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Toys"R"Us history
Toys"R"Us company history timeline
1948 – Charles Lazarus opens a baby furniture store in Washington, D.C., just as the Baby Boom begins.
1952: Lazarus opens his first Baby Furniture and Toy Supermarket.
With 46 small department stores in its fold by 1957, sales growth had dwindled to almost nothing, and profit margins were shrinking.
1957 – After expanding into toys, Lazarus begins using the Toys R Us name on his stores.
In 1958 Lazarus opened a 25,000-square-foot discount toy store that offered a wide variety of merchandise and boasted prices 20 to 50 percent lower than those of other retailers.
By 1960 it had acquired two discount chains: the White Front Stores in southern California and the Topps chain, located mainly in New England.
Toward this same end, the company launched an advertising campaign featuring a new animatronic Geoffrey the Giraffe, the longtime Toys "R" Us mascot who had made his first appearance in 1960.
It was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Department Stores, Inc.
The arrangement worked in the beginning, but in 1969, when the store showed an $11-million profit on $589 million in sales, Interstate started to feel the heat from the competition.
1969 – Toys adopts Geoffrey the giraffe as its brand mascot. (Previously a more professorial cartoon giraffe, Doctor G. Raffe, appeared it its ads.)
Interstate undertook an aggressive but ill-fated expansion, overextending itself, and the 1973-74 recession aggravated its problems.
Before 1974 Toys "R" Us was still ordering and counting stock manually, but that year the company streamlined its ordering and inventory system by installing its first computer mainframe.
1974 – Interstate files for bankruptcy and the court puts Lazarus in charge of the restructuring.
He was also encouraged by toy manufacturers in the form of generous credit and, by 1978 he had generated enough profit to pull Interstate out of bankruptcy.
1978 – Toys R Us becomes a public company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and is headquartered in Paramus.
Since its reorganization three years earlier, sales had more than doubled to nearly $750 million in fiscal 1981, a year in which many toy sellers suffered, especially during the holiday season.
In 1983 the company surpassed the $1 billion milestone, with sales of $1.3 billion.
1983 – The first Kids R Us clothing store opens.
1984: First international stores open in Canada and Singapore.
By the spring of 1985 there were ten Kids "R" Us units in New York and New Jersey with an additional 15 to be opened by year's end, while five Toys "R" Us stores opened in the United Kingdom.
During the 1986 Christmas season, the company's sales far exceeded many analysts' grim forecasts.
During the summer of 1986 Toys "R" Us and Montgomery Ward announced a joint venture to begin in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that fall.
In another bid to further increase its market share, the company surprised the retailing industry in 1987 by announcing that it would pass on the savings it expected from lower tax rates to customers.
Sales for fiscal 1987, the first year in which Kids "R" Us earned a profit, surpassed $3 billion.
Something else Toys "R" Us had was a healthy sense of humor about itself and the industry, as when a Florida newspaper published a cartoon during the 1987 holiday season showing a couple burdened with many gifts leaving a Toys "R" Us store.
In the fall of 1988 Toys "R" Us shed the last reminder of its connection to Interstate Stores by selling the remaining department stores in Albany and Schenectady, New York, and Flint, Michigan, to that division's management.
Company sales hit the $4 billion mark in fiscal 1988, and by the fall of the following year Toys "R" Us joined McDonald's Company (Japan) Ltd. to open several toy stores in Japan.
Overall, Toys 'R' Us controls 20 percent of toy retailing, down from 25 percent in 1990.
By the end of 1990 the company had a new $40 million distribution center in Rialto, California, that held 45 percent more merchandise than the company's other warehouses, but took up one-third less land.
Wal-Mart had avoided the low-margin toy sector for years, but in 1990 the discount giant began stocking up on the hottest selling toys and used them as loss leaders to get customers into its stores.
United States officials, however, persuaded Japanese officials to speed up their approval process on applications for large retail stores, and the first Toys "R" Us opened in Ami Town on the outskirts of Tokyo in 1991.
Toys 'R' Us became a source of stiff competition for other toy stores, causing chains such as Child World and Lionel to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992.
Overseas Growth and Debut of Babies "R" Us: 1992-97
In early 1994, there was also a changing of the guard: Charles Lazarus, the company's longtime chairman and CEO, turned the duties of the latter over to Michael Goldstein, vice-chairman; and Robert Nakasone, formerly president of worldwide stores, was appointed president and COO.
In 1996 the company began a worldwide restructuring program, streamlining its inventory by more than 20 percent.
Expansion continued in 1996 with the addition of 104 stores, including first franchises in Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey.
"toys 'r' us completes acquisition of baby superstore." toys 'r' us shareholder direct, 3 february 1997.
In 1997 Toys 'R' Us bought the chain Baby Super-store, creating Babies 'R' Us.
In 1997 Toys 'R' Us lost in court to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who charged the company with using its marketing clout to force major toymakers to sell popular toys only to Toys 'R' Us and not to the warehouse clubs.
The company was projected to open 105 stores in 1997.
The purchase was completed in 1997, and the reported price for the venture was $376 million.
Of 1997's total sales of $11.0 billion, 26 percent or $2.9 billion came from sales outside the United States.
Earnings per share increased to $1.54, which grew to $1.72 by January 31, 1998—below the projected earnings of $1.90.
At the same time that the company reported lackluster earnings for the fiscal year ending in January 1998, it also announced a management shuffle.
In celebration of its fiftieth anniversary, Toys 'R' Us will begin a year-long promotion in the third quarter of 1998.
In 1998 Toys 'R' Us had stores in 26 countries, with plans to open approximately 35 new stores.
In 1998 the company joined the online retailing boom with the launch of the toysrus.com web site, and the firm also produced its first mail-order catalog.
1998 – Walmart beats Toys R Us for the title of top United States toy seller for the first time.
Restructuring charges for the year ending in January 1999 totaled $353 million, resulting in a net loss for the year of $132 million.
1999: The Imaginarium educational toy store chain is acquired.
Meanwhile, in April 2000, Toys "R" Us Japan was taken public through an IPO that raised $315 million for the company and took the division's large debt off the parent company's balance sheet.
The board of directors installed John Eyler as CEO (formerly of FAO Schwarz) in May 2000.
At the same time, the first Concept 2000 toy store, one of 12 announced for the year, debuted in July.
In August 2000 Toys "R" Us entered into a ten-year strategic alliance with Amazon.com whereby the two firms united their online toy and video-game stores.
Along with this "Concept 2000," two megastores were opened under the name KidsWorld.
With this in mind, "Concept 2000" was introduced to improve the shopping experience.
In November 2001 Toys "R" Us opened its international flagship store in New York City's Times Square.
By early 2001, 165 Toys "R" Us stores had been converted, and initial results showed an increase in sales.
In another 2001 initiative, the company began testing out small Toys "R" Us Toy Box sections at Giant supermarkets run by the Dutch firm Royal Ahold.
Restructuring charges of $213 million were recorded, resulting in anemic net earnings of $67 million for fiscal 2001 (compared to $404 million for the preceding year).
Restructuring charges of $213 million were recorded, resulting in anemic net earnings of $67 million for fiscal 2001 (compared to $404 million for the preceding year). Thus as part of a broader restructuring announced in January 2002, the company closed an additional 37 Kids "R" Us outlets, bringing the unit total for that chain down to 146 at the end of fiscal 2002.
Sales of exclusive products soon rose from 5 percent to 12 percent of overall revenues, reaching 20 percent in 2002.
By late 2002 the conversions of the Toys "R" Us outlets had been completed, and the company launched a new type of store aimed at smaller markets where the company had not previously operated.
Four of the new stores opened in late 2002.
Following a disappointing 2002 holiday season, Toys "R" Us announced that it would lay off 700 management and supervisory personnel.
On March 17, 2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Vornado Realty Trust announced a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout of the company.
Public stock closed for the last time on July 21, 2005 at $26.75—a 63% increase since when it first announced that the company was put up for sale.
In December 2013, eight days before Christmas, Toys "R" Us announced their stores in the United States would stay open for 87 hours straight.
2013 – With sales declining and the IPO market stalled, Toys R Us withdraws its IPO registration.
The company has not had an annual profit since 2013.
2015 – Dave Brandon, who led a winning public offering for Domino’s Pizza, becomes the fourth Toys R Us CEO in 16 years tasked with turning the company around.
In 2015, the company launched the first of a new concept store called the "Toy Lab" in Freehold, New Jersey.
2016 – Changes boost earnings, but top line sales growth remains elusive.
The company has not had an annual profit since 2013. It reported a net loss of US$164 million in the quarter ending April 29, 2017.
On September 18, 2017, Toys "R" Us, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating the move would give it flexibility to deal with $5 billion in long-term debt, borrow $2 billion so it could pay suppliers for the upcoming holiday season and invest in improving current operations.
On December 4, 2017, the company reported that it would be liquidating and closing at least 26 stores in the United Kingdom as part of an insolvency restructuring known as a company voluntary arrangement.
In January 2018, the company announced it would liquidate and close up to 182 of its stores in the United States as part of its restructuring, as well as convert up to 12 stores into co-branded Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores.
On March 15, 2018, Toys "R" Us received approval from the bankruptcy court to liquidate its stores.
On March 2, 2018, it was announced that all UK stores would begin a liquidation sale, and on March 14, 2018, it was announced that all UK stores were expected to close within six weeks.
On April 24, 2018, it was announced that the Canadian division would be sold to Fairfax Financial for approximately $234 million, and would continue to operate the locations under the Toys "R" Us name.
On April 21, 2018, it was announced that UK and Irish rival Smyths would purchase Toys "R" Us stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as Toys "R" Us Europe's head office in Cologne.
In early July 2018, it was reported that unknown benefactors had bought out all of the remaining stock of two locations in North Carolina so they could be donated to charity.
On January 20, 2019, the company emerged from bankruptcy as Tru Kids.
On July 19, 2019, it was announced that PicWicToys will replace the former Toys "R" Us stores in France.
On October 8, 2019, Tru Kids announced a partnership with rival Target that relaunches ToysRUs.com ahead of the 2019 holiday season and redirects its shoppers to Target.com once they select the "Buy" button.
On November 27, 2019, Toys "R" Us opened a retail store at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey.
On March 15, 2021, it was announced that brand management company WHP Global acquired a controlling interest in Tru Kids, which is the parent company of the Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Geoffrey the Giraffe brands.
On December 16th, 2021, Toys “R” Us opened a two-story flagship store in the American Dream mall in New Jersey.
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Toys"R"Us competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kohl's | 1962 | $16.2B | 110,000 | 1,040 |
| Walmart | 1962 | $681.0B | 2,300,000 | 36,246 |
| Target | 1902 | $106.6B | 409,000 | 10,310 |
| Bed Bath & Beyond | 1971 | $5.3B | 55,000 | - |
| Kmart | 1899 | $25.1B | 1,500 | - |
| Burlington | 1972 | $10.6B | 40,000 | 4,583 |
| The Home Depot | 1978 | $159.5B | 500,001 | 24,162 |
| Lowe's Companies | 1946 | $83.7B | 300,000 | 8,299 |
| Ross Stores | 1982 | $21.1B | 88,100 | 2,931 |
| Dollar Tree | 1986 | $17.6B | 193,100 | 9,368 |
Toys"R"Us history FAQs
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Toys"R"Us may also be known as or be related to Toys "R" Us Inc, Toys "R" Us, Inc., Toys R Us, Toys"R"Us and Tru Kids Inc.