC — James Thorne, “Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus dies at 94, as toy empire liquidates”, Mar 22, 2018.
  30. Associated Press, via KTVU — “Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus dies as stores prepare to close”, March 2018.
  31. International Directory of Company Histories, as reproduced by FundingUniverse — “Toys “R” Us, Inc. History”. A reference history covering 1948 to about 2003, used for the pre-EDGAR period.
  32. msnbc.com — Martin Wolk, “Toys ‘R’ Us wins suit against Amazon.com”, Mar 2, 2006.
  33. Associated Press, via ABC News — Rachel Metz, “Amazon to pay Toys R Us $51M to settle suit”, Jun 13, 2009.
  34. Associated Press, via the Lawrence Journal-World — “Retailers make play for holiday toy sales”, Nov 30, 2003. Market share estimates by analyst Sean McGowan.
  35. Advertising Week — “Geoffrey the Giraffe, the Toys“R”Us icon, is heading on a world tour”. Brand history supplied by the current owner.
  36. Agence France-Presse, via Hürriyet Daily News — “Toys’R’Us to shut flagship Times Square store”, Dec 25, 2015.
  37. Kidscreen — Wendy Goldman Getzler, “Toys “R” Us sells FAO Schwarz to ThreeSixty Group”, Oct 4, 2016.
  38. Internet Archive Wayback Machine — captures of toysrus.com: Dec 1, 2003, Jun 2, 2017, Jul 2, 2018.
  39. Wikimedia Commons — photographs by Larry Hachucka (CC BY-SA 4.0), TaurusEmerald (CC BY-SA 4.0), Talor Berthelson (CC BY 2.0) and A.sostika (CC BY-SA 4.0), all taken in 2018.
Data notes (10)

Data notes

Fiscal years: the company’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday nearest January 31. “Fiscal 2016” is the year ended January 28, 2017. Charts are labeled by fiscal year.

Derived values: cumulative interest expense of $5,604M for fiscal 2005–2016 is the sum of the twelve annual figures (394 + 537 + 503 + 419 + 447 + 521 + 442 + 480 + 524 + 451 + 429 + 457), and fiscal 2005 includes about six months before the buyout closed. Interest as 99% of fiscal 2016 operating earnings is 457 ÷ 460. The $3M remainder in the flow chart is 460 − 457. “280 hardship funds” is 5,604 ÷ 20. The hardship fund as 27% of the $75M workers asked for is 20 ÷ 75. Long-term debt of $4,761M at January 28, 2017 is 4,642 + 119. 178 days from the Chapter 11 petition (Sep 18, 2017) to the wind-down announcement (Mar 15, 2018) and 284 days to the last U.S. store closing (Jun 29, 2018) are our counts. U.S. store totals for fiscal 2004 and 2005 are toy stores plus Babies “R” Us stores.

Restated series: fiscal 2005 net sales appear as $11,275M in the fiscal 2005 10-K and as $11,333M in the five-year table of the fiscal 2009 10-K. Charts use the later figure. We did not decompose the step up in reported sales between fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2006.

Two store counts: the company’s March 15, 2018 press release says 735 U.S. stores; the body of the 8-K filed the same day says 744 remaining U.S. stores. We use 735 throughout. The press release itself is datelined “March 15, 2017”, a typo in the original.

Estimates: the 2003 shares of U.S. toy sales (Walmart about 21%, Toys “R” Us about 17%, Target about 9%, Kmart and KB Toys 4% to 5% each) are estimates by analyst Sean McGowan as reported by the AP. Shares for 1978–1997 are from a reference history, which cites the company’s own estimates for some years; the series mixes sources and is indicative only. The 10-K’s “approximately 45%” for the leading discounters is described there as an estimate.

Reported, not from a filing: debt of $4.9B at the petition date and debtor-in-possession financing of “over $3 billion” (CNBC); “over 30,000” U.S. workers (AP), which other outlets put at roughly 33,000; the $75M that workers said they were owed in severance (Retail Dive, reporting the workers’ claim); the 1966 sale price of $7.5M and Interstate’s 1974 bankruptcy (reference history); Amazon’s $50M annual base fee (msnbc.com). The year Walmart passed Toys “R” Us is given as 1998 by the AP and 1999 by the reference history; we say “by 1999”.

Unknown: how much equity the buyers put into the 2005 deal was not confirmed from the text we read and is left out. The purchase prices of FAO Schwarz (2009 and 2016) were not disclosed. How many of the 120 stores announced for the 2026 holiday season have opened is not known to us; the press reports describe a plan. The widely repeated figure of about $400M a year in interest is consistent with the filings ($394M to $537M a year), and we cite the filings instead.

General knowledge: KB Toys liquidated its stores after a December 2008 bankruptcy; we cite only the 2009 trademark purchase from the filing. The company’s headquarters was in Wayne, New Jersey.

Videos: airing years for the three commercials come from the uploaders’ titles and were not independently confirmed. News segments are dated by their upload date.

Archive: home page captures from 1998–1999 survive without images and a February 2001 capture resolves to an unrelated site, so the earliest screenshot shown is from December 2003. The June 2017 capture includes the site’s own email sign-up pop-up.

More post-mortems

KB Toys

1922 – 2009

Ghost
Outcompeted
1,322 stores in January 1999. None ten years later.

Kiddie City

1957 – 1993

Dead
Outcompeted
$100.3M lost in its last fiscal year, on $291.5M of sales

Pets.com

1998 – 2000

Dead
Unit economics
270 days from IPO to wind-down

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