Toys R Us went from every kid’s dream destination to a cautionary tale of how not to run a retail empire. Founded in 1948 by Charles Lazarus, it started as a baby store before becoming the go-to big box toy retailer. For decades, it dominated the US toy market and felt completely untouchable.

Then the internet showed up. By 2000, instead of building their own e-commerce game, they struck a deal with Amazon to be the exclusive toy supplier. Sounds clever, but Amazon let in other sellers anyway, undercutting Toys R Us and slowly eating their market share.

In 2005, they were sold for $6.6 billion, loading the company with $5 billion in debt. Add in declining sales, clunky store formats, poor management, and an over-reliance on holiday shopping, and it was a recipe for disaster. By 2016, they’d racked up a $673 million loss. In 2017, it was game over... bankruptcy.

Despite a few attempts to bring the brand back, their failure to keep up with changing shopping habits sealed their fate. It’s a story of nostalgia, missteps, and the brutal reality of retail.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.