Clearly, they needed to grow their online presence significantly, and probably peel back on some stores - concentrating on the iconic stores like the one they had in Times Square. But I don't think that would have been enough. They needed to provide products difficult to get elsewhere, and needed to have lines of unique educational toys, and very affordable non-electronic basic toys - including being the place for timeless high-quality ‘retro’ toys that parents remember and kids would like.
Personally, I like buying from small local toy stores with unique toys and owners that are personally involved and who are passionate about selling toys. Toys R Us, the last time I was in one, tended to concentrate on bike sales (bigger ticket, higher profit), and all the plastic stuff (mostly made in China etc.) that was ‘thematic’, like Transformers. Anyway, they could have done better, and I'm sorry all those people will be losing their jobs. Hopefully someone will step up and salvage what is good and move forward with a more successful business model.
They sold Ouija boards. Good riddance.
The wife and I were thinking of buying a franchise here in Poland which sold toys and we're not sure
I wholeheartedly agree.
Last time I was in there almost everything was made of cheap plastic from China... it was dreadful... they got greedy.