Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price is a toy manufacturing company which makes toys for children and infants. This company has been a subsidiary of Giant toy maker Mattel. It was founded in 1930 by four people under the steadmanship of Herman Fisher. The essential toy making tenet for this company revolved around “action, strong structures, creativity, and good value for money”. The first models of toys were constructed from steel and wood. The toys were further adorned with attractive lithographic labels.

The three original founders took their toy models of wood to the American International Toy Fair in New York in 1931 and they became an instant hit. In the same year, it is believed that “Dr Doodle was the first toy made by Fisher-Price to have been sold. Two decades later, he began using plastic materials to make toys because he found out that they could be easily decorated. At the end of that decade, Fisher-price had manufactured approximately 40 toys using plastic.

The company was later bought out by the play Quaker Oats Company following the retirement of the chief founder Herman Fisher in 1969.However, the company regained independence from Quaker Oats Company in 1991 and was listed on the stock exchange. It was acquired by Mattel and the new management shifted the company focus to basic, infant, and pre-school products.

Products

Since it was established, the company has developed at least 5000 different toys. The most popular of the company toy lines was the “Little Peoples Toys” which comprised of human and animal figures. In addition, it had playsets like houses, farms, and schools. All these figures were modeled in plastic and incorporated detailed features.

Other toy brands that have been popular included; rescue heroes and the chatter telephone among others. There are also other brands that are sold under the company name.

Currently, there is a vast assortment of current brands and products that are sold by the company. In the product category, there are at least 37 items on sale. There are also several baby gear products such as baby monitors, booster seats, strollers, baby swings, play yards, tubs & potties, plus much more.

In addition, there are several Fisher-Price friends’ brands and products. Other products are educational materials in DVD’s and franchise video games published for PCs and game consoles, car travel accessories, footwear, and music. These products range in price from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars.

Toys by the company can be traced by their serial numbers. Generally, models with figures that range between one and three digits were made before the 90s while those with four digits were made in the period between 1990 and 1995. It is also important to note that catalog year designates the year for sale.

To commemorate the Fisher-Price legacy week long celebrations are held in New York. Consequently, new toys are launched every year to grace the event.