Amazon vs Target vs Walmart vs Costco — the 2026 retailer fight for the holiday toy aisle. The exclusive launches, the BOPIS pickup wars, the Halloween-to-Black-Friday compression, and the brands (LEGO, Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master, Bluey, Squishmallows) anchoring each retailer's seasonal lineup.
September 2017: Toys "R" Us filed Chapter 11 carrying $5B in 2005 LBO debt. By 2018 every U.S. store closed. By 2022 the Macy's shop-in-shop relaunched the brand. The 2024 Sora-generated commercial gave it a third act. The canonical case file in retail collapse and brand-licensing afterlife.
56 years old. Survived the collapse of public broadcasting, the streaming wars, and the AI content explosion. The reason is partnerships — and the discipline behind them.
The honest guide for parents. Device controls, platform settings, the conversation that matters more than any filter, and what to do when the filter fails.
How Mattel runs PR in 2026: the four pillars of its communications operation, the 1997–2007 crisis history, the OpenAI partnership, and the Barbie flywheel.
VTech, LEGO, Mattel, Hasbro, Spin Master, MGA. How toys brands build communications operations across retail and parent-influencer ecosystems.