Charles Lazarus had a simple if powerful idea: build a supermarket for toys. After returning from World War II, he opened a store that he would build into a national chain called Toys “R” Us Inc. with hundreds of cavernous locations stocked with Barbies and Hot Wheels.

Mr. Lazarus died on Thursday in New York at the age of 94, according to a family friend. He ran the business during some of its best years and rescued it after a stint in bankruptcy in the 1970s. He retired as its chief executive in 1994 as one of America’s...