How Toys 'R' Us Went Bankrupt | WSJ

CA
Search




9+





0:07 / 12:35
#WSJ #ToysRUs #Bankruptcy
How Toys 'R' Us Went Bankrupt | WSJ
128,882 views•Nov 5, 2019

2.3K

59

SHARE

SAVE


Wall Street Journal
1.75M subscribers

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: http://www.wsj.com
Visit the WSJ Video Center: https://wsj.com/video

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/wsj/videos/
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/WSJ
On Snapchat: https://on.wsj.com/2ratjSM

#WSJ #ToysRUs #Bankruptcy
Category
News & Politics
295 Comments
Auggie Giuseppe
Add a public comment...
YoshiPeach Mario
YoshiPeach Mario
2 days ago
I grew up with Toys R us, I didn't hear that song though, I heard the "it's a magical place" song. RIP Geoffrey

42


turradaturra daturrada
turradaturra daturrada
2 days ago
lowest price? are you kidding? Toys r us was super expensive

406


meowmeow
meowmeow
2 days ago
SOLUS - pronounced (Soulless)..... alternative asset management

125


MeatyTickle
MeatyTickle
2 days ago (edited)
I remember their Legos were always mad expensive when I was a little kid.

103


JTL Italy Channel
JTL Italy Channel
2 days ago
Lol, in the end many of those kids never did grow up.

97


mparryuk52
mparryuk52
2 days ago
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.

25


Awesomely Sarcastic
Awesomely Sarcastic
2 days ago
They were gonna get their severance money then SOULLESS Asset Management stepped in...

33


rom_kohai
rom_kohai
2 days ago (edited)
3:22 : i went to buy some diapers, i applied for the job and they hired me on the spot


me : "cries in millennial"

250


Auntie Lizzette
Auntie Lizzette
1 day ago
Gaddamn I remember my parents convincing me we’re billionaires and the toys at toysrus were super expensive

23


Karen Cole
Karen Cole
2 days ago
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.

13


paul kelly
paul kelly
2 days ago
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

72


рома иванов
рома иванов
2 days ago (edited)
almost BILLION $ of debt to just Soulless, but only 33k employees?
Thats like 30k$ of dept per person to Soulless alone!

4


Lady Ruka
Lady Ruka
1 day ago
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.

14


Kameha_Panda Music
Kameha_Panda Music
1 day ago
Ill give a one word answer: Amazon

4


John McLain
John McLain
1 day ago (edited)
Toys “R” Us was always expensive, even before Walmart. We could never afford Toys R Us, even in the 1970’s. They were never a discount toy store...don’t be blinded by the lies.

10


LostMySauce
LostMySauce
2 days ago
Toys R Us really needed to beat Amazon online first. That was their downfall.

5


Joe Tober
Joe Tober
1 day ago
She won’t have medical insurance, and she’s seems really affected by it. Hm maybe there’s a solution for that in a way that also helps all of us(not trynna sound smug but trynna post)

3


AL
AL
1 day ago
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.

3


That Crazy Miraculer
That Crazy Miraculer
1 day ago
Wait guys, think about it TRU Kids. TRU = Toys R Us

2


S P
S P
1 day ago
Everything perishes. Eventually. HOW is easy to say in retrospective once something is already done.. Nobody knows HOW. NOBODY EVER DOES.



525Lines
525Lines
2 days ago
Business idea: vintage toy store called Toys R Chive.

17


рома иванов
рома иванов
2 days ago (edited)
8:14 "Soulless"

26


Home Wall
Home Wall
2 days ago
Demand pay, not pensions.  Who needs a promise of money in the future when your future and the company's future are uncertain?

2


Financial Shinanigans
Financial Shinanigans
2 days ago
Revamped Toys r Us opening here in NJ, will be interesting to see how they differ since they are calling it "experimental retail."

2


3k1ng
3k1ng
2 days ago
WSJ has stepped up, like cnbc

2


AA CC
AA CC
1 day ago
they shot themselves in the face when they exited amazon store.

1


BorsigTheThird
BorsigTheThird
2 days ago
The Private Equity machine strikes again.

5


Ann Onymous
Ann Onymous
2 days ago
Russian backed company goes bankrupt. Color me shocked. Maybe google
 "bust out bankruptcy" mafia

1


Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
1 day ago (edited)
Toys R Us only failed in the US. Its well and alive in the rest of the world.

4


Ann Onymous
Ann Onymous
2 days ago (edited)
"It lost the
MAGIC" aka
mafia



PrimRoseD
PrimRoseD
2 days ago (edited)
I'm still bitter that FAO Schwarz left downtown Chicago, and replaced by a VS, which will most likely go bankrupt too.

3


S. V. Villano
S. V. Villano
1 day ago
These guys didn’t think about the name solus as sounding maybe just a bit like “Soulless?”

1


Faith Hope & Love
Faith Hope & Love
2 days ago
Their Toys were OVERPRICED!

6


Electrolytes
Electrolytes
2 days ago
One word: Amazon

22


Bsp Productions
Bsp Productions
2 days ago
let me guess.. Amazon

14


LeeTravius Mckay
LeeTravius Mckay
1 day ago (edited)
"we put a lot of people out of business" how ironic 👍

22


Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
2 days ago
wow, that´s why suddenly that went quiet after much talk of representing them in Brazil back in 2015



Adeel Ahmad
Adeel Ahmad
2 days ago (edited)
they went bankrupt by the wrong decisions of greedy mgmt who were clueless about what it means to be a kid, they had no passion for what toys mean for kids and how to competitively price them and articulate them threw an active engagement process with parents and their kids, and how to maximize on seasonal periods. toys stores are not just a place for kids, it is also a place where parents visit to remember the days when they were kids, to gather their nostalgic memories, it is also a way that parents connect with their kids and sometimes even learn what their kids are good at, some kids prefer puzzles, others like building legos, others like playing with remote control cars, when some want a storytelling toy, others create their own stories through dolls and teddy bears, while some want train set, and then there are those that just like to read LOL

2


Kevin Lau
Kevin Lau
1 day ago (edited)
The should add ‘ In America ‘ at the title. There r still Toys R Us available in other countries

1


James B
James B
2 days ago
This is what happens when a company refuse to adapt to market change. Who is going to buy from Toys R Us when the Target and Walmart next door is selling them cheaper?
Its like Blockbuster which got defeated by Netflix.