Toys R Us: The Two Deals That Killed a Toy Giant

In 2000, America's biggest toy store paid Amazon to sell its toys online, and five years later it was loaded with billions in buyout debt. This is how Toys R Us built a retail empire, then gave away the flexibility it needed to survive. Chapters: 00:00 The Deal That Fed Amazon 00:50 Cribs to Toys: Lazarus's Insight 01:45 A Supermarket for Toys 02:42 The Tail Swallows the Dog 03:41 Rise of the Category Killer 04:40 Walmart Turns Toys Into Bait 05:37 The Amazon Deal Backfires 06:34 The $6.6 Billion Buyout 07:31 Bankruptcy and Liquidation 08:31 The Real Lesson: Flexibility Every company has one moment that decides its fate. The Pivot Point tells the stories behind those moments, with one practical business lesson in each. 🔔 Subscribe for a new story every day. Sources and further reading: The New York Times, Charles Lazarus, Founder of Toys 'R' Us, Dies at 94, 2018 Toys "R" Us, Inc., Annual Reports on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2005-2017 Toys "R" Us, Inc., Form S-1 Registration Statement for proposed IPO filed with the SEC, 2010 U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, In re Toys "R" Us, Inc., Chapter 11 case filings, 2017 Superior Court of New Jersey, Toys "R" Us, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., court ruling, 2006 Footage: Pixabay. Narration voice is AI-generated; scripts are researched and fact-checked. #ToysRUs #BusinessHistory #RetailCollapse