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American toy company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toy Biz, Inc. (later known as Marvel Toys) was a toy manufacturer, originally founded in Montreal, Quebec as Charan Toys. The company is best known for holding the Marvel Comics toy license from 1990 to 2006.
| |
| Marvel Toys | |
| Formerly | Charan Toys, Toy Biz |
| Founded | 1988, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Defunct | 2007, in New York City, New York, United States |
| Fate | Closed by Marvel Entertainment |
Key people | Isaac Perlmutter Avi Arad (toy designer) |
| Products | Games, toys and children's vehicles; dolls and stuffed toys |
| Owner | Marvel Entertainment Group |
In 1993, Marvel Entertainment Group acquired a minority stake in Toy Biz.[1] In 1998, Toy Biz merged with Marvel Entertainment Group to bring it out of bankruptcy, with the two merged companies becoming Marvel Enterprises. Toy Biz would continue as the name of its toy manufacturing division.
In 2005, the division would start to use the name Marvel Toys, as well as Toy Biz, to reflect the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[2] In January 2006, Hasbro acquired the Marvel Comics toy license, to release its first products in January 2007. The division attempted to continue with non-Marvel licenses, but became inactive by fall 2007.[3][4]
The company's original forerunner, Canadian company Chantex, Inc., was founded in the late 19th century by the Zuckerman family. The business grew from $.16 million in sales to sales of $4.5 million in 1980.[1] In 1980, Chantex merged with Earl Takefman's Randim Marketing, Inc., a school supply manufacturer and wholesaler, to become Charan Industries Inc.[5] Its Charan Toy, Inc. subsidiary became a leading licensing toy company in 1985.[1] In addition to toys, Charan implemented brands in other areas, including acquiring a hockey equipment brand in the mid-1980s.[6]
In 1988, Charan Toys was renamed Toy Biz and became an American firm.[7][8]
In 1990, Charan, including the Toy Biz subsidiary, was purchased by businessman Ike Perlmutter.[9] In 1993, Toy Biz made a deal for "exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free licenses" of Marvel Characters for 46 percent of Toy Biz equity.[10] Avi Arad, a toy designer and comic book fan joined Toy Biz that same year.[9]
Toy Biz continued licensing outside brands, including DC Comics characters, producing goods such as the Batman's (1989) Batmobile and some action figures,[11] Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess action figures based on the Action Pack television series shown on many New World Television stations. Also, agreements with Gerber[12] and NASCAR were acquired.[citation needed][1] In 1995, Toy Biz acquired Spectra Star, Inc.[13] and Quest Aerospace Education, Inc., both toy companies.[1] Toy Biz started up its Classic Heroes candy division in 1996, which sold candy/toy combinations using mainly Marvel characters.[citation needed] The company also entered the electronic learning aids (ELA) segment of the toy industry in 1996 with a licensing agreement with Apple Computer.[1]
Toy Biz partially acquired Marvel Entertainment Group.[14] In the late 1990s, Marvel Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy and became the subject of a battle for control in bankruptcy court.[15][16] The company was salvaged in 1997 and merged with Toy Biz in 1998.[17][14] The new company became Marvel Enterprises, and Toy Biz became a division of the new company.[18][10]
In 1999, Toy Biz ventured into professional wrestling, acquiring the master toy license to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After two years, the license deal was cut short, due to WCW being purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001.[19]
Toy Biz were also notable for producing action figures for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy between 2001 and 2005. Having developed a good working relationship with New Line Cinema following their Blade toy line , Toy Biz managed to get the rights in spite of stiff competition from other companies. Toy Biz made several developments with this line - going for a slightly larger 6 inch scaled figure as opposed to the 3 31/4” scale popularised by toy lines such as Hasbro's Star Wars figures and going for a mixture of screen accuracy and articulation/playability in order to appease both child and adult collectors. [20]
The company would later license products for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Curious George and Code Lyoko.[21][22]
In 2001, Marvel Enterprises licensed the rights to the 'Toy Biz' name to a Hong Kong–based toy manufacturer, Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. Toy Biz also outsourced much of the manufacturing to Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd.[23]
In January 2006, Marvel Entertainment signed a five-year licensing agreement with Hasbro Inc. for $205 million, giving Hasbro the right to make toys and games based on Marvel Comic licenses. As a result of this, Marvel Entertainment prematurely terminated its agreements with Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd, by a year.[24] As a result of the early termination, Marvel Entertainment paid Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. a penalty of between $13–16 million USD.[25][24]
Throughout 2007, the division struggled to stay afloat without the Marvel Comic licenses. The company introduced a series called the Legendary Comic Book Heroes – making action figures of non-Marvel Comic characters, though it suffered with poor sales. The company also furthered its TNA Wrestling and Curious George lines. Marvel Entertainment quietly began to close the division. In late 2007, the company's website shut down.[26]
In 2022, Hasbro released updated versions of Toy Biz's first wave of Marvel Legends figures to celebrate the line's twentieth anniversary.[27]
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