The company was founded in 1948; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area.

[7] In April 1948, Charles P. Lazarus founded a baby-furniture retailer, Children's Bargain Town, in Washington, D.C. during the postwar baby boom;[8] the store's site at 2461 18th St NW later became Madam's Organ Blues Bar.

[14] On March 17, 2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Vornado Realty Trust announced a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout of the company.

[33] It had been paying US$400 million per year to service its debt, which prevented it from investing in improvements to in-store experiences to compete with Amazon and Walmart.

Although the "retail apocalypse" was a factor, some analysts cited that the rapid increase in debt occurred under its private equity ownership.

[38] On February 28, 2018, it was reported that the company was exploring retaining its stronger Canadian operations, and the divestiture of some of its corporate-owned stores to franchises (leaving approximately 200 in a downsized chain).

[46] MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian attempted to raise $200 million through investments and public crowdfunding to purchase at least 400 of the U.S.

[50][51] On April 24, 2018, it was announced that the Canadian division would be sold to Fairfax Financial for approximately $234 million, and would continue to operate the locations under the Toys "R" Us name.

[55][56][57] In early July 2018, it was reported that unknown benefactors had bought all of the remaining stock of two locations in North Carolina so they could be donated to charity.

[60] On October 1, 2018, the company issued a bankruptcy court filing which stated that it would no longer auction off its intellectual property, since its controlling lender planned to "[revive] the business behind the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brand names" with a focus on maintaining existing licensing agreements and establishing new retail opportunities.

[67] As of June 21, 2019, the company planned to open new stores in the US slated to be 10,000 square feet, roughly a third of the size of the big box brand that closed in 2018.

[78] On December 16, 2021, Toys "R" Us opened a two-story flagship store at a size of 20,000 square feet in the American Dream Meadowlands mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

[79][80] On August 7, 2022, Toys "R" Us opened new locations in nine states: California, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, Nevada, Louisiana, New York, Maryland, and Missouri.

[89] The 110,000 square-foot store included various themed zones such as Barbie (with a life-size dreamhouse), Jurassic Park (with an animatronic T-Rex), Lego, and the signature indoor Ferris wheel.

The flagship store also served as a gaming destination, partnering with Microsoft to be the world's first location to launch the original Xbox console on November 15, 2001.

[citation needed] In August 2017, Toys "R" Us announced a 35,000 square-foot temporary store near the original one that would be open around the Christmas shopping season.

[97] Former chairman and CEO Gerald L. Storch, testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on toy safety in September 2007, said he supported new legislation strengthening toy-safety standards and outlined new initiatives the retailer had set forth to ensure that its customers receive timely information on recalls (including a new website).

[100] The company had adjusted its requirements to meet new federal standards enacted with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

In addition to its expansion in the United States, Toys "R" Us launched a worldwide presence in September 1984 when the company opened its first international wholly-owned store in Canada.

Toys "R" Us stores operate in Brunei, China (mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau), India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

[123] The joint venture was supposed to last until 2018, but Toys "R" Us withdrew in 2006; after suing for breach of contract, McDonald's Holdings was awarded an ¥1.38 billion ($13.35 million) settlement in 2008.

[113] Locations in South Korea and India are established through joint ventures formed in conjunction with Lotte Mart in 2007 and Lulu Hypermarket in 2017, respectively.

[116] In 2015, Toys "R" Us Asia posted a total turnover of US$1.85 billion;[113] for the year ended January 2017, net sales from China and Southeast Asia totaled at approximately US$375 million while the Japanese arm would net sales of US$1.3 billion from Toys "R" Us, despite recently declining yearly profits, and US$20.3 million from Babies "R" Us.

[116][126] The planned bid was revised downwards to US$760 million in August and scheduled for September while Toys "R" Us sought a United States court order to strip Fung Retailing, a Hong Kong-based partner managing the majority of Toys "R" Us Asian operations, of its right-of-first-refusal purchase option and force Fung Retailing to release its share of the unit.

[138] After amassing £15 million in unpaid taxes, Toys "R" Us Limited entered administration on February 28, 2018, after failing to find a buyer.

In March 2009, the contract between the two companies was not renewed, with Speelhoorn re-branding all the stores as Toys XL,[161][162] which would be later purchased by rival business Intertoys in 2017.

[176] For the 2009 holiday-shopping season, Toys "R" Us tried a smaller-store concept to attract customers and 90 "Holiday Express" stores across the United States and Canada were opened.

Looking to expand its web portfolio, in February 2009, the company acquired online toy seller eToys.com from Parent Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008.

[71][72][191] Formerly known as "Dr. G. Raffe" in 1950s print advertisements for Children's Bargaintown, Geoffrey the Giraffe evolved in name and appearance over the next decade to become the official mascot of the renamed Toys "R" Us.

The sponsored camera of pregnant April the giraffe went viral with millions of views on YouTube and across social media platforms.