The Plain Dealer Tuesday, May 11, 1999 Maker of Etch-A-Sketch adjusting financial picture By Troy Flint With 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 Nintendo April 26, 1999 The New York Times By SHARON R. KING LANGHORNE, 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…

ASTRA Newsletter American Specialty Toy Retailing Association April 1999 It was a Good Time! By Lisa Almeida It’s always easy for me to write about or for ASTRA because it is a passionate topic for me. The power we possess in our dedication to common goals never ceases to astound me. So, for the love of ASTRA, I pried myself out of bed at 6:00 am after 2 long days trudging the happy halls of Toy Fair, including the newly expanded Specialty Pavilion, and went looking for Mr. Good…

Professional Candy Buyer January – February 1999 Special Report: Kids’ candy Today’s kids are smarter, quicker and often harder to impress than kids 20 or even 10 years ago. In order to keep up with the ever changing tastes and demands of this fickle audience, candy suppliers are finding themselves tied closely into all of the emerging pop culture icons, from cartoon characters to pop music stars to web sites. The influences involved in kids’ purchasing habits are almost limitless -…

The Plain Dealer Business Section Sunday, January 31, 1999 Making the sale By Marcia Pledger Plain Dealer Reporter GOOD MARKETING Sid Good, president of Good Marketing in Cleveland, will speak at the 1999 Toy Fair next month in New York City. Good, who’ll also lead a panel sponsored by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, will focus on marketing to children in his talk to specialty toy manufacturers and retailers Feb. 13. Good plans to emphasize how current trends…