Special Report - Toys R Us Liquidation, March 2018

Toys R Us Downfall Reiterates Changing Retail Climate; Potential Retail Replacements to Emphasize Experiences

New age of retail forces adaptation. The rapidly evolving retail landscape bypassed Toys R Us, resulting in a bankruptcy protection filing and ultimately the announced closures of roughly 800 locations. Well-established brands shuttering stores have become a common theme in recent years as companies who fail to adapt to the new retail reality operate with outdated strategies. The company’s weakened balance sheet hampered efforts to make investments to modernize its business model and compete with Amazon, Walmart and Target. Due to the firm’s limited online capabilities and inability to transform into an experiential retailer, consumers soon found quicker and cheaper ways to purchase toys that bypassed this traditional toy powerhouse. Strong Internet competition led to Toys R Us’ diminishing market share and the competitive gap slowly widened until it was beyond the company’s ability to bridge.