Toys 'R' Us Founder Charles Lazarus Dies Days After Chain's Announced Shutdown

Associated Press
Updated
Charles Lazarus died a week after the iconic chain he started six decades ago announced it will shut down its stores across the U.S.

Lazarus, who stepped down as CEO of Toys R Us in 1994, transformed the toy industry with a business model that became one of the first retail category killers — big stores that are so devoted to one thing, and have such an impressive selection, that they drive smaller competitors out of business.

More recently, Toys R Us found itself unable to survive the trends of the digital age, namely competition from the likes of Amazon, discounters like Walmart and mobile games. No longer able to bear the weight of its heavy debt load, the company announced last week that it would close or sell its 735 stores across the country, including its Babies R Us stores.

But for decades, it was Toys R Us that drove trends in child’s play, becoming a launchpad for what became some of the industry’s hottest toys.

Lazarus modeled his business after the self-service supermarkets that were becoming popular in the 1950s, stacking merchandise high to give shoppers the feeling it had an infinite number of toys. The stores created a magical feeling for children roaming aisles filled with Barbies, bikes and other toys laid out in front of them.

The chain has its roots in Children’s Bargain Town, the baby furniture store that Lazarus opened in his hometown of Washington, D.C., after returning from World War II. He began selling toys after a couple of years when customers began asking for them, and he quickly concluded that, in the baby-boom years, toys were a more lucrative business than furniture.

He opened his first store dedicated to selling only toys in 1957, calling it Toys R Us with the “R” spelled backward to give the impression that a child wrote it. Shopping carts stood ready for customers to grab and fill up themselves, supermarket-style.

In 1965, Geoffrey the giraffe became the company’s mascot, appearing in his first TV commercial in 1973. By the 1980s and early 90s, Toys R Us dominated the toy-store business and its jingle, “I’m a Toys R Us kid” became an anthem for children across the country.

Lazarus, who was born on Oct. 4, 1923, was inducted into the Toy Industry Association’s Hall of Fame in 1990.