Chain’s end brings out nostalgia.
‘Toys “R” Us kids’ young and old saddened by the loss of a piece of Americana
For decades, children ran down the sprawling aisles of Toys “R” Us in awe of the Barbies, the bikes and other toys laid out in front of them. Parents lined up for the latest Christmas fad, even if it meant standing in the rain. And, of course, there was that jingle that bored into your brain: “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys “R” Us kid ...”
Toys “R” Us announcedWednesday that it will close or sell its re- maining 735 stores in the U.S. because it can no longer bear the weight of its heavy debt load nor keep up with competitors such as Amazon and Walmart.
At shopping centers around the country, the news was met with sadness and nostalgia.
“My first toy came from Toys ‘R’ Us when I was young, and I had a Barbie corvette that you could drive,” recalled Raven Cornell, 29, at a Toys “R” Us in Fayetteville, Georgia.
Sidney Corum, 4, was with his
grandfather at the same store when he heard the news.
“Mad. I go so angry. I fight. I will fight them,” he said.
Plenty of other toy chains have gone out of business over the past few years, among them KB Toys and Zany Brainy. But with the likely demise of Toys “R” Us, a piece of Americana is going away. (Toys “R” Us still has more than 700 stores outside the U.S., but those, too, are contracting fast.)
Toys “R” Us traces its roots to 1948, when its founder, Charles Lazarus, opened Children’s Bargain Town, a baby furniture store in Washington. Lazarus opened the first Toys “R” Us in 1957, and in 1965 Geoffrey the giraffe became the company’s mascot.
Toys “R” Us dominated the toy store business in the 1980s and early ‘ 90s, when it was one of the first of the category killers — big stores that are so totally devoted to one thing and have such impressive selection that they drive smaller competitors out of business. Lazarus, who remained at the helm until 1994, stacked themerchandise high to give shoppers the feeling it had an infinite number of toys.
But itwasn’t just the stuff that Toys “R” Us sold; itwas the feeling parents and children would get when they roamed the aisles.
“You weren’t just buying a toy. You were going into a magical experience. It was like going into Santa’s Workshop,” said Jim Silver, a longtime New York-based toy expert.
Over the decades, children used Toys “R” Us as a playground where they would meet others they wouldn’t see in the schoolyard. In the 1990s, when Pokemon was hot, children would bring shoeboxes filled with the cards, and they would trade them in the store.
For years, Toys “R” Us was the launch pad forwhat became some of the industry’s hottest toys, such as Zhu Zhu pets in 2008. Other retailers like Walmart wouldn’t take such risks on new toys from little-known brands.
But over the past decade, Toys “R” Us had been losing ground. Shoppers were increasingly using the stores as showrooms: They would check out the toys and then buy them cheaper online at places like Amazon.
“I grew up at Toys “R” Us,” said Bryan Mann, a father of two who was at the Fayetteville store. “Things came out new. You go to the stores and grab them. It’s nostalgic, but I understand why they struggle.” Associated Press writers Joseph Pisani in New York; Marina Hutchinson in Fayetteville, Georgia; and Michael Catalini in Langhorne Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.