July 13, 2018

Two weeks ago, on June 29, 2018, the last Toys “R” Us stores (often written as Toys Я Us) closed in the United States. The once giant toy retailer met its end after seven decades of providing parents with seemingly limitless options and making millions of children “Toys Я Us kids.” Online and mass market competition eventually squeezed out the familiar store franchise, which filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2017. Early in 2018, Toys Я Us announced the planned liquidation of its stores in the United Kingdom and the United States. Some 1,000 international locations remain open, however, as the company struggles to divide and sell off its once great empire.

The last Toys Я Us stores closed in the United States on June 29, 2018. Credit: © Jax10289/Shutterstock

The origins of Toys Я Us go back to 1948, when 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran Charles Lazarus opened a store called Children’s Bargain Town in Washington, D.C. Lazarus ran the store himself, selling cribs, strollers, and other baby furniture and necessities. Fueled by the post World War II baby boom, Lazarus soon expanded his business to include games and toys for slightly older kids. The business grew, and Lazarus expanded further to create a supermarket-type atmosphere with aisles, shopping carts, and customer self-service. In 1957, he opened his first store dedicated only to toys and games: Toys Я Us—with a backwards R to appear as if a child had incorrectly written it. Parents—and kids, of course—loved the giant toy store, and Toys Я Us locations soon opened all over the United States.

In 1965, the store’s giraffe mascot, Geoffrey, began appearing at new store openings and other promotional events. Geoffrey starred in his first television commercial in 1973, and a popular advertising jingle soon expressed children’s wishes to never grow up and remain “Toys Я Us kids.” By the 1980′s, Toys Я Us fully dominated the U.S. toy market and had stores around the world. Specialty branches of Toys Я Us opened as Kids Я Us (selling children’s clothing) and Babies Я Us.

Charles Lazarus stepped down as chief executive officer of the company in 1994, but remained as chairman emeritus (retired) until 1998—an inauspicious year for Toys Я Us as Wal-Mart surpassed the company in toy sales for the first time. Despite efforts to counter the loss in market share to Wal-Mart and such retail titans as Target and Amazon, Toys Я Us steadily declined and last posted a profit in 2013. Lazarus died at age 94 on March 22, 2018.

Toys Я Us was the biggest toy store in the United States, but it was not the oldest. That honor belongs to the still-running FAO Schwarz, which dates back to 1862. Toys Я Us bought FAO Schwarz in 2009, but sold the high-end toy company in 2016.