Lily Hanson
Toys ‘R’ Us: the Fall of the Empire
Lily Hanson
Reuter A2 Economics
We’ve all heard of it, we all know it by name: “Toys ‘R’ Us.” When it comes to toy stores, it’s the first big-name brand that you think of and there are not many competitors that specialize the way Toys ‘R’ Us does. Knowing this, why did the company file for bankruptcy in 2018? Toys ‘R’ Us opened originally in 1957, rebranded from being ‘Children’s Bargain Town’ a children’s furniture store. However, once toys proved to be more popular and profitable, Toys ‘R’ Us was born. The main contributing reasons as to why Toys ‘R’ Us went out of business are that it was slow to adapt to technology and the fact that they failed to compete with other company’s prices.
Although the company started in 1957, as it grows, it should have been keeping up with the times. Toys ‘R’ Us did make sure to continue to rotate and stay up to par with the toy selection that it had but electronic technology was another story. In the early 2000s, Toys ‘R’ Us was slow to adapt to the online world: “Walmart had a better online experience. Target had a better online experience...” says toy industry analyst Jim Silver. (CNN Money) Without an online presence, how can one compete in this modern age? It is necessary to have your prices and deals advertised in an easily accessible way. Toys ‘R’ Us being unable to keep up and compete in the digital age was a major component as to why the company went under so quickly.
As well as that, Toys ‘R’ Us was soon unable to compete price-wise with these other large companies. This is because as well as toys, obviously, Toys ‘R’ Us also continued to sell baby furniture and other necessities despite rebranding to a toy store. Although this seemed like a wise decision, other large companies also started offering these items at a lower price. As a result of this, Walmart, Target and other large companies started selling more diapers, cribs, and the like along with, of course, toys. This caused Walmart to surpass Toys ‘R’ Us and become the top U.S. toy seller in 1998. (USA Today) Toys ‘R’ Us could not compete with others’ prices and therefore went under as a company.
With all this information, you might be wondering “Wait, isn’t Toys ‘R’ Us coming back though?” And the answer to that is yes; sort of. Toys ‘R’ Us won’t be the same as it once was: Geoffrey the Giraffe will still be the company’s loyal mascot and brands offered will be the same, however, the brand is now owned by ‘Tru Kids Brands’ and Richard Barry, CEO of Tru Kids Brands claimed that a maximum of two, much smaller than past, stores will be opened in 2019.
In conclusion, although Toys ‘R’ Us had a great start because of its uniqueness to the toy market, it failed to keep up with changing technology and prices. It will be interesting to see how the new stores turn out in our economy.
Works Cited
“Business News - Latest Headlines on CNN Business.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Dec. 2013, www.cnn.com/BUSINESS.
Verdon, Joan. “Toys R Us Timeline: History of the Nation's Top Toy Chain.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 15 Mar. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/03/09/toys-r-us-timeline-history-nations-top-toy-chain/409230002/.
Most of us can all connect with memories of Toys R Us in some way, so this was a really intriguing article to read. While it is sad that they weren’t able to keep up with the technology or array of products, it is not surprising that the stores that have nearly everything (like Walmart, Target, Costco, etc.), with food, toys, clothes, and more, are surpassing all of the smaller stores. I wonder how the economy was and is currently impacted by disappearances from them and other small stores, but also the rise of the larger stores. A lot of people seemed to love Toys R Us, at least all of us kids, but the inefficiency of it all was too much for them.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting. Looking back to my childhood, I remember always wanting to go to Toys R Us but I was never allowed to go because of how expensive it was. I think that it was a creative idea, but it probably failed because other than holidays and birthdays, parents aren't going to want to go shopping at a toy store on a regular basis. In addition to this, a lot of other stores still carried the same products, but just not in the same amount of bulk. Parents would rather go to Wal-Mart to get a toy and their grocery shopping done at the same time. Like the article said, online shopping might also be a reason for Toys R Us going bankrupt because instead of having to leave the house, parents can just look online and finish their search much faster.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Toys 'R' Us was my go-to place for buying my bikes with training wheels and presents for my friends' birthday parties. But now that I recall, I stopped going there for these things a while ago! I never truly thought about it, but you're right, the internet has allowed shopping to become more efficient and less expensive! I always loved going to Toys 'R' Us to play with the different "demo" toys and the large train tracks at the center of the store. Hopefully all physical stores don't completely disappear like Toys 'R' Us did!
ReplyDeleteI really like this topic. I remember always wanting to go to Toys R Us, but my mom never allowing us to. In hindsight, I know now because they’re toys were way overpriced. So while it was a dream-like world for kids, the parents (their real consumers) were not so convinced. Not only this, but now that you said it, I don’t ever remember browsing a Toys R Us website. Though I can't say I browsed Walmart.com regularly, I knew it had an online search tool. In AP Lang I just had to make a podcast and we touched upon Amazon,com and its recent and staggering success. One of the most significant factors was Amazon.com’s accessibility and customer experience-centric business model. Keeping up with technology and customer experience is what allowed it to become the massive force it is today, but it is also what lead to the “death” of many brick and mortar retail stores. I feel like this is just one example.
ReplyDeleteThis was so sad to hear about, even when I never really went there. I would always see it, and always want to go, but it makes sense why my parents would never let me in there, especially if the prices were so much higher than that of the easily accessible stores like Walmart and Target. It definitely makes sense right now, even more so at the fact that they didn’t have any sort of online presence. As technology moves forward, they really needed to get with it and make their own website, or even advertise deals much more than they did. I wonder how many other companies went out of business because although they could rake in lots of money with few sales, they just couldn’t make ends meet?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that Toys R Us, a company that rebranded specifically to be associated with children’s toys, was unable to compete with stores like Target and Walmart. I usually don’t think of Target, for example, as a toy store. There’s five or six aisles dedicated to children’s toys; other sections are dedicated to clothing, food, fitness and sport, or beauty and health. These sort of all-purpose stores have become the main way to shop for many American consumers. Why stop at five or six stores, each providing a specific category of products, when you can stop at one? These all-purpose stores can also compete with specialized stores because they offer lower prices, as mentioned in your article. In these stores, low prices mean high demand, in accordance with the law of demand. Overall, I think this big, all-purpose stores will continue to dominate most markets. Whether toys, food, or electronics, the companies that offer lower prices will get more sales.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting read for me. I just did a podcast about Amazon. A company that has sacrificed profits in the name of constantly accelerating the growth of the company, and will continue to do so. Toys R'Us was likely more profitable in the beginning, especially since it's style of business was perfect for the times. However, even as Amazon still spends almost all of the money it makes on new initiatives, it lives on and is thriving. This is a great example of long term thinking, Toys R' Us could not see that they needed to change, and now they are dead.
ReplyDeleteI was greatly saddened when I heard that Toys R’ Us was closing and I was wondering why so this article helped greatly and was very informative. So is the Toys R’ Us near the mall gonna start up again or was it sold and bulldozed?
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting topic to read about. As I child, I loved going to Toys ‘R’ Us, and when they went out of business I was really upset. But, it makes sense that they went out of business because they weren’t keeping up with the technological advances and more competitive prices. And like you said, bigger stores had more of an online presence than Toys ‘R’ Us did, and that contributed to their downfall. While I think that it’s nice that Toys ‘R’ Us is coming back, I can’t help but feel as though they won’t be able to compete with Walmart and Costco because these stores have a lot of popularity and people who go there regularly, while Toys ‘R’ Us will be starting over.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, this is a great paper that captures why it is so important for companies to be able to change. We saw it happen with blockbuster and radio shack as well. Companies fail to adopt to the changing circumstances and therefore they become obsolete. This is why it is important for a company to constantly do market research so they can stay on top of trends, and ultimately stay profitable.
ReplyDeleteI do remember as a child going to toys r us and having so much fun. Parents nowadays who do like going to find toys all in one spot. This store is one of the examples if you aren't up to date you are forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that they closed down because of other companies, personally, I just thought it was because they weren't gaining any profits and were losing money very fast because of their constant restocking of toys.
ReplyDeleteI actually never noticed Toys R US closed, I just thought I grew out of the toy section so I didn't go to Toys R Us anymore. It seems weird that they were the top toy company but couldn't keep up with technology, every company has to keep up with technology, why couldn't they? They had enough money to. It's cool that they get to come back though, toys are always going to be a necessity and there's no better store then a store specialized in only toys.
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Okay so I had wrote out a whole paragraph about this but then my computer glitched and I lost everything (life is cruel).
ReplyDeleteBut what I wanted to say is that it'd interesting to see how technology affects physical buildings like malls. It must be more difficult for malls to see locations when more and mores stores rely more online. I think stores purely online are more likely to survive than those only in physical locations.
As you mentioned, it is crucial for businesses, especially today, to be able to adapt to the changes in the industry. Without the flexibility, companies are more likely to end up like Toys R Us. With that being said, I wonder what the company would look like had they kept up with the technology. Do you think they would be able to compete with the same large retailers, like Walmart, Target, even Amazon?
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting to read. This really shows how much everyone relies on technology. The fact that Toys R Us didn't have a good enough tech section and went under, really shows that people need and want technology. It is very critical that business keep up with the times or as you see, they could go bankrupt.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it is crucial for any business today to be able to adapt to changing industries. I actually never knew why Toys R Us closed and it seems about right that they shut down because of the changing industry. In today's day and age companies have to have the flexibility to change otherwise they will end up like Toys R Us.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Toys R Us has just faded out of existence in the last few years. I remember it being really cool to get to go there when I was around 10, but I also remember it was fairly overpriced. You could find nearly all of the toys at other places such as Walmart or Target for 10% cheaper. With the introduction of Amazon, it makes complete sense that Toys R Us disappeared.
ReplyDeleteToys R Us was a staple for toy shopping when I was a kid. I remember how I used to beg my mom to go whenever we drove past Brookfield Square. So when it shut down I was really confused because I thought that it was doing alright. This article really cleared up a lot about all of that, and I agree, having an online presence and changing with the times is imperative to being successful in today's economy. A lot of retail stores are failing because of their inability to change (Boston Store and Shopko are other examples of this).
ReplyDeleteThis is real,y interesting to hear. I think it just goes to show how reliant our society is on technology and how impatient people can be. Not always staying up to speed with the new trends or how things work really can put a damper on business, even such a large business as Toy's R Us.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read, and shows how necessary it is for companies to adjust to the modern world. Yet if they don't they will go under, and companies also need to compete with other companies to stay a float. I think that the "new" toys R us will not do well if they keep the same prices because they are over priced.
ReplyDeleteI wonder when all of the competitors of Toys R Us realized they needed to step up their game to compete with the large toy store? I think it was especially interesting that you mentioned Toys R Us did not have a large online presence, which is especially important these days with a lot of shopping being done online.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was habituates on this blog. Pour one out for the fallen homie. Reading and seeing how toys R Us has fallen and what lead to its demise just makes me more sad.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to Toys 'R' Us a lot in my childhood, so I was very surprised when I heard they were closing. However, you did bring up a lot of valid points - since Walmart had better prices, and Toys 'R' Us did not have a strong online presence. Since many people shop online today, it is very important for stores to have an online store with easy ways to access it.
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ReplyDeleteI think its interesting to read about what causes companies like Toys R Us to go under. I figured it was just because, at least to my knowledge, there aren't too many stores anymore that sell strictly toys. A lot of stores like Target, Walmart, etc. offer more of a "one-stop shop" which could be seen as a more convenient way to buy not only toys, but other items. It was interesting to hear the actual reasons that the company went under!
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising when you said that Toys R Us didn't have a good online presence because especially in today's world, technology is such a common thing. Having an online website showcasing your store is almost needed in this day. It was also really interesting to see that they used to be very popular when they first opened due to the new addition into kids toy stores but then couldn't compete with walmart or target due to pricing and new advancements. I wonder how the new opening stores are going to do with things still continuing to advance.
ReplyDeleteI never knew why the companies went under, but the more that I think about it the more that i realized they never had toys with the new technology and no one wanted the old tech. Kinda sad
ReplyDeleteI think it's always interesting to learn about why companies go out of business because there are so many reasons to why a certain company could go bankrupt. This one is particularly interesting because I feel like so many consumers were shut out from the reality of why Toys R Us shut down. From what I've heard, it was because they didn't have enough money. However, there is always more to story and your post exposed that. Reading this makes me realize how important it is for companies to adapt to the times as they might risk falling behind and end up in bankruptcy. The world has transitioned to mobile devices and online shopping to make living more convenient and Toys R Us failed to follow through with that transition. I think Toys R Us could come back if they just make themselves more competitive in the toy making industry
ReplyDeleteI'm really curious to see what would have happened had Toys R Us actually focused on their internet presence. Would that have saved them at all? I look around at kids, and most of them are playing games on their phone or, at the very least, doing something else technological. Outside of the home, kids aren't satisfied to be playing with toys, and while my brother still likes teddy bears, he'd much rather play a game on our Switch or even make a puzzle. While both of those were advertised at Toys R Us, the presence for them was so much less than other places. Maybe one wall dedicated to video games, and a smaller section having to do with puzzles of any kind. The rest was mechanical bears and board games. Their organization, even, doesn't keep up with the times, not even mentioning their lack of discounted rates and sales. So, while an internet presence would certainly have helped, would it have saved it?
ReplyDeleteIt feels to most of us that the stores magically went extinct a handful of years ago, because that is when we grew out of them and didn’t know any better that they were struggling behind the scenes. Also, Children’s Bargain Town is an incredible name that they should’ve never gotten rid of. It is definitely true, though, that they provided outdated goods and had difficulties following the trends that the big box stores compensated for much better. Perhaps with this reinvention and re-branding they will be able to keep up with the times and become a successful powerhouse in the industry once again.
ReplyDeleteYou're not wrong about this being the fire of an empire. It's kinda crazy to think about all the stores or other "empires" that were once insanely popular that have completely died out. We'd never even know. I wonder what they could have done differently- as times changed, I guess they never did. They have to appeal to an evolving, technology based youth. If they had a stronger social media team, maybe if they sold more iPads than toy cars they could still be alive. There are so many what if's, but there's no do-overs.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of how important technology is to business now. Another example is Forever 21 or Boston Store, both which used to be empires just like Toys R Us that have collapsed in the past year or two. Malls continue to see less and less foot traffic, and their stores have to work hard to shift their focus to attracting customers online. If they don't... they're gone. Thanks for sharing, this was a super interesting read!
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting! I always remember asking to go to toys-r-us but my parents would say no because it was so expensive. Most parents don’t want to take their annoying kids to a store specifically for toys on a regular basis. And target had most of the same toys (without the same price tag). Parents would rather roll up to Walmart and get everything they need and a toy for their kid rather than going to multiple stores.
ReplyDeleteIts very interesting to see how drastically the market changed to impact this big brand so much. #Geoffrey the Giraffe was missed. It will also be interesting so see how the newly branded Toys-R-Us will continue under new control.;)
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