Moose Toys

Moose Toys
Private
Industry
Founded 1985 (1985)
Founder
  • Brian Hamersfeld
Headquarters Cheltenham, Melbourne, Australia
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Products
Electronic Games
Website www.moosetoys.com

Moose Toys is an Australian-owned toy design, development and distribution company founded in 1985 by Brian Hamersfeld.[1] Moose products are sold in 85 countries and is currently the fifth largest toy manufacturer in Australia and fourth largest in the United States.[2][3]

History

Moose Toys was founded in 1985 by Brian Hamersfeld[4] and acquired by Chief Executives Manny Stul, Jacqui Tobias and Paul Solomon in 2001. The company is based in Cheltenham, Melbourne, Australia.[5] Between 2000 and 2015 revenue for the company has grown from $10 million to more than $600 million.[6]

In 2013, co-chief executive Paul Solomon led a move to distribute Moose Toys products directly into US retail, which was a collectible brand called "the Trash Pack".[7]

In 2014, Moose Toys relocated its main office within town with what co-chief Manny Stul claims is a first of its kind with a basketball court, and a meeting room at the top of a built in beanstalk with walls that act as whiteboards.[8] Moose Toys, which employs 200 people in Australia, the US, Hong Kong, China and the UK, is currently the number 8 ranked toy company in the US and number 4 in Australia.[5]

In 2015, Moose Toys was awarded "Girls Toy of the Year" by the U.S.’s Toy Industry Association for their product line Shopkins and "Partner of the Year" by Toys"R"Us.[9]

Co-CEO Manny Stul was awarded the Ernst & Young Australian Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015.[3][10][11]

In 2016, Manny Stul was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year. [3][12][13] He is the first Australian to have ever won the award [14]

Other Moose product lines include Mighty Beanz, Beados, Aqua Sand, The Trash Pack, Little Live Pets and Betty Spaghetty[5]

Shopkins

Shopkins are a collectible small doll franchise, designed, and developed by the Moose team in Melbourne, Australia.

Toys

Shopkins toys are miniature store item characters. Each Shopkins character is given a name, hobby, hang out, and BFF, intended to create an emotional bond for the collector.[15]

Each new series of Shopkins combines 140+ characters with playsets and accessories. As of December 2015, there are 420 individual characters.[16]

Originally released in June 2014, by December 2015 over 115 million Shopkins had been sold worldwide.[16] Co-chief Paul Solomon credits his mother Jacqui Tobias, director of girls’ products, for the idea of Shopkins.[5]

In December 2015, a one-of-kind glass Shopkin called Gemma Stone sold for $21,500 on eBay with all proceeds going to the Toy Industry Foundation.[16]

Animation

For the launch of Shopkins, a series of animated Webisodes were created for the ShopkinsWorld YouTube. There have been over 20 released so far and they have gained over 30 million views.[17]

In 2014, Moose partnered with children’s content producers Nelvana to create Shopkins animated content, slated for release in 2016.[18]

Other product

Moose has licensed Shopkins for additional products through Bulldog Licensing in the UK,[19] The Licensing Shop[20] in the US, and Merchantwise in Australia.[21]

In October 2015, the first official Shopkins app was released to much success.[22] As of January 2016, 51 Shopkins licensees had been signed in North America, including apparel, construction, candy, games, and bedding.[23] In that same month, Shopkins partnered with McDonald's to release special edition Happy Meal toys.[24]

Hyper Toss

In 2016, Moose Toys released an electronic game called Hyper Toss developed by KID Group. The game is similar to Top It on which includes a ball and an electronic unit with three colored cups and four game modes: Hyper Toss, Super Toss, Memory Toss and Freestyle. The game has been a successful release and was first introduced at New York Toy Fair.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Moose Enterprises Pty Ltd.: Private Company Information – Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  2. ↑ "Taking the US by storm is child's play". Executive Style. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  3. 1 2 3 "Moose Toys CEO named 2015 Australian EY Entrepreneur of the Year". www.toyhobbyretailer.com.au. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  4. ↑ "Not all fun and games: Paul Solomon". Brw.com.au. 2012-11-29. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Moose Toys plays at the top of their game; Herald Sun". www.heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
  6. ↑ "Toy king takes out EY Entrepreneur Of The Year". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  7. ↑ Bailey, Michael. "How Melbourne's Moose is charging into Mattel's share of US toy market". BRW. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Moose Toys' new office putting the fun into work". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
  9. ↑ "Moose Toys™ Awarded 2015 Toys"R"Us® "Partner of the Year"". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  10. ↑ Chris Pash. "Toy creator Manny Stul is Australia's Entrepreneur of the Year for 2015". Business Insider Australia.
  11. ↑ http://www.ey.com/GL/en/About-us/Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year/World-Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year---Country-winner-Australia-2016
  12. ↑ EY. "Manny Stul of Moose Enterprise from Australia named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016".
  13. ↑ http://www.ey.com/GL/en/About-us/Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year/World-Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year---Country-winner-Australia-2016
  14. ↑ Andrea Beattie. "Aussie Toy King Named World Entrepreneur Of The Year Winner". The Huffington Post.
  15. ↑ Al Duwick, Hala. "just-like-the-shopkins-get-your-products-flying-off-shelves-through-powerful-marketing-messages". Global Toy News. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 "This Tiny Toy Just Sold for $21,500". FOX40. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  17. ↑ "Toymakers Turn to YouTube". Enterprise. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  18. ↑ Calder, Kate. "Nelvana Partners with Moose Toys on Two New Hit Toy Lines – Mutant Mania and Shopkins". Corus Entertainment. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  19. ↑ Licensing, Bulldog. "Bulldog Continues to Grow Shopkins". Bulldog Licensing. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Global, License. "Shopkins Bags 16 New Licensees". License Global. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  21. ↑ Guie, Phil. "Moose Toys Lines Up New Shopkins Licensees for Toys and Games". The Toy Book. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Moose Toys launches first Shopkins app". www.licensing.biz. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  23. ↑ "Moose Toys Announces New Shopkins Licensees - The Licensing Book Online". licensingbook.com. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  24. ↑ Redfield, Yumi (December 31, 2015). "Shopkins Season 4: New Shoppie Introduced, Season 4 Roundup, Shopkins App, Happy Meal, News, Updates". Crossmap.
  25. ↑ "Get Hyped with Hyper Toss". Toy Insider. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
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