Russ Berrie

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Russ Berrie and Company, Inc.

Type	Public - New York Stock Exchange: RUS
Founded	Oakland, New Jersey (1963)
Headquarters	Oakland, New Jersey
Key people	Andrew R. Gatto, CEO Angelica Berrie, Vice-chairman
Products	Teddy bears
Employees	1,591
Slogan	Make someone happy
Website	www.russberrie.com/

Gregory, a teddy bear made by Russ Berrie and Co

Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. NYSE: RUS is a major manufacturer of teddy bears and other gift products, including stuffed animals, baby gifts, soft baby toys and development toys as well as picture, candles, figurines and home fragrance products.

Founded in 1963 by the late Russell Berrie from a rented garage in New Jersey, today the Company operates offices, showrooms, and distribution centers all over the world and trades on the NYSE under the symbol RUS

One of Russ Berrie's most popular stuffed animals was that of the Russ Rutherford III stuffed monkey line. These monkeys were produced from the early 80's to early 90's and featured a monkey with a plastic face, feet, and hands.

A pivotal moment in Russ's history is the Troll doll. Troll mania became popular in the early 90's and doubled company sales. By 1992, the public lost interest in the homely troll dolls which resulted in crippling losses of more than two million dollars. Although this was a devastation to the company, it only made Berrie stronger and more determined to succeed. Today the company sells over 900 products^[1].

In 2003, Russ Berrie had revenue of US$329.7 million and net profit of US$34.7 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2004, net sales fell 18% to US$198.4 million. Net loss totaled $12.9 million compared to income of US$25.8 million for the first nine months of 2003. According to Reuters, revenues reflect weak customer acceptance of new product releases; net loss reflects an increase in selling and administrative expenses due to unfavourable exchange rates variances.