Fisher-Price
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Fisher-Price, Inc. | |
Type | Wholly Owned Subsidiary |
---|---|
Founded | 1930 |
Headquarters | East Aurora, New York, USA |
Industry | Toys |
Revenue | 2.02 Billion USD (2005) |
Slogan | Play.Laugh.Grow |
Website | www.fisher-price.com |
Fisher-Price is a well-known brand of toys, with headquarters located in historic East Aurora, New York. The company is a wholly owned subisidiary of Mattel. One of the better-known lines of Fisher-Price is their Little People toys, which include various sets of buildings and vehicles with their respective "people" figures, which used to be made of wood and metal but are now made of plastic. The figures, which were once armless and legless but are now molded with more detail, have holes in the bottom allowing them to be used as finger puppets. Fisher-Price also had, during the 1970s and 1980s, a series of full bodied action figures, and currently have a popular line of action figures based on rescue service personnel.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1930 by Herman Fisher, Irving Price and Helen Schelle, the name Fisher Price was established by combined two of the three founders names. With their headquarters located in East Aurora, New York, Fisher Price is now a well-recognised toy brand and trusted by many. In 1931 the three founders took 16 of their wooden toys to the 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 collectables market. During the 1960s, the famous Little People product line was introduced and soon overtook earlier toys. The Little People toys were made of wood (but are now made of plastic) and included factories, farms, schools etc. The product line continued to grow in popularity and during the 1970s, Little People expanded to include Sesame Street characters. Herman Fisher retired at the age of 71 in 1969 and that year Fisher-Price was acquired by The Quaker Oats Company.
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. By 1997 Mattel decided to market all of its preschool products under the Fisher Price name.
[edit] Products
Fisher Price has created approximately 5,000 different toys since the early 1930s. Some of the best known toys and toy brands that have remained popular for many years include Power Wheels, View Master, Rescue Heroes and Little People, 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 has recently begun developing electronic toys for pre-schoolers.
[edit] Current Brands & Products
- Amazing Animals
- Baby Gymtastics
- Brilliant Basics
- Dance Baby Dance!
- ESPN GameStation
- ESPN Shot Block Basketball
- ESPN Fast Action Football
- Fun 2 Learn
- Fusion Crew
- GeoTrax Rail & Road System
- Imaginext
- Kid Tough Electronics (Digital Camera & FP3 Player)
- Kitchen Play
- Laugh & Learn
- Little People (safer update of the Play Family line)
- Loving Family Dollhouses and accessories
- Miracles and Milestones
- Ocean Wonders
- Peek-a-Blocks
- Pixter
- Pop-onz
- Power Wheels
- Puffalumps
- Quizard the Learning Wizard
- Rescue Heroes
- Roll-a-Rounds
- Shake ’n Go!
- Snap ’n Style Friends & Fashions
- Smart Shopper
- SparkArt Creativity System
- Star Station Entertainment System featuring hit music from Kidz Bop®
- Sweet Streets
- View-Master
[edit] Babygear Products
- Baby Monitors
- Booster Seats
- Baby Bouncers
- Car Seats
- Entertainers & Activity Centers
- High Chairs
- Infant Seats
- Play Yards
- Rainforest Collection
- Strollers
- Baby Swings
- Tubs & Potties
[edit] Fisher-Price Friends Brands & Products
Fisher-Price Friends:
- Disney's Winnie The Pooh related products
- Knows Your Name related products
- Krypto The Superdog related products
- See 'n Say related products
- Sesame Street related products
- Tickle Me Elmo Extreme AKA TMX
- Winnie the Pooh related products
Fisher-Price Learning:
- I Can Play Piano
- InteracTV System & DVDs
- Learn Through Music Plus!
- Read With Me DVD Story Comprehension & Vocabulary System
Nickelodeon:
- SpongeBob SquarePants related products
Nick Jr.:
- Dora the Explorer related products
- Go, Diego, Go! related products
- The Backyardigans related products
[edit] Historic Brands & Products
- Barney related products
- Blue's Clues related products
- Chatter Telephone
- Construx building toys
- Corn Popper
- Doodle Pro (changed name from Magna Doodle)
- Fimbles related products
- Jolly Jumping Jack crib toy
- My Friend Dolls (Mikey, Becky, etc)
- Play Family
- PowerTouch Learning System
- PXL-2000 camcorder
- Roly Poly
- The Koala Brothers related products
- The Muppets related products
- Toddlerz
- Woodsey
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Fisher-Price.com: The official site of Fisher-Price.
- Mattel.Com: Parent company of Fisher-Price.
- Fisher-Price Toys: Toy Review