Charles Lazarus, the founder of Toys R Us, passed away at the age of 94 on Thursday.
Charles Lazarus founded Toys R Us back in 1948 in an effort to cash in on parents having kids after World War II. He initially only sold baby supplies, but later expanded into toys. The first store to only contain toys was opened by him in 1957.
Toys R Us continued to flourish after its creation and went public back in 1978. Charles Lazarus stayed with the company as its CEO until 1994. He didn’t have a stake in the toy retailer at the time of his death.
Charles Lazarus’ passing comes just a few days after the announcement that Toys R Us is closing its doors for good. The toy chain has been struggling lately to deal with massive amounts of debt and declining sales.
“There have been many sad moments for Toys”R”Us in recent weeks, and none more heartbreaking than today’s news about the passing of our beloved founder, Charles Lazarus,” the company said in a Tweet obtained by CNNMoney . “Our thoughts and prayers are with Charles’ family and loved ones.”
Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy back in September and was working to restructure its debt. However, poor holiday sales hurt it further and it announced plans to close down
almost 200 stores early this year. Now the chain is closing down completely and has started liquidation sales.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
