How Toys 'R' Us Went Bankrupt | WSJ
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 พ.ย. 2019
- For decades, Toys "R" Us was not only one of the top toy retailers in the United States, it was one of the top retailers period. Until it suddenly wasn’t. Toys “R” filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and liquidated six months later. This is the story of how Toys "R" Us went bankrupt.
Illustration: Carter McCall/The Wall Street Journal.
More from the Wall Street Journal:
Visit WSJ.com: www.wsj.com
Visit the WSJ Video Center: wsj.com/video
On Facebook: / videos
On Twitter: / wsj
On Snapchat: on.wsj.com/2ratjSM
#WSJ #ToysRUs #Bankruptcy
lowest price? are you kidding? Toys r us was super expensive
That was before Walmart
In 2015 or 1993?
Before Walmart it was considered cheap
They were being compared to other toy stores, because toys used to come from specialty toy stores, and they were cheaper than the other toy stores. But no, Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc were cheaper
Dude did you not watch the whole video? They explained the price thing.
When I was little, Toys “R” Us felt a magical place.
Cuz it was
It was
ok boomer
@@xaratian how old are you tho
I thought so too... Until Geoffrey the Giraffe started chasing me with an Axe.
I remember every time my parents said “were going to Toys “R” Us tomorrow”, I couldn’t even sleep tte night before 😂🤣😪😢😭
Asa Ferrer dude same. My baby brother isn’t even going to know what it feels like. Crazy how the tables turn so fast
Same.
My parents never took me to ToysRUs. :(
As a kid first we had Children's Palace. Then the competitor Toys R Us moved in and put stores within blocks of the Palace stores. Now they are both gone.
Chow Fun me either
I was lucky to be able to experience Toys ‘R’ Us when I was younger.
Last of a Dying Breed
they are reopening btw
Same!
Me as well
I went to toys r when i was a infant til it closed...
funny, Toys R Us is one of the most expensive toy store in Asia, never affordable, cannot relate to their slogan
I think it's due to the fact that most of the Asian parents look at toys with such a high price a waste of money.
@@revx2664
Yeah.
Also, Think "video games are a waste of time" turned up to 11.
The only way I can even play stuff (and justify it to my parents) was through purchasing cheap, pirated copies or just cut the middle man all together. This is for PC gaming, by the way.
@@MatthewCobalt same for me. Mine also for PC gaming.
for asian, a toy is just toy....no matter brand or not.......unless some fussy westernised one.
Lol True,getting a standard nerf gun is like my lunch money collected for 2months
I just realized our kids wouldn't get to experience toys R us
It's still in Canada 🇨🇦
Unless you go to Singapore
omg. THAT IS SO SAD.
ok boomer
Pretty sure they wouldn’t care anyways. They got their IPhones 11 Pro.
I only went to Toys “R” Us to run around and play with random toys.
Hahahah same here kinda. I did go a few times specifically for one specific thing I had set my eyes on, but the few times I was there I did have to try my fair share of toys
Yeah I don’t remember buying a thing 😂😂
I’m a 2000s baby and I still loved toys r us it was literally magical I can’t describe it it’s just a special feeling,just being in it’s presence was super amazing
I'm all grown, but when I went into the store to buy my nieces toys I have to admit I felt the same thing. 😊
Walmart beat a Toy store? Walmart has literally like 3 sections of toys .
Water Sheep “Save money live better” WaLmArT
Actually they have 10 in a half depending on the place you go :/
I believe it's technically because it was alot more convenient
Walmart save money live better by having hardly anything
When I was a kid, I worked at Walmart and the majority of the toys being sold were part of the "hot toys" of the season. What I'm saying is that most kids want the same toy, the one their friends have and the ones they see on TV. That's why only 3 sections of toys was enough.
Toys ‘R’ Us is thriving here in the Philippines. The toys aren’t as cheap as local toy stores but its still alive here.
Oh it's still open there? All of the UK ones are shut down.
Yeah... I still buy most of my collectables there :v
Moreover it's christmas season... The store will be filled with people
(I shop at the Robinson's Place branch)
Singapore ones are still here too
Same in Malaysia
Copycatz I don’t think in Canada tho.
1977: Video games are just a fad
2017: *We underestimated our enemy*
We all just went in their to play while our parents sat down 😂
No one bought nothing
Bruh that was me with my dad
I remember maybe buying like 5 things there in 10 years and it was mostly my grandma who got them
“They were just kicking the can down the road and eventually the road came to an end and they fell off a cliff” is now my favourite quote
ROTTWEILER me too, thanks for writing it out
The second i saw this comment they said the exact same quote.
CardinalSenpai DUDE Same
@@cardinalsenpai9101 same.
Cliffjumper is named cliffjumper because he jumps off the cliff
When i was a Kid, my parents Took me to toysrus and there were almost no customers and my parents just were shocked about the prices...
I didnt got what i wanted
Like_a_Sleeper window shopping was common for me here lol, could play with the toys for like 4 minutes
Same I was born in 95 and got my Pokémon yellow version from toysRus. Went there once a year for my bday BECAUSE it was so much more expensive.
Every time little to no customers. I don’t remember seeing a single kid actually but once or twice..
They're still open in Canada, when I visit I comment loudly to other customers how overpriced everything is. I'll write down prices and find what I'm looking for elsewhere. I make sure staff see me writing down prices, in a suit and tie, on a nice executive notebook. Then walking out without making a purchase. Just like they would do to all mom&pop stores. Hopefully they also go bankrupt.
F toysrus.
Officer Meow Meow Fuzzyface 😂
*get
Toys “R” Us is still going strong in Canada, although it’s quite expensive.
Menntes lucky
Going strong... In Canada? What? No they're not! The official stores have all shut down. It's reduced to online services and express locations to pick up your stuff. Canada still has Babies R Us, but traditionally, Canada is where retail goes to die.
The toys r us in new york is also open
@@SYNKarnage does this have to do with marcfalane bassicaly like the lego but they made fnaf
Sorry if I’m not spelling correctly it’s like 3 am
Toy'R'us was heaven for kids. I remember my mother taking me there very few times because it was "too expensive". It clearly was, often times you found the same toy in target or Walmart for way lower price
I don’t know about low prices... Toys ‘r’ us was like a playground I looked at but could never play on. My family couldn’t afford it
For my family it was like a special occasion
SchwiftedBear fr
Yep
yea especially some of those lego sets over $80
Oh my gosh I feel so bad for you
I remember their Legos were always mad expensive when I was a little kid.
Everything
Legos are still expensive af
Everything was expensive in that fkin store
Yup, everything was expensive there
legos have been and will always be expensive cause they're all imported from denmark
In Australia they literally had the most expensive toys ever
@@mffy7669 100$ only for a plastic lightsaber lol
My parents were poor when I was a kid in the late 80's, we never had much. But when a toys r us opened in our city, my mom took us just on a whim. It was truly a magical experience. I was almost breathless as an 8 year old, never knew a store like this existed .
Toys R Us : we gonna make millions selling toys
Walmart: am bout to end this mans whole career
Omg yesss! 😂😂
Target: hold my beer
@@queeniebeanie3196 😂😂
@ElTortugaAnime ElTortugaAnime K-mart? I haven't seen a kmart in years!!
Asia: i save you toysrus
"i remember kids screaming and crying for the awsome toys on shelves while screaming and begging back then...good times.
"How Toys'R'Us Went Bankrupt"
*Laughs In Canadian*
Sucks you to be Canadian cuz toys r us will go bankrupt in 2021
*Laughs in Mexican*
Who else got super depressed thinking about their childhood and then seeing their childhood just be taken away as toys r us goes bankrupt.
They've should've added services to the company, like run some kind of kid's play area on site
red drib yes, something like Chuck E Cheese. They're never empty lol
One toys r us at a mall I know actually has an area. I don't remember if I was for playing or drawing, I haven't been there in a while
red drib , that would cost money to build ( and they closed cuz they were bankrupt :( )
@@psychedelic5263 you don't know how "should've" works, huh?
@@sudokopanda7677 that's exactly what I was thinking
Long story short everything was expensive so no one wanted to buy anything
(For those of you in the comments, it's a joke, stop taking things so serious🥱)
Humberto Olivarez In 2015 or 1993?
Sad thing is, that is what the toys should have cost. Like the video said, Wal-Mart was selling all of their toys at a loss just to get parents in the store. That is why the toy section was never near the front of a Wal-Mart.
Wrong. The price was fine. Bain capital offloaded their huge loan onto toys r us, and forced TRU to pay bonuses, and filed bankruptcy to clear that loan.
ain't neva lied
Humberto Olivarez It's much more complicated than that. Stop all this over-simplifying.
2018: We 'R' bankrupt
2020: We 'R' back
It's like club penguins
I don't think toys r us can make a comeback in the middle of this pandemic
@@_tablearmy_ the official club penguins was shutdown by disney. The new version was run by private servers illegally using the brand name and there were accusations that pedophiles were on the platform . Eventually Disney stepped in and shutdown these private servers
Toys "R" Us brought me so many memories. 10 years ago I fell in LOVE with Toys "R" Us. Even now when im 15, I still miss it ):
I just can’t believe it’s closed.
Not Asia though due to different owners
Then go to Canada
Nobody can
kinganghdhr a it is coming back lol I just saw the video on the news
@@couchpotato8782 How are you going to speak for Everyone?
They didn't go bankrupt the board walked away with millions each. They got robbed...
@cpk1994 there was no reason for them to. theyre board members got greedy and shut it down. therefore those board members robbed the workers of what was rightfully theirs.
@cpk1994 so the workers didn't deserve a severance package but the people who ran the company into the ground deserve millions? you sound like a corporate socialist.
@cpk1994 thats a pretty fancy way of saying the people on the board, that apparently did their job horribly, stole millions from the workers that actually did their job correctly.
@cpk1994 you sound like a corporate socialist defending people that run companies out of business for personal profits.
I remember when our store closed. They had a "everything must go" sale going on, but it was still so much. Only half the stuff there was on sale, and even then most of it was only 15 or 25% off. The shelves remained full.
I’m just glad I got to experience this place while it was still in business
My favorite part of Toys ‘R’ US was the train section. I loved the the train tracks they had set up, and I would play with the trains alongside my siblings whenever we went.
Lady Ruka same
choo choo muthaheckas.
Shout outs to all the employees that got screwed over by this, yall made the Toys R Us experience magical for every kid who entered!
It was bc 3 companys made them fail if they had the money to buy they’d still be open
As a 2000's kid toys are us will forever live on in my heart
MarchBloxBoy theone 2000s kid as well!!
MarchBloxBoy theone I was born in 2007 does that count?
@@lewisbishop2998 to be a 2000's kid you have to be born between 2000 and 2010 so you are good
@MarchBloxBoy theone
But to be a 2000’s kid don’t you have to remember being alive in the 2000’s. Since Lewis was born in 2007 he may not remember 2008-2009.
I was born 11 days before 2005, early 2000’s but I only remember the late 2000’s. So I’m a late 2000’s kid
@@newbells1337 No that's 2010s kid. 2000s kid was being a KID in the 2000s not a baby. So 90s babies are 2000s kids.
"Toys "R" Us went bankrupt in 2017"
Toys "R" Us stores in Asia: *Ping: 1000*
Did you watch the video? They explained this.
Fond memories of the Times Square Ferris Wheel store.
Same...I remember when they removed the t rex from the NYC store
Same
Lemystere Man Carlo c must be nice to be rich
That place was a tourist attraction in itself. The ferris wheel, T-rex, Transformers. It was awesome.
I never got to go on the Ferris wheel 😭
“Solus” kind of sounds like soulless
Rachael
fits with their business model
Glad someone brought that up lol
This story makes me sad. As a young boy I loved this store. These stores are important to help children dream and foster their creativity. My favorite toy store!
In the UK Toys 'R' Us it cost me a tenner to buy a small fidget cube
Im kinda glad now that my parents always said No to whenever I wanted to go there when I was younger, that helped teach me about never spending on overpriced stuff
Kinda like how Donald Trump doesn't pay his taxes.
Ok boomer
Bruh Im 20 lol
Im not from that Era
@@poop143 im confused,am i the only gen z person thats knows toys r us
i like birbs majority of boomer generation is mad cocky. They ain’t playing 1,000 to 5,000 for a apartment. Back then everything was cheap and livable. I got to spend 150-250 for food. It’s ridiculous.
They were gonna get their severance money then SOULLESS Asset Management stepped in...
.....affiliated with their sister co Hartless
The Toys R Us in NYC Time Square was phenomenal! It was huge,had a Ferris wheel,a dino from Jurassic Park,a awesome LEGO section, a beautiful Barbie House,it was amazing being a NY kid from the 2000s :')
They should have made smaller stores but have them near groceries stores, the only reason Walmart outdid them is because it was convenient to get toys while doing your normal shopping
The hedge fund that bought up their debt is called Solus, pronounced "Soulless"
Very on the nose, guys.
Yep
they shot themselves in the face when they exited amazon store.
Yeah that was the nail in the coffin. They overstated their value at that point
In the early nineties I stocked their shelves during the Christmas rush--you wouldn't believe how many shelves were emptied everyday. We would put out pallet after pallet every night, and still, the toys were flying off the shelves. Crazy.
It was one of my favorite stores when I was a kid, it was expensive though. But I remember being so excited to go there just to see the toys.
My heart cried knowing that one of the places I liked as a kid and were part of my memories was going to close and I would probably never be able to go to a ToysRus again. ;(
Gaddamn I remember my parents convincing me we’re billionaires and the toys at toysrus were super expensive
Theres still toys “R” us in other countries
jamjam kate 🤦♀️
in other countries where amazon doesn't have a foothold*
jamjam kate like one Canada
There are still open in Poland
@@ChairmanMeow1 No, Toys R Us is doing well in Canada, they kept the stores in better condition up here and have decent sales. Amazon is here too, but it's not the same for kids to browse online vs a toy store store.
*They’ve still got Toys R Us where I live.*
Where
@@alexanderlopez8233 probably canada
Old Sport lier
Lucky
In Canada we Gucci tru is alive
For the 80s and 90s: “Toys R us “
For the 00s and 10s:” Apple”
I’ve got the whole apple set up
Hehehe
That's a lie. in the 00s and 10s everyone went to toys r us
I remember going to the Toys R Us near some mall and I’d just look around and I was always so amazed by how big it was.
It just tells that no business model will last forever... need to evolve and make good decision to survive and thrive.
I remember going to toy stores in the 1990s, and my mum buying a toy for me and my sister. It was magic. I can´t believe it´s gone this way and kids of today may not get this experience
The real reason toys r us went out of business is because we all grew up
No
At least their yu gi oh cards selection was god tier’s
Man Toys R Us brings back memories. Who remembers K B Toy Stores?
It's simple: kids want ipads and phones now, not action figures
Not really, it was the price, TRUST ME
i feel like more kids would play with toys if an ipad wasn't cheaper in the long run
@Lasna34 I have Netflix and I like Netflix because when I eat Netflix it tastes like Netflix
ok boomer
I want transformers tho...
I remember going to Toys R Us on Black Friday to buy a Gameboy Advanced SP. magical.
We should ask where Toy r us 's debt came from.
It was bought by hedge fund managers who bought it on credit, then made the loans payable by Toys r Us. Their debt was the debt of their owners for buying it.
As the video says, the debt made it so TRU couldnt invest in their internet store or other long term strategies.
The initial debt wasnt really debt but equity, the punch came when toys r us didnt look profitable so the equity actually became liability.
In the 80s i always wanted to go to toys R us but my dad always told me that was for rich people, we never went
Im a 2008 kid and I loved that store so much. I cried so so so so SOOO much when I found out it was closing :( I really hope they come back
Toys R us was so magical as a kid.... Getting my NES games was memorable.
I feel bad for my young cousin who never got to experience the joy of entering a toy store like Toys “R” Us
Yes they're gone and some investors' got extremely rich but their prices were way too high in the UK for the last 8 or so years and my local store was confusingly laid out.
I'm a certified Toys R' Us kid. I loved it so much I decided to work there for 4 and a half years! That feeling of spending hours upon hours cleaning and putting new stocks in the aisles gave so much pleasure that I'll always volunteer for an overtime. After 2 years I had to fight with this other guy who also wanted to get into the inventory management position.
It's the type of dream job that you look forward GOING TO WORK. One of the BEST JOBS I've ever had. And it's sad to see it gone.
3:07 is no one going to say how this guy looks like Voldemort
I felt bad until the last part when they said about Tru Kid. This is corporate strategy to layoff people and restructuring the debt as usual.
I remember in the early 2000s going to Toys R Us, begging my parents for a GBA and actually getting one. I always wanted the Spongebob GBA, which I will get one day.
Too much nostalgia...
I remember going Christmas shopping on Black Friday with my mom.
I only went to Toys R Us once in my entire life (I’m 14 now). My parents got all my toys at Walmart. My parents always told me that Toys R Us is too expensive and u can get the same toy at Walmart for a cheaper price. And plus there wasn’t a Toys R Us near where I live.
The toy r us at 1:03 Is deadass like 30 seconds from my house
Michael Argabright cool
I was close to one that looked just like it
I seen it somewhere before too-
the people who have the ToysRus/Jeffery thing will never hold up to how nice the original really was!
Almost everytime my parents took me to Toys R us they never bought me anything. So expensive.
I like how they had quality products though
I remember going to New York 4 times a year just
To ride the indoor Ferris Wheel and go in the Wonka candy land
I literally cried when it shut down
"I'm not going to have health insurance"
American problems.
“I pay for low quality healthcare through my taxes”
Universal healthcare problems.
@@Jake-rc4ws Most people don't want to pay their own way in this world, always looking for something to be "free."
Jake “I’m going to die of a mass shooting”
American Problems
@@user-cx9bt5jf2i I'm going to be bombed and raped by Islamic fundamentalist
123 “I’m going to die because I can’t own a gun to defend myself with”
European problems
8:14 "Soulless"
Да точно :)
I miss Toys ‘R’ Us and Suncoast. The only brick and mortar stores to find cheaper collectibles. And Kaybee toys. I miss them.
Bro I'm glad I grew up with toys from their I remember running up and down the aisles being so happy but know I feel bad for the kids that won't get to experience the place I love that play R.I.P you will be missed
Man, so many childhood memories with this place.
Hopefully it'll come back.
that music is giving me hardcore "Mr Monokuma's Lesson" vibes
Great story from the Wall Street Journal TH-cam Channel. Thank you very much.
I grew up in the 80s/90s and Toys R Us was a magical place. So sad that my daughter was only 12months old when Australian retail stores closed 😭.
I honestly don’t see why they just didn’t lower the prices??
Loans
Talkinglegodude the Georgie Daddy actually if they went cheaper they would have more customers, this making more money.
@Talkinglegodude the Georgie Daddy Their products were more expensive because they didn't have loss leaders to fall back on. Amazon survived fro so long because of it's cloud services business. Grocery stores are notorious for this. Sandwich bread maybe priced below value but they are making money from sandwich meat. Toys R US could not survive on that model. Debt or no debt; they simply could not lower their prices to match box stores because box stores were pricing below cost.
@@tybooskie yes, you nailed it. Idk what the other commenters are talking about. They're just guessing and acting like its fact.
Its was because of walmart that sell they toys at a loss and if toy r us make it lower its just make them make a lot of debt just for staying alive a little longer with a bigger debt
Fun Fact: In Canada, "Toys R US" is thriving and they still make ads with the "I dont want to grow up song"
I see Toys R Us thriving in Singapore!
thats because TRU overseas is not owned by TRU America , the name is franchised
those kids are all grown up now
makes the ending feel eerie
Man I remember walking in Toys R Us and going through the aisle and just looking at all the toys.
It’s still trading over here as Toy R Us in the Middle East, lol - I think you need to tell them it’s bankrupt
I think it's still alive in Canada too. Some company bought them out there.
Also still alive in Malaysia here. I think only a few countries like US and UK shut down.
Never saw any changes that I could tell.
Ye, the bankruptcy only occured in the US & UK. There is still a chance with the franchise, I mean there was a former US convenience store chain (Lawson) that's pretty popular in _Japan_ and it's planned to recover what they've lost back in the US by opening in Hawaii 1st.
@@ElkaPME ,
Still pretty much alive here in Nigeria also
If the toys weren't expensive asf they would still be open todsy
Razer If they went on-line like Wal-Mart, they might be in business.
The toys they sold were a little bit more expensive than walmarts toys, for example a apollo nerf rival was $20 and at toys R us i saw it for like $30 (don't remember the exact price, just know it was more).
@@yaboysal6292 they were way more expensive than Walmart. Walmart is the cheapest and that's why they're #1.
Yep
Born in 1982 and feel sorry for kids that will never know what it's like to go to "toys r us" on their birthday to choose a toy! I loved going as a child, just happy I got to take my daughter when she was little!
I honestly am so sad I want them to come back. Toys R Us was childhood for me. I remember it was Black Friday and I was eight and I went to toys r us with my dad and my cousin, I got so many sky landers with me and my cousin I can’t even remember. It was a beautiful time 😢😢😭😭
That "Solus" sounds just like "soulless" is hard to miss.
“Solus” is the Latin word for “only.”
@@AshHeaven Oh, good to know. It was the homophone that I found interesting.
I was alive when Toys R Us was also alive... imma legend
Well, you could 5 years old and be called a legend.
it closed like literally 3 years ago...
I spoke to a young mother a few years ago and asked her if her kids were going to miss toysrus. She said she never took them because she buys everything online. In shock I told her that one of the highlights of my childhood was just being there and looking at all of the amazing toys. She looked at me weird and that's when I realized why toysrus went out of business.
I’ve been shopping at toys r us my entire life, I’m 40! Toys for myself and my brothers as a kid, bought tons of toys for my nephew all from toys r us and once he was too old we still went there to look at stuff, legos, games...
I don’t shop for toys online and Walmart doesn’t have much of a selection. I’m glad my city still has toys r us cause your really never too old to look for toys!
Your kidding right Toys’r’us is still booming in my country
And Shakeys Pizza
Cause this is the Philippines 50 years behind
Solus = “soulless”, huh?
I feel bad for anyone who never experienced Toys R Us as a kid
Loved going to Toys R Us in the late 80's to early 90's. If you told the 7 year old version of me in 1992 that Toys R Us would get wiped out, I would have said you're crazy! Same goes for Blockbuster.