Toys "R" Us
Zombie1948–2018
| Industry | Retail |
| Headquarters | Wayne, NJ |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Died | 2018 |
| Peak employees | 64,000 |
| Peak revenue | $13.5B (2012) |
| Cause of death | Leveraged buyout |
Toys "R" Us was where you went to lose your mind as a kid. The aisles of toys stretching to the ceiling, Geoffrey the Giraffe, the pure sensory overload of an entire warehouse dedicated to play. Charles Lazarus founded it as a baby furniture store, pivoted to toys, and built a category-killing chain that dominated toy retail for decades.
The killing blow wasn't Amazon or Walmart, though both hurt. It was a 2005 leveraged buyout by Bain Capital, KKR, and Vornado Realty that saddled the company with $5 billion in debt. Toys "R" Us spent over $400 million a year on interest payments alone, money that should have gone to store renovations, e-commerce, and competing with Amazon. The debt made it impossible to invest in the business. It was financial engineering as murder weapon.
The company liquidated in 2018. The brand was bought by WHP Global and has since appeared as small shops-within-Macy's stores and a flagship in the American Dream mall. It's a name on a sign, not a place where kids lose their minds.
Timeline
Charles Lazarus opens Children's Supermart in Washington, DC
Renames to Toys "R" Us; focuses exclusively on toys
Goes public; rapid expansion across the US
Opens flagship store in Times Square
Leveraged buyout by Bain Capital, KKR, Vornado for $6.6 billion; loaded with $5B debt
Files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Liquidates all US stores; 33,000 employees laid off
Brand reappears as shops-within-Macy's stores