Business models come and go. Some do really well, like Amazon. Others do well for a while but ultimately fail, like Blockbuster and Radio Shack. But perhaps the strangest business model I’ve ever come across is the one where you actively seek to kill your client base.

The recent demise of Toys R Us has been lamented by generations of people that remember walking up and down their toy-filled aisles with wide eyes. Goeffrey the Giraffe and their famous “I wanna be a Toys R Us kid” jingle are permanently emblazoned in our minds. This makes the death of Toys R Us more confusing.

Why would a retail giant that depended upon an ever-increasing birth rate and continued generations of children partner with a group aimed at killing children?

In their 2017 annual SEC filing, Toys R Us said they believe part of the reason for the decline in sales is fewer babies:

“The decrease of birthrates in countries where we operate could negatively affect our business. Most of our end-customers are newborns and children and, as a result, our revenue are dependent on the birthrates in countries where we operate. In recent years, many countries’ birthrates have dropped or stagnated as their population ages, and education and income levels increase. A continued and significant decline in the number of newborns and children in these countries could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.”

Numerous articles covering the recent decision by Toys R Us to close its doors have focused on business and economic factors affecting the toy giant. The Daily Herald said, “There are, to be sure, numerous other factors at play. The same economic forces which encourage people to have children may also encourage them to splurge on toys, for example.”

While we have to acknowledge factors such as women waiting longer to have kids, having fewer kids, and technology replacing classic toys. One glaring contribution to Toys R Us’ woes needs to be highlighted beyond them all: Toys R Us partnered with Planned Parenthood!

Putting this in plain English: Toys R Us partnered with a group dedicated to killing their customer base.

Toys R Us officially ended its partnership with Planned Parenthood in 2010 after pressure from pro-life advocates. But sources indicate an unofficial partnership continued with Toys R Us matching employee contributions to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

“2ndVote, an organization that monitors corporate giving from a conservative perspective, reports that as of February 2017, the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Greater New York City and Minnesota affiliates listed Toys R Us as among the companies that match employee contributions. As LifeSiteNews has previously covered, the Komen breast cancer charity was the subject of a 2012 controversy in which it attempted to cut ties with Planned Parenthood, but then backed down in the face of pressure from the abortion giant. In 2016, Komen gave Planned Parenthood $363,290, ostensibly for breast cancer treatment. However, Planned Parenthood performs no on-site mammograms, and its cancer screenings dropped 68 percent from 2004 to 2014.”

Here’s where business partnerships matter. If your company supports an organization that actively partners with another organization that is killing your customer base, you are actively supporting the killing of your customer base.

Toys R Us supported the Komen foundation. Komen actively partners with Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is actively killing the customer base of Toys R Us. Toys R Us says declining birth rates contributed to declining profits and, ultimately, to the end of their business.

The lesson here is simple, if kids are your customer base, don’t support – directly or indirectly – any organization that works to kill your customer base.

For every dollar Planned Parenthood receives that is earmarked toward non-abortion services, a dollar is released in the budget that can then be used for abortion services. The more Planned Parenthood takes in for non-abortion services, the more it can direct towards abortion services. For every child killed by Planned Parenthood, Toys R Us loses another customer.

Toys R Us is experiencing what the rest of the US economy will soon experience, a shortage. A critical factor in a growing economy is an active, growing workforce. The more people able and willing to work, the better an economy can and will be. When the workforce shrinks, the economy can expect to shrink as well due to smaller production as a result of a loss of workers.

Toys R Us is just the first victim of this reality. Without continued and sustained population growth the American economy cannot continue to grow. And with Baby Boomers beginning an unprecedented cycle of retirement estimated to last for more than a decade, we are in need of workforce expansion like never before.

The lesson Toys R Us learned is that partnering with an organization that kills your customer base is a bad business model. The lesson the American economy is about to learn is that killing your future workforce is bad for economic prosperity. The lesson Americans have been learning for the last 45 years is abortion is bad public policy. Abortion is murder.