Walk into a toy store today and it feels... clinical. Thin. There’s a lot of beige and a lot of empty shelf space where the "big" stuff used to live. But if you close your eyes and think back to 2012 Toys R Us, you can probably still smell that specific mix of floor wax, plastic packaging, and overpriced popcorn. It was a massive year. It was arguably the last year the "Big Box" toy experience felt like it was actually winning against the internet.
Remember the 2012 Big Toy Book? That thing was a brick.
It arrived in mailboxes with a massive "Hot Toy List" that felt like a legal decree for every kid in America. 2012 was the year of the Wii U launch, the height of the Skylanders craze, and the moment Furby rose from the grave to terrorize a new generation. It was a weird, transitional time for the company, but on the surface, the vibes were peak.
The Skylanders Grip and the 2012 Toys R Us Experience
If you were a parent in 2012, you probably spent a significant portion of your life standing in a Toys R Us aisle looking for a specific plastic dragon. Skylanders: Giants launched in October of that year. It wasn't just a game; it was a supply chain nightmare. Toys R Us was the ground zero for this "toys-to-life" movement.
Because they had the square footage, they could dedicate entire "boutiques" to these figures. You’d see rows and rows of Spyro and Tree Rex. Honestly, the way Toys R Us handled the Skylanders craze was a masterclass in why physical retail mattered. You couldn't "feel" the weight of a legendary figure on Amazon. You had to go there. You had to hunt.
But while kids were hunting for Giants, the business was starting to sweat.
The 2012 holiday season was actually a bit of a reality check for the company. Despite having the "exclusive" items and the massive catalog, the numbers weren't exactly screaming "success." Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 were about $5.8 billion. That sounds like a lot, right? Well, it was actually a drop from the year before. The company blamed a "cautious consumer" and a brutal promotional environment. Basically, Target and Walmart were starting to eat their lunch by selling the same toys at a loss just to get people in the door.
The Tablet Wars of Aisle 7
Something else happened in 2012 Toys R Us that we often forget. They tried to become a tech company.
They launched the Tabeo. Remember that? It was a $150 proprietary tablet designed specifically for kids. It had a chunky green bumper and came pre-loaded with about 50 apps. It was a bold move by then-CEO Jerry Storch. He knew that kids were moving away from plastic blocks and toward glass screens.
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The Tabeo was their "Hail Mary" to keep the tech-savvy kid in the store.
The problem was that the iPad Mini also launched in late 2012. Families had a choice: buy a specialized toy tablet that might be obsolete in a year, or buy a real Apple product. Most chose the latter. The Tabeo didn't fail because it was bad; it failed because Toys R Us was trying to compete with Silicon Valley on a retail budget. It was an early sign that the "World's Greatest Toy Store" was struggling to define what a "toy" even was anymore.
Why the 2012 "Hot Toy List" Still Matters
Every year, the industry looked to the Toys R Us "Fabulous 15" list. It was the gold standard. In 2012, that list was a fascinating snapshot of a culture in flux.
- Furby: This was the big comeback. The 2012 version had LCD eyes that were honestly a little creepy, but it was the "must-have" item.
- Lego Friends: This was the year Lego made a massive, controversial push into the "girls' aisle" with the Friends line. Toys R Us dedicated massive endcaps to the pink and purple bricks.
- Doc McStuffins: The "Time for Your Checkup" doll was a sleeper hit. Stores could barely keep it in stock.
- Micro Chargers: These tiny little cars were everywhere. They were the cheap, "add-on" purchase that kept the registers humming.
Looking back, the 2012 selection was remarkably diverse. You had high-tech robotics sitting right next to traditional wooden train sets. Toys R Us was still the only place where you could find the entire line of a specific brand. If you wanted every single Power Ranger or every single Barbie accessory, you didn't go to Walmart. You went to the big roof with the rainbow sign.
The Debt Shadow: What We Didn't See
While we were all looking at the Lego displays, the company was drowning. This is the part of the story that most people get wrong. They think Amazon killed Toys R Us. Amazon was a factor, sure, but the real damage was done in 2005 during a leveraged buyout by Bain Capital, KKR & Co., and Vornado Realty Trust.
By 2012, the interest payments on their debt were astronomical.
Imagine trying to run a marathon while carrying a backpack full of bricks. That was 2012 Toys R Us. They were making billions in revenue, but so much of that money was going to pay off the debt from the buyout rather than being reinvested into the stores. This is why, by 2012, some stores were starting to look a little... tired. The carpets were fraying. The lighting was dim. The "magic" was being held together by the sheer enthusiasm of the staff and the iconic brand name.
They were trapped. To compete with Walmart's prices, they had to cut margins. But to pay off their debt, they needed high margins. It was a mathematical impossibility.
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The "Showrooming" Nightmare
2012 was also the year "showrooming" became a buzzword in the business world. People would walk into a Toys R Us, let their kid play with a toy, use their smartphone to scan the barcode, and then buy it on Amazon for $5 cheaper while standing right in the aisle.
Toys R Us tried to fight this with "Price Match Guarantees," but the damage was done. They were essentially providing a free showroom for their competitors.
The Cultural Impact of the 2012 Holiday Catalog
If you find a 2012 Toys R Us Big Toy Book on eBay today, it’ll cost you a surprising amount of money. Why? Because for the last generation of "analog" kids, that book was the Pinterest of its day. It was 80+ pages of pure aspiration.
The 2012 catalog was particularly special because it captured the peak of the "licensed" era. Everything was a tie-in. The Avengers had just dominated the box office, so the toy aisles were a sea of plastic shields and Hulk masks. The Dark Knight Rises was huge. Monster High was at its absolute zenith, taking over entire sections of the store with its "freaky fabulous" aesthetic.
It’s hard to overstate how much Monster High changed the landscape in 2012. It challenged Barbie’s dominance in a way nothing else had. Toys R Us leaned into this hard, creating "boutiques" that made the store feel like a destination rather than just a warehouse.
What Really Happened to the "Toys R Us Kid"?
The slogan "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid" started to feel a little ironic by 2012. The "kids" who grew up with the store in the 80s and 90s were now the parents. They wanted the nostalgia for their own children, but they also wanted the convenience of 1-click ordering.
We often talk about the 2017 bankruptcy as the end, but the 2012-2013 period was the true turning point. It was when the company realized that "selection" wasn't enough anymore.
I remember walking into a location in late 2012 and seeing the "R Zone" video game section. It used to be the heart of the store. By 2012, it was being squeezed. Digital downloads were starting to pick up. Why go to the store to buy a physical disc when you could just download it on your console? The very things that made Toys R Us a destination—the massive walls of physical media—were becoming liabilities.
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The Actionable Legacy of 2012
If you’re a collector or a student of business, the 2012 Toys R Us era offers some pretty specific lessons.
- Exclusives are King: In 2012, the only thing that truly brought people in were the "Only at Toys R Us" items. If you're a retail business today, you cannot survive on items that can be found elsewhere. You need a "reason to visit."
- The "Third Space" Factor: Toys R Us survived as long as it did because it was a "third space" for families—somewhere to go that wasn't home or school. Modern retail has largely forgotten how to be "fun."
- Debt Drowns Innovation: You can have the best CEO in the world (and Jerry Storch was highly respected), but if your capital is tied up in interest payments, you can't pivot fast enough to beat a company like Amazon.
How to Relive the 2012 Era Today
Believe it or not, the 2012 era of toys is currently a "hot" market for collectors.
The original Skylanders figures, particularly the "Giants" and the 2012 store exclusives, are starting to see a price creep on the secondary market. If you have a bin of them in your attic, don't toss them. The same goes for the 2012 Lego sets, particularly the Lord of the Rings and Monster Fighters themes that were heavily promoted in the 2012 Big Toy Book. Those sets have appreciated significantly because they were released right before Lego’s "gold rush" really exploded.
Final Thoughts on the 2012 Vibe
Looking back, 2012 was a bit of a "sweet spot." We had the technology to make toys cooler than ever (like the App-Integrated Furby), but we still had the physical infrastructure of a massive toy kingdom.
It was the last year the store felt like it had everything under control, even if the balance sheet said otherwise. It was a year of giant plastic dragons, tablet experiments, and the final flourish of a retail model that had defined childhood for half a century.
To truly understand why the store eventually disappeared, you have to look at 2012. You have to see the struggle between the "Magic of the Aisle" and the "Efficiency of the Screen." For one last holiday season, the aisle held its own.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
- Audit your attic: Look for 2012-era Lego sets (specifically the Monster Fighters or LOTR lines) and check their current "retired" value on BrickEconomy; many have tripled in price.
- Archival Research: If you’re feeling nostalgic, the Internet Archive has digitized several versions of the 2012 Big Toy Book. It’s a wild trip down memory lane that shows exactly how the "Fabulous 15" were marketed.
- The Macy’s Factor: If you want to see what's left of the brand, visit a "Toys R Us at Macy’s" location. Compare the footprint to the 40,000-square-foot warehouses of 2012 to see just how much the "destination retail" model has shrunk.