‘Toys’ founder dead

Lazarus was 94

The founder of Toys ‘R’ Us, Charles Lazarus, died on Thursday — hours before his beloved toy chain was to begin going-out-of-business sales.

Lazarus, 94, opened his first toy store in 1957, in the suburbs of his Washington, DC, home — and by the 1980s had created the supermarket-of-toys format and had built the chain into the most powerful force in toy retailing in the world.

In 1965, Lazarus introduced Geoffrey the Giraffe as the growing chain’s mascot — and the lovable creature was seen in scores of commercials.

The chain’s jingle, “I Don’t Want to Grow Up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid,” was an anthem for a generation of children.

Lazarus stepped down as chief executive in 1994 and as chairman in 1998.

In 2005, the buyout firms Bain Capital and KKR& Co. — along with Vornado Realty Trust — acquired the Wayne, NJ, firm for $7.5 billion in a highly leveraged buyout.

The deal saddled the chain with $5 billion in debt — just as the Great Recession rocked the US and Amazon was emerging as a force in retail.

Lazarus grew up poor, help- ing his father run a bicycle repair shop and aspiring to be rich, according to interviews.

In 1987, that aspiration came true: He was the highest-paid USexecutive, earning $60 million, according to Forbes.

Toys ‘R’ Us was the dominant toy retailer throughout the 1980s and 1990s and became an international presence, opening its first stores outside the USin 1984, in Canada and Singapore. It launched the Babies ‘R’ Us chain in 1996, with its first store in Westbury, NY.

Theheavy debt from the leveraged buyout and the stiff competition from Amazon, Walmart and others took its toll on Toys ‘R’ Us. Last fall, it filed for Chapter 11.

Unable to secure financing or to produce healthy sales during the holiday season, the company announced last week that it would wind down operations.

Thecompanyis preparing to close its 730 US stores, with liquidation sales to begin on Friday.

Lazarus was married three times. He is survived by two daughters from his first wife, Udyss, whom he divorced in 1979.