The New York Times Money & Business Sunday, September 5, 1999Seeking Mr. Potato Head In All the Wrong AislesFor Toys ‘R’ Us, Advice On getting it RightBy Dana CanedyIt was one of the first and biggest of the “category killers,” and in the early 1990’s, it expanded as rapidly as a 10-year-old in a growth spurt.Toys “R” Us conquered the toy retailing world with warehouse-style stores, heavy promotion and lower prices than its mom-and-pop or department-store competitors….

The New York Times Business Day Wednesday, September 1, 1999Advertising Requiem for Beanie Babies. Or Maybe Not.By Dana CanedyThe maker of Beanie Babies, Ty Inc., created a frenzy yesterday when it posted this announcement on its World Wide Web site: “All beanies will be retired” as of Dec. 31.Customers, professional Beanie traders and even the company’s own employees were dumbfounded.Has Ty, led by founder Ty Warner, simply created a gimmick to pump up profits of the…

The Toy Book® Vol. 15, No. 8 September 1999Change is the Name of the Game A Shift in Leisure Time Activities Impacts the Game CategoryBy Nancy LombardiThe board game category may be one of the toughest in the industry. Sure, there are limited-edition versions of everyone’s favorites, retro games are a hit with all the generations, and Monopoly and Uno are still among the classics that reign supreme. But what about those with a new concept – how do they fit into an equation…

The Plain Dealer Tuesday, May 11, 1999Maker of Etch-A-Sketch adjusting financial pictureBy Troy FlintWith trading in the stock halted and its lenders refusing to extend loans, the company that makes the Etch-A-Sketch is twisting knobs to create a new financial plan.Ohio Art Co., the Bryan, Ohio, firm that created the classic drawing toy, said Friday it is trying to work out a new borrowing agreement with its lenders. For the year ended Jan.31, the company lost $1.8 million,…

Mania for ‘Pocket Monsters’ Yields Billions for NintendoApril 26, 1999The New York TimesBy SHARON R. KINGLANGHORNE, Pa. – Lisa Chapman and her two sons camped out in their car in the parking lot of the Oxford Valley Mall here on a recent Friday night so they could beat the crowd at the Pokemon Trading Card Game Tour the next morning. The line formed at 7 A.M., and by the time the event began four hours later, it had swelled to 4,000 children and their parents.Many wore…