Fisher-Price

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Fisher-Price, Inc.
Subsidiary of Mattel
Industry Toys
Founded June 19, 1930; 85 years ago (June 19, 1930; 85 years ago)
Founder Herman Fisher
Rebecca Fisher
Irving Price
Margaret Evans Price
Helen Schelle
Headquarters East Aurora, New York, U.S.
Revenue DecreaseUS$2.16 billion (2011)
Parent Quaker Oats Company
(1969–1991)
Mattel (1993–present)
Slogan best possible start
Website fisher-price.com

Fisher-Price is an American company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.

History

Founded in 1930 by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Price's illustrator-artist wife Margaret Evans Price, and Helen Schelle, the name Fisher-Price was established by combining two of the three names. Fisher worked previously in manufacturing, selling and advertising games for a company in Churchville, New York. Price had retired from a major variety chain store, and Helen Schelle previously operated Penny Walker Toy Shop in Binghamton, New York. Fisher-Price’s fundamental toy-making principles centered on intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value for the money, and action. Early toys were made of heavy steel parts and ponderosa pine, which resisted splintering and held up well to heavy use. The details and charm were added with colorful lithographic labels.[1] Mrs. Price was the first Art Director and designed push-pull toys for the opening line, based on characters from her childrens books.

In 1931, three of the four founders took 16 of their wooden toys to the American International Toy Fair in New York City and they quickly became a success. The first Fisher-Price toy ever sold was "Dr. Doodle" in 1931. (The same toy, in excellent condition, would be worth a considerable amount in today's collectibles market.)[2] In the early 1950s, Fisher-Price identified plastic as a material that could help the company incorporate longer-lasting decorations and brighter colors into its toys. "Buzzy Bee" was the first Fisher-Price toy to make use of plastic.[3] By the end of the 1950s, Fisher-Price manufactured 39 toys incorporating plastics.

During the 1960s, the Play Family (later known as Little People) product line was introduced and soon overtook the popularity of earlier toys. Herman Fisher retired at the age of 71 in 1969 and the Quaker Oats Company bought Fisher-Price the same year.

In 1991, Fisher-Price regained its independence from The Quaker Oats Company and became a publicly traded company. Two years later, in November 1993, Fisher-Price became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel. A new management group set the company’s focus on basic, infant and preschool products and began expansion into international markets. By 1997 Mattel decided to market all of its preschool products under the Fisher-Price name.

Products

Fisher-Price has created approximately 5,000 different toys since the early 1930s. One of Fisher-Price’s best-known lines is Little People toys, which includes people and animal figures along with various play sets such as a house, farm, school, garage and vehicles. The figures, which originally were wooden peg-style characters, are now molded of plastic and have detailed features.[4]

In addition to Little People, some of the toys and toy brands that have remained popular for many years include Power Wheels, View-Master, Rescue Heroes, the Chatter Telephone, and the Rock-a-Stack. Other brands marketed under the Fisher-Price name include Disney, Sesame Street, Barney, Dora the Explorer, and See 'n Say.

Fisher-Price also designs and sells infant care products and has begun developing electronic toys for preschoolers.

In 2009, Fisher-Price bought all toy rights to Thomas & Friends except for the Learning Curve Wooden products. Through Mattel's 2012 acquisition of HIT Entertainment, which subsequently became a division of Fisher-Price, Mattel now owns the property outright.

Toy recall

On August 2, 2007, Fisher-Price recalled close to a million toys, including the Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street toys because of possible hazards due to the toys being coated in lead-based paint.[5] Purchasers of Fisher-Price toys can get information on country specific recall details and share the facts about affected toys in their area by visiting Mattel Voluntary Safety Recall Facts.[6]

Current brands and products

  • Alphabet magnet board
  • Amazing Animals
  • Baby Gymtastics
  • Brilliant Basics
  • Dance Baby Dance!
  • Disney Products
  • ESPN GameStation
  • ESPN Shot Block Basketball
  • ESPN Fast Action Football
  • Fun 2 Learn
  • Fusion Crew
  • GeoTrax Rail and Road Systems
  • Imaginext
  • Kid Tough Electronics (Digital Camera & MP3 Player & VHS Player)
  • Laugh & Learn
  • Learn Through Music
  • Little Mommy (Baby dolls and their various accessories)
  • Little People (update of the Play Family line)
  • Loving Family Dollhouses and accessories
  • Matchbox Junior
  • Miracles and Milestones
  • Ocean Wonders
  • Peek-a-Blocks
  • Pixter
  • Little Superstar
  • Pop-onz
  • Power Wheels
  • Puffalumps
  • Quizard the Learning Wizard
  • Rainforest Jumparoo
  • Rescue Heroes
  • Roll-a-Rounds
  • Shake ’n Go!
  • Smart Cycle
  • Smart Shopper
  • Snap ’n Style Friends & Fashions
  • SparkArt Creativity System
  • Star Station Entertainment System featuring hit music from Kidz Bop
  • Sweet Streets
  • Thomas and Friends Motorized Railway/Collectible Railway
  • Thomas and Friends Trackmaster
  • TRIO Building System
  • View-Master

Baby Gear products

  • Baby Bouncers
  • Baby Monitors
  • Baby Swings
  • Booster Seats
  • Car Seats
  • Entertainers & Activity Centers
  • High Chairs
  • Infant Seats
  • Play Yards
  • Rainforest Collection
  • Strollers
  • Tubs & Potties

Historic brands & products

Video games

Starting in the 1980s, seven games which carried the Fisher-Price name have been published by GameTek for the PC and the Commodore 64. In 1990, three of these titles were ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System:

  • Fun Flyer (1984)
  • Firehouse Rescue[8] (1988)
  • Little People Bowling Alley (1989)
  • School Bus Driver (1989)
  • My Grand Piano (1989)
  • Perfect Fit[9] (1990)
  • I Can Remember[10] (1990)

Other titles published by Fisher-Price include:

  • Time to Play Pet Shop[11] (1996)
  • Great Adventures Pirate Ship[12] (1998)
  • Big Action Construction (2001)

Other Fisher-Price products

Other Fisher-Price products include Activegear for families on the go, books, software, car travel accessories, footwear, infant carriers, music, and videos.

References

  1. ↑ "Fisher-Price Toys - Classic Toys." About.com
  2. ↑ "Vintage Fisher-Price Toys" Antiques-antiques.com
  3. ↑ "Fisher-Price Pre-School Toys Buying Guide" Pages.ebay.com
  4. ↑ "Little People History" Thisoldtoy.com
  5. ↑ "Fisher-Price Recalls Licensed Character Toys Due To Lead Poisoning Hazard"
  6. ↑ "Mattel Voluntary Safety Recall Facts"
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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