June 2000
Toysrus.com Adds Three Key Marketing and Merchandising Executives to Management Team
Posted Friday, June 30, 2000
Toysrus.com, a leading online retailer of children's toys and products on the Internet, today announced that the company has
recently hired three key executives in the areas merchandising, research, and marketing.
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Mattel Interactive Acquires Robotech(TM) License (PR Newswire)
Posted Friday, June 30, 2000
The Entertainment Division of Mattel Interactive today announced that they have signed a licensing agreement with Harmony Gold to publish games based on the popular anime series Robotech(TM).
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Fisher-Price Launches Toddlers' Interactive Learning Toy With Microsoft Smart Technology
Posted Friday, June 30, 2000
Fisher-Price today launched the first toy ever to allow toddlers - as young as 9 months old! - to be exposed to interactive learning away from the computer. Fisher-Price collaborated with Microsoft to bring "imbedded technology" to children's learning through a stand-alone, progressive learning toy.
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Galoob Toys Inc. Recalls Flying Dolls (Associated Press)
Posted Wednesday, June 28, 2000
Galoob Toys Inc. is recalling 8.9 million Sky Dancers flying dolls after finding the dolls can fly rapidly in unpredictable directions and injure both children and adults.
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Today's Kids Recalls Spinning Toys (Associated Press)
Posted Wednesday, June 28, 2000
Today's Kids is recalling 103,000 spinning-ride toys Tuesday because the center column can break, causing a child to fall backward or be hit in the face by the broken column.
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Mattel Sells Learning Co. Unit (Reuters)
Posted Tuesday, June 27, 2000
Ailing toymaker Mattel Inc. (MAT.N), on Monday sold off Cyber Patrol, a unit of the educational software developer The Learning Co. that has cost Mattel huge sums of money since its acquisition last year and left its shares in the doldrums.
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Toymax Diversification Program Drives Record Sales for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year
Posted Tuesday, June 27, 2000
TOYMAX INTERNATIONAL, INC., today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2000.
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Bath Time Bubbles With Equity's Colorful New Tub Tints (Business Wire)
Posted Tuesday, June 27, 2000
Equity Marketing makes it easy for kids to get clean with its new line of Tub Tints(TM) bath toys. It all started with the Tub Tints fizzing water coloring tablets, which create fun, effervescent colors in the bath and make wash-time an interactive and enjoyable experience for parents and children.
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Mattel To Provide Software Tool (Associated Press)
Posted Sunday, June 25, 2000
In response to public complaints about privacy, Mattel Interactive announced that the company would provide a tool that removes software that was surreptitiously placed on customers' computers and is designed to transmit and receive information to Mattel.
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A 'TEENIE' Piece of Beanie Babies(R) History at McDonald's
Posted Sunday, June 25, 2000
The 2000 Teenie Beanie Babies(TM) collection, available now at McDonald's restaurants, features teenie versions of some of the most rare, hard-to-find original Beanie Babies(R).
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Scholastic Completes Grolier Acquisition (Business Wire)
Posted Friday, June 23, 2000
Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, announced today that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Grolier Inc. from Lagardere S.C.A. of France.
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TEKNO the Robotic Puppy Sells Out on eToys.com in 8 Hours
Posted Thursday, June 22, 2000
The first litter of eight-week-old TEKNO robotic puppies arrived for a special presale this week at eToys.com and sold out in eight hours, reports Manley Toy Quest today.
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Going beans over Beanies - in Malaysia!
Posted Wednesday, June 21, 2000
Children and adults alike went ga-ga over the Beanies at the Memory Lane at Suria Kuala Lumpur City Centre yesterday. Now, what are Beanies? For starters, they are cute and cuddly, and come in different colours and shapes.
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Toysrus.com Hires Four New Executives to Oversee Growth in Infrastructure and Fulfillment
Posted Tuesday, June 20, 2000
Toysrus.com, a leading online retailer of children's toys and products on the Internet, today announced that the company has recently hired four key executives in the areas of logistics, finance, information technology, and customer service.
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Teletubbies Continue to Bring Laughter and Fun to Children Across the Country (Business Wire)
Posted Sunday, June 18, 2000
Preschoolers are whispering about it in sandboxes across the country. It's the talk of nursery schools nationwide. And soon, the wait will be over when Ragdoll Ltd., The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company and PBS/Warner Home Video introduce the much-clamored for video sequel to Nursery Rhymes -- Teletubbies Bedtime Stories and Lullabies.
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Play-By-Play Toys & Novelties, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2000 Third Quarter Financial Results
Posted Sunday, June 18, 2000
Play-By-Play Toys & Novelties, Inc. today announced results for the third quarter and nine months ended April 30, 2000.
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Collapsing Baby Walkers Recalled (Associated Press)
Posted Friday, June 16, 2000
Graco Children's Products Inc., recalled 31,000 walkers for repair Wednesday because they can collapse and injure infants, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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Scooter Mania Rolls Across Country (Associated Press)
Posted Friday, June 16, 2000
From youngsters and Wall Streeters in New York to dot-com types in San Francisco, everyone is embracing the same playful - and practical - gadget: the scooter.
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New Financing Buys Time for eToys (Ecommerce Times)
Posted Thursday, June 15, 2000
Refuting rumors that it would run out of cash by the end of 2000, online toy retailer eToys bought itself some breathing room Tuesday with $100 million (US$) in capital raised from the sale of preferred convertible stock.
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Interactive Yoda Gives Young Jedis a Chance to Shine (Reuters Securities)
Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2000
Interactive Yoda sure knows how to make an entrance. Just as summer vacation starts for school-age children across the nation -- and during the final countdown to Father's Day -- the tiny ``Star Wars'' movie character swoops into New York for his debut on Wednesday at the flagship FAO Schwarz toy store.
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KBkids.com seeks withdrawal of $210 mln IPO (Reuters Securities)
Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2000
KBkids.com Inc., the online retailer of children's toys and a unit of Consolidated Stores Corp., asked securities regulators on Tuesday to withdraw its planned $210 million initial public offering.
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Gundam Wing Phenomenon Grows With Addition of New Licensees as TV Ratings and Toy Line Sales Surge
Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2000
Bandai Entertainment Inc. announced today at Licensing Show 2000 the extension of the Gundam Wing property with the signing of eleven new licensee partners in the apparel, sporting goods and leisure markets.
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Barbie Reaches Out to Deaf (Associated Press)
Posted Wednesday, June 14, 2000
Barbie has gone swimming for Olympic gold and kicking for Women's World Cup Soccer. Now she is reaching out to the nation's 400,000 deaf and hearing-impaired girls.
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Marvel's Toy Biz lord of the "Rings'' rights (Reuters)
Posted Tuesday, June 13, 2000
The 2001 holidays will be a heady times for Toy Biz, the toy division of Marvel Enterprises.
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Toysrus.com Gets Inventory of Defunct Rival (Reuters)
Posted Tuesday, June 13, 2000
Toysrus.com, owned by giant specialty retailer Toys R Us Inc. said on Tuesday it had agreed to acquire the inventory of RedRocket.com, another online toy store that recently went out of business.
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eToys Acquires Online Party Site (Ecommercetimes)
Posted Tuesday, June 13, 2000
eToys (Nasdaq:ETYS) announced Monday that it has purchased selected assets of eParties American, an online party planning and supplies site, for $1.6 million (US$) in eToys common stock.
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Worldwide Toy Sales at US$71 Billion in 1999 (PR Newswire)
Posted Sunday, June 11, 2000
Worldwide toy industry sales in 1999 totaled US$71.095 billion, a nearly 5% increase from 1998 sales of US$67.76 billion, according to the International Council of Toy Industries, the organization of toy manufacturing associations.
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Toysrus.com To Expand Operations (Ecommerce Times)
Posted Wednesday, June 7, 2000
Just days after Disney-backed online toy retailer Toysmart.com shut its virtual doors for good, Toysrus.com announced Monday that it plans to double its staff and expand operations over the next year.
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ToyTime can't survive embattled sector; shuts down (CNet)
Posted Wednesday, June 7, 2000
ToyTime.com has joined a fast growing list of online toy stores to shut its doors.
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DSI Toys Included in Chronicle's Top 100 Houston Companies (Business Wire)
Posted Wednesday, June 7, 2000
DSI Toys Inc. has been singled out as the only toy manufacturer in the Houston Chronicle's annual "Chronicle 100," highlighting the area's leading publicly-owned companies. This prestigious list is determined by four key performance criteria for 1999: total revenues, earnings per share growth for the year, revenue growth for the year and one-year total return.
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Haystack Toys Launches the Second Annual Great American Toy Hunt
Posted Wednesday, June 7, 2000
Haystack Toys Inc. announced today the launch of the second annual Great American Toy Hunt, a nationwide search for "needles in the haystack" -- toys that are so ingenious and involving they withstand the test of time.
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Nintendo Suffers Profit Dip (Reuters)
Posted Friday, June 2, 2000
Annual profits at major Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co. Ltd. shrank 35 percent in the last year as the strong yen swallowed up earnings from robust sales of its hit ``Pokemon'' game software.
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Dot Com Toy Sellers Dominate Traditional Brick-and-Mortar Retailers.
Posted Friday, June 2, 2000
Offline toy powerhouses like Toys `R' Us still have a tough time competing online against Web-based retailers. Amazon.com,
SmarterKids.com, and eToys battled for the top spot, while brick-and-mortar giants KB Toys, Toys `R' Us, Wal-Mart, and J.C.
http://news.excite.com/news/bw/000526/ma-forrester
Kids R Us names Emerson president (Reuters Securities)
Posted Friday, June 2, 2000
Toys R Us Inc.'s Kids R Us said Thursday that Janet Emerson was named president, replacing Trudy Sullivan, who left the company in February to return to J. Crew, a leading clothing retailer, as president and chief operating officer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000601/n0143506.html
