when did bargain town become toys r us
Toys "R" Us Charles P. Lazarus (October 3, 1923 â€“ March 22, 2018)[17][18][19] founded Children's Supermart (which would evolve into Toys "R" Us) in Washington, D.C., during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby-furniture retailer.[20] Lazarus, who served in the Army during World War II, opened the first store at 2461 18th St. NW, where the nightclub Madam's Organ Blues Bar is. He began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for toys for older children. The focus of the store changed in 1957, and Toys "R" Us was born in Rockville, Maryland. Around this time, Toys "R" Us's stylized logo was created, which featured a backwards "R" in order to give the impression that a child wrote it.[21] It was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Department Stores, Inc.,[22] owner of the White Front, Topps Chains and Children's Bargain Town USA, a toy-store chain related to Toys "R" Us in the American Midwest that would later be combined with the rest of the Toys "R" Us chain. The original Toys "R" Us store design from 1969 to 1989 consisted of vertical rainbow stripes and a brown roof with a front entrance and side exit.[23]
Hamleys Hamleys is the oldest and largest toy shop in the world and one of the world's best-known retailers of toys. Founded by William Hamley as "Noahs Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760, it moved to its current site on Regent Street in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors, with more than 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It is considered one of the city's prominent tourist attractions, receiving around five million visitors each year. The chain has ten other outlets in the United Kingdom and also has more than 60 franchises worldwide.