On September 19th, one of the most well-known toy stores in the world, Toys ‘R’ Us, declared chapter 11 bankruptcy. Unable to compete with  Walmart and Amazon, they are now over five billion dollars in overall debt.

The company says that they will still keep over 1,600 stores open nationwide because most stores are viewed as highly profitable. However, New York City is closing because of high and rising rent rates in their exact space.

Toys ‘R’ Us is also losing money because box office ratings and sales are low. For example, Star Wars movies caused an increase in sales for all toy stores. The CEO of Toys ‘R’ Us reportedly pockets nearly 37.5 million dollars out of the companies 600 million every three years just from Star Wars merchandise.

However the newest film to release in the series is projected to give the largest increase to toy makers Hasbro rather than any stores.    

Not only do other stores have a large impact on the company and its slow demise, but also the wants and needs of children. Nowadays children are starting to lean away from physical toys and lean more towards technology, such as gaming consoles, computers and tablets opposed to dolls, action figures and toy cars.

The company plans to revamp their stores with the help of 3 million dollars in bankruptcy financing. This so called revamp will focus on making the visit a more special and memorable experience.

The company plans to make Toys ‘R’ Us more of an interactive play place rather than just a retail store. They hope this will, in the long run, separate them from their biggest competitors, an online superstore and a supermarket that does not particularly focus on toys and toy sales.