Defunctland: The History of Toys "R" Us Times Square

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: In 1998, Toys R Us, the number one toy retailer in the United States, suddenly fell into second place. The 41-year-old chain had been surpassed by Walmart in the battle for toy supremacy. Toys R Us was finding it increasingly difficult to compete with big box retailers. However, Walmart and similar big box stores were not the only cause of the chain's decline. Customers viewed Toys R Us stores as dirty warehouses, with no character or charm. On top of this, the management and service at stores was less than stellar. Recognizing this, the Toys R Us board of directors looked to another toy chain that was known for their quality and class: FAO Schwartz. The famous toy stores were experiences in themselves, and the chain was ingrained into popular culture after appearing in the 1988 Tom Hanks film "Big." FAO Schwartz had just the strategy that Toys R Us needed, so the board of directors recruited their chairman, John Eyler, to be the next chairman and CEO of Toys R Us. To assist him, Eyler brought with him Joanne Neubold, a designer that had helped him construct 25 stores for FAO Schwartz. Of the move, Neubold said, "We call it going over to the dark side." Despite the difficult task ahead, Eyler referred to his plan for Toys R Us as "Mission Possible." To improve the reputation of the chain stores, he approved an ambitious redesign that favored visual aesthetics over everything else. In order to improve customer service, Eyler approved wage increases for Toys R Us employees. But this was just the beginning. The most ambitious of Eyler's ideas was to open a brand new flagship Toys R Us store in the crossroads of the world: New York City's Times Square. New York City's Times Square [00:01:41] Speaker ?: New York City's Times Square [00:01:55] Speaker 1: On August 1st, 2000, just months after Eyler had joined Toys R Us, the company announced the construction of the new Times Square location. The space was 101,000 square feet, split throughout four stories. The owner of the real estate, Charles B. Moss Jr., had been holding onto the space throughout a rapid revitalization of Times Square, seeing the area turn from a dirty, seedy tourist trap to a premier shopping district. Stores like The Gap and Virgin Megastore moved in, and rents began to skyrocket. Moss was waiting for the right partner for his real estate, which sat on the corner of Broadway and 44th Street. And when Toys R Us made an offer, he accepted it. The resulting Toys R Us would be the largest toy store in the world, and the largest retailer in Times Square. One third larger than the Virgin Megastore. The location would cost $35 million to build. It was to be the center of the toy universe, according to Eyler. Designing Toys R Us's flagship store was no easy task. Not only was Newbold designing in some of the most lucrative real estate space in the world, but she was designing far more than just a store. Toys R Us Times Square would be part store, part mall, part theme park, and part event space. The store was constructed throughout the fall of 2001, with a grand opening date set for November 17th, 2001. On November 14th, three days before the grand opening, Toys R Us held its first event. A key aspect of the plans for Toys R Us Times Square was for the space to be a stage for toy manufacturers to hold launch events. The first of these would be for the Xbox, with Bill Gates himself present to launch the console, and handed out to the first lucky gamer. Three days after this, Toys R Us was ready to open to the public. To celebrate the store's opening day, an hour-long character procession was organized. At 9am, over 50 beloved children's characters would walk hand-in-hand from 48th and Broadway to the store. The four-block parade featured such beloved characters as Spongebob Squarepants, Bert, Ernie, Barbie, Shrek, and Elmo, which must have been awkward considering that there were at least three other Elmos roaming the area at the time. After the parade, the ribbon was cut, with Toys R Us' mascot, Jeffrey the Giraffe, dressed to the nines. The Toys R Us International flagship store was officially opened to the public. As guests approached the store, they were greeted by an impressive video billboard display with 165 panels, cycling through various advertisements and interior views of the store. As guests entered, they were immediately confronted by Jeffrey the Giraffe, welcoming them to the store. The most striking element of Toys R Us Times Square was its main attraction, a 60-foot-tall Ferris wheel, which was placed in the atrium and spanned all four stories of the store. The Ferris wheel featured the chain's signature backwards R in the center, with 14 themed cars, all featuring famous characters from toys, movies, television, and more. The cars included a Pokemon car, a Tonka truck, a Toy Story car, a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head car, a Fisher-Price car in the shape of a Lil' Snoopy toy, a Matchbox fire truck, a spaceship with E.T. on one side and Jeffrey on the other, a Lil' Tykes car, and a Nicktoons car featuring multiple characters, including Jimmy Neutron, Blue, SpongeBob SquarePants, Tommy, Chucky, Reggie, and Lil' Bill. The cars to the Ferris wheels were, according to Newbold, a "torturous exercise in design." Newbold admitted that the final result of some of the cars was less than ideal. She said that the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head car specifically looked off, and that, to her eye, "Mrs. Tate looks way too much like Bette Midler." The licensing agreements for each car was for two years, and most of the companies chose to renew the license again and again. However, sometime between 2001 and 2007, two cars were replaced. The Pokemon car was replaced with a Scooby-Doo car, and the Tonka truck was replaced with a My Little Pony car. Sometime after this, the Barbie's car design was changed to the Glam convertible, and Fisher-Price replaced their Lil' Snoopy with a school bus. The store's street-level floor was actually its second floor, and in order to board the Ferris wheel, guests had to take an escalator down to the first floor. Also on this floor were video game displays, an ice cream shop called Scoops R Us, and a UPS store. The UPS store allowed shoppers to purchase toys and immediately ship them as gifts to friends and family. The third floor featured the majority of the store's retail space. An elevated ceiling was painted yellow, and from it, models were suspended. One depicted Superman saving shoppers from a falling truck. The other was of Spider-Man, swinging from webs above the heads of guests. The third floor also featured an elaborate Lego section, with sculptures of prominent New York City icons. Nearby was the Candyland Candy Store, which brought the famous board game to life. One of the most popular spots on the third floor was a two-story, 4,000-square-foot walk-through Barbie Dream House. This impressive feature could only be overshadowed by the third floor's signature attraction, a robotic, 20-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex that moved and roared. This was part of a Jurassic Park display, and the dinosaur weighed five tons. During construction, an entire side of the building had to be left open to install the creature. Finally, the fourth floor was much smaller in comparison, in order to allow for the high ceilings of most of the third floor. Its main feature was the Pepsi World soda fountain. Also on the fourth floor, off-limits to guests, was a boardroom for meetings that had an incredible view of the store and Times Square. As aforementioned, Newbold and Eiler designed Toys R Us Times Square with built-in stages for toy unveilings. Toys R Us Times Square did hold many product launch events, bringing in big crowds and rolling out celebrity guests. In retrospect, some of these events were quite interesting. [00:07:48] Speaker 2: And now, some of the product launch events held at Toys R Us Times Square. Or, one of the first times the early 2000s unique visual and cultural aesthetic can be viewed in retrospect. Or, oh my god, am I nostalgic for 2003. [00:08:05] Speaker 1: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with celebrity guest, audiobook narrator, Jim Dale. The Video Now portable video player with celebrity guest, Hilary Duff. The Musical Robot Thing with celebrity guest, Rihanna. Rubik's Revolution with celebrity guest, Vanessa Hudgens. Dolls from the TV show Lost with celebrity guest, Jorge Garcia. Deal or No Deal merchandise with celebrity guest, Howie Mandel. Miranda Cosgrove's debut album, Sparks Fly with celebrity guest, Miranda Cosgrove. Twilight New Moon merchandise with celebrity guests, Nikki Reed and Kellen Lutz. EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 with celebrity guest, Tiger Woods. The Tamagotchi Connection Virtual Pet with celebrity guest, Ryan Cabrera. Video Now Color with celebrity guests, Hilary Duff again and Tony Hawk. The store was also used as a location for open auditions for child stage shows such as door the Explorer Live and Blue's Clues Live. As far as design and implementation went, Toys R Us Times Square appeared to be a massive success. However, there were many other factors to consider. The first was rent. The space alone would cost Toys R Us $12 million a year, over $100 per square foot. On top of this, the store opened in November of 2001, just over two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Americans' willingness to travel was greatly impacted by the events, especially travel to New York. Sales in Times Square specifically were down 40%. However, Elliot Whale, general manager of Toys R Us Times Square, said quote, "If the traffic numbers are off in Times Square, we are certainly not feeling it." Toys R Us estimated that their flagship store would draw in 20 million visitors a year, two-thirds of the total traffic of Times Square at the time. However, the first year's numbers, in part due to the attacks of September 11, were reported to be nearly half that, with roughly 10 million shoppers visiting the store in its first year of operation. Toys R Us Times Square enjoyed an eventful existence. In 2003, the store was featured in the Disney television film "Eloise at Christmastime." That same year was the beginning of the flash mob craze that swept the nation for some reason. And nowhere was safe, especially not Toys R Us Times Square. In August of 2003, a large group of people gathered on the store's third floor, not to perform a choreographed dance, but instead to kneel in front of the T-Rex and scream for a very, very long time. Every holiday shopping season was a busy, eventful, and sometimes dangerous affair for Toys R Us. On November 27, 2004, at around 3:25 PM, a rush of holiday shoppers were overwhelmed with pepper spray, which was discharged from an unknown person within the store. Three people had to be taken to the hospital, and all 3,000 shoppers were evacuated. By 2004, Toys R Us' hopes of overtaking Walmart had been dashed. When asked whether Toys R Us was still focusing on reclaiming the number one spot, Vice President Ursula Moran responded no, adding "We're number two." In 2005, Toys R Us was bought by three investment companies for $6.6 billion. Of this capital, 80% was borrowed, and as a result of the leveraged buyout, Toys R Us was now $5 billion in debt. Eiler stepped down from his role as CEO after the buyout, and Toys R Us began a new, uncertain, debt-ridden future. On top of all of this, the Times Square location had still not turned a profit, although Moran said that it was "pretty close to making money." Toys R Us continued to operate the location off of the idea that the prestige and elegance of the location and experience was worth accepting the losses from the store itself. However, this concept was becoming more difficult to sell, as the corporation as a whole continued to lose market share and close stores across the country. By 2007, alternate revenue streams were considered for the Toys R Us Times Square location, namely, children's birthday parties. The store created birthdays packaged for children, including the Dancing Divas Party and the Pirates Passage Package. In 2009, Toys R Us acquired FAO Schwartz. With the acquisition, Toys R Us now operated the two most famous and popular toy stores in New York City. In 2010, the delicious world of Wonka, the first ever Wonka retail experience, opened on the second floor of Toys R Us Times Square. A short time after this, the space on the fourth floor was replaced with a new attraction: the R-Cade. A sort of annual tradition at the store for a few years was the anti-war toy protest put on by the Granny Peace Brigade and the Raging Grannies, two protest groups composed of old women. Every year, the grannies would march throughout the store, protesting violent video games and toys that glorified weapons and war. The first year of the protests, the grannies commandeered the Ferris wheel and waved banners off of it. However, they failed to account for their escape route, and being on the Ferris wheel, it didn't take long for the employees to stop them and promptly escort them out of the store. The third year, they decided to switch it up, spreading out throughout the store and waiting until a specific time to reveal their granny protest. A grambush, if you will. Every year, the grannies would be rounded up and asked to leave the store, where they would continue their demonstrations on the street, among the unlicensed costumed characters. On the subject of Times Square Streetmosphere, in 2012, in classic Times Square fashion, a man dressed in a knockoff Elmo costume was arrested outside of Toys R Us after he began screaming anti-Semitic rants. The man's name? Adam Sandler. But not that Adam Sandler. By 2015, Toys R Us was continuing to struggle with its debt. The company made the decision to close the famous Fifth Avenue FAO Schwartz store in July, citing high rents. However, the Fifth Avenue FAO Schwartz was not the only casualty of Toys R Us' financial troubles. Because not long after, Toys R Us announced that it would not be renewing its lease on its Times Square location. The rent was set to quadruple, and it was now being marketed for $2,500 per square foot. And it was estimated that Toys R Us' second floor, the street-level floor, was worth $42 million a year in rent alone. The massive hole in real estate would be filled in part by the Gap and Old Navy, which combined would fill 60% of the space, with no plans for the remaining 40%. And thus, Toys R Us Times Square, the company's flagship store, and the tentpole of its early 2000s revitalization effort, was officially ending its run. And it didn't take long for the autopsies to pour in. The general consensus was that in spite of Toys R Us' aspirations to gain prestige from their flagship store, the benefits did not outweigh the costs. After news was announced that the store was to be closed, thousands of visitors poured into Times Square to ride the Ferris wheel, see the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and tour the Barbie Dreamhouse one final time. Toys R Us Times Square officially closed on December 30, 2015, after a 14-year run. The interior was promptly demolished, and construction on the Gap and Old Navy began in early 2017, with the stores debuting to shoppers later that year. In 2018, McDonald's took 7,000 square feet of the remaining space, opening a two-story restaurant. Toys R Us remained out of Times Square for just 18 months, before the toy chain returned with a new pop-up store for the holiday season. The new store, while much smaller, also featured elaborate toy displays, and in a nod to the original store, a smaller dinosaur robot. The store was planned to stay open until the new year, but it lasted a few months longer, continuing its run into 2018. Less than one month after the pop-up location opened, on September 18, 2017, Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy. The company began liquidating assets, and after a disastrous 2017 holiday season, the chain had no hope of recovering. By May of 2018, all of the chain's domestic stores had been closed. The brand would see a small-scale revival effort within the past two years, but as of now, there have been no more ventures into Times Square. Many wondered what became of Toys R Us Times Square's most beloved attractions, such as the dinosaur animatronic. When asked, the president of the construction company tasked with demolishing Toys R Us Times Square said, quote, "The dinosaur? We shredded it and burnt it to pieces." The Superman figure saw a better fate, and it would re-emerge on a collector's site with a hefty price tag of $9,800. However, the best-preserved pieces of Toys R Us Times Square would be that of the Ferris wheel, with many of the character cars being transported to Orlando, Florida, where they would become parade floats at Give Kids the World Village. Due to licensing issues, E.T. had to be covered up with a gift bag. Toys R Us Times Square did not save the company, and it was not a profitable venture. However, it was successful in creating a memorable and beloved location for tens of millions of shoppers and tourists from all around the world. It was far more than a store or even an attraction. It was an experience. But it takes a lot more than creative toy displays, a unique location, or even a Ferris wheel to elevate a store into something more meaningful. It takes people. And the employees of Toys R Us Times Square were given a tall order. They had to endure raging grandmas, pepper sprayers, flash mobbers, holiday shoppers, stage parents, anti-Semitic Elmo's, and millions of more people from all around the world. But despite the challenge, the team at Toys R Us Times Square was able to deliver a unique and memorable experience to millions. Joanne Newbold's brilliant store design would have never been appreciated in full without the work of these people. Many of whom were there from the store's opening in 2001 to its closure in 2015. There's no better summation of the weird, chaotic, and special experience that was Toys R Us Times Square than the one provided by customer service manager Johnny Tamaro on the store's final day of operation. [00:18:10] Speaker 3: "14 years, that's how long we've been here, that's how long this store has been an amazing place for millions of people from all over the world and all over the country and all over the city. Who else do you know in your life that either lost their job or their job finished and the whole freaking world knew about it? Not too many people." "We're famous buyers!" "We're famous buyers!" "I have a list of things I won't forget." "Number one, do you know where the bathroom is?" "Number two, is this candy free?" "Number six, well can't you check the back room?" "Number eight, how do I get out of here?" "Those are the things I will not miss." "I got a list of things I will miss." "It's just one word!" "Youth."