Did Toys R Us Go Out of Business? Yes, Toys R Us went out of business. So, Do you want to know what happened to Toys R Us when the company shut down all its stores, what is the reason behind it, and several more? If yes, then this blog is the right pick for you!!!
Look no further! Head to this blog post to know more about Toys R Us. Are you ready? We are sure you are!!
First, we want to answer this question, “What does Toys R Us stand for?” Do you know Toys R Us denotes “Toys are us?”
And when this company was established, its slogan was used for advertisement and marketing to stir up the U.S. and the U.K. market. It was the most famous slogan, i.e., “I don’t want to grow up; I’m a Toys R Us Kid.”
So, now we can step further!!
You have got your answer to this question, “Did Toys R Us Go Out Of Business?” We share this news with great disappointment, but what else can we do? There is nothing we can do except accept the truth. Toys R Us was alleged with lawsuits and forced to shut down all its physical locations globally.
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When Toys R U.S. Went Out Of Business?
Toys R Us operates 739 stores in the U.S. and more than 750 locations internationally.
Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017. On June 29, 2018, Toys R Us closed all its U.S. locations after operating its stores for several decades. In 2021, it shut down its last two retail stores.
After being filed for bankruptcy, the company is now working on launching its new business models, and the new company is known by the name Tru Kids across the country.
However, the company restructured and planned to open several stores to manage brands for their comeback inside Macy’s department stores in the U.S.
In 2019, the Toys R Us website was relaunched under the new parent company “Tru Kids”. There are several rival stores, such as Target. But now, to decrease the competition’s impact, “Tru Kids” partnered with Amazon as a fulfilment partner.
Why Toys R Us Went Out Of Business?
Toys R Us has gone out of business as the company has filed for bankruptcy because it was struggling with financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led the company to close all its stores.
Also, the company was struggling with high competition. Several big box stores, including Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and Target, were already fully developed in the 90s. There was no room for new toy companies to be established, online retailers also began to offer lower prices on various items, and toys were also enlisted.
A decline in sales, billions of dollars in debt, and all these issues forced the company to shut down all its stores’ doors.
Toys R Us shut down all its stores because it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had billions of dollars in debt.
Also, the company failed to invest money in the company’s digital strategy and structure and to keep up with the competition. All these factors led to the company filing for bankruptcy, selling and closing some of its stores.
We’ve concluded that, in 2017 and 2018, the company Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy which led the company to close all its British, US, and Australian stores in 2021. Although, the chains in Asia, various parts of Europe, and Canada were less affected and sold their entire setup to third parties.
Later, In 2022, it was believed that the company would introduce more than 400 physical locations within Macy’s department.
The Toys R Us flagship store was located at the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex in New Jersey. Toys R Us is returning with new stores launched in the U.S. and the U.K. markets.
After closing all its stores in 2018, again from September 2022, the company’s e-commerce website will be available in the country.
How Toys R Us Came Out?
Toys R Us is owned by “Tru Kids” and several others now. It is an American Toy, Clothing, and Baby product retailer established in 1957. Headquartered in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, in the New York Metropolitan Area.
It was believed that Charles P. Lazarus established a baby-furniture retailer, Children’s Bargaintown, in Washington, D.C., in April 1948. Later, it was handed by Interstate Department Stores, Inc. in 1966.
But in June 1957, the company shifted its focus to opening toy stores rather than furniture, culminating in the first Toys “R” Us store.
Its first toy store was opened in Rockville, Maryland, by Lazarus. He outlined the logo of Toys “R” Us in a different way which featured the “R” alphabet in a backward style to attract customers and give the impression that kids wrote an inverted “R” alphabet.
Later, the store gained popularity, which was a huge success for the company.
Toys R U.S. Tries For A Comeback Again?
After filing for bankruptcy, the company’s executives planned to return to the iconic stores, including Geoffrey the Giraffe, a year later.
It was noted that when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2017, its intellectual property, including Toys R Us, was operated by Solus Alternative Asset Management and the Angelo Gordon Investment firm.
According to the former president of Tru Kids and chief merchandising officer of Toys R Us, Richard Barry, ‘We tried to operate the company by the name “Tru Kids” to bring back those brands.”
Tru Kids is also located in Parsippany, New Jersey. Barry stated that the company now has employees from former Toys R Us and Babies R Us. So, now a “much tighter team overall” than the previous working staff.
Tru Kids decided and had a full business plan to bring back all its set to manage the brand, and it is still a work in progress. Not only toys, the new company has plans to open numerous options such as pop-up stores and stand-alone shops or also planning to do partnership with Solus and Angelo Gordon.
When the company chief asked whether Tru Kids could collaborate with online websites such as Amazon or not, on this, he replied, “Do not take anything off the table at all.”
It indicated that the company is now focussing only on the growth of the Toys R Us brand across the United States. The brand operates around 900 stores worldwide, collectively generating more than 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.
He also stated, “The United States toy market is the biggest one in the world,” “This is the place where the business started with Charles Lazarus (Toys R Us owner who died at the age of 94, just after the liquidation of the company).”
He ensured that we wouldn’t repeat those same mistakes that were criticised for failing to invest in Toys R Us stores and digital outlines previously. Tru Kids will avoid all these pitfalls and shift the focus to technology, customer service, and in-store experiences.
On a short note, Barry said, ‘Tru Kids will look forward to investing in its stores and avoiding all of the pitfalls that its predecessor did”.
The Bottom Line
If anyone wants toys, you must go to Toys R Us, the new company Tru Kids. Even after suffering from many challenges related to competition, billions of dollars in debt, bankruptcy, and discontinuation of stores. The company Toys R Us is still there to serve you the best.
If you love to shop at Toys R Us stores, then it may be good news for you that your Toys R Us store is still around as it is a household name.
You can find the stores within the Macy’s department across the United States. Also, you can visit its website to buy a wide range of products from the Toys R Us brands.