Toy Biz

History

Late 20th century to 1997

Charan Toys (Canadian company)

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. Its Charan Toy, Inc. subsidiary became a leading licensing toy company in 1985.

Toy Biz (American company)

In 1988, Charan Toys was renamed Toy Biz and became an American firm.

In 1990, Charan, including the Toy Biz subsidiary, was purchased by businessman Ike Perlmutter. In 1993, Toy Biz made a deal for "exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free licenses" of Marvel Characters for 46 percent of Toy Biz equity. Avi Arad, a toy designer and comic book fan, joined Toy Biz that same year.

Toy Biz continued licensing outside brands, including DC Comics characters, producing goods such as the Batman's (1989) Batmobile and some action figures, 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 and NASCAR were acquired. In 1995, Toy Biz acquired Spectra Star, Inc. and Quest Aerospace Education, Inc., both toy companies. Toy Biz started up its Classic Heroes candy division in 1996, which sold candy/toy combinations using mainly Marvel characters. The company also entered the electronic learning aids (ELA) segment of the toy industry in 1996 with a licensing agreement with Apple Computer.

Toy Biz partially acquired Marvel Entertainment Group. In the late 1990s, Marvel Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy and became the subject of a battle for control in bankruptcy court. The company was salvaged in 1997 and merged with Toy Biz in 1998. The new company became Marvel Enterprises, and Toy Biz became a division of the new company.

1998 to 2007

Toy Biz as a subsidiary

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.

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.

The company would later license products for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Curious George and Code Lyoko.

Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd.

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. [[File:MarvelToyslogo.jpg|thumb|The Marvel Toys logo was used on some lines from 2005 onwards, but appeared on all lines by 2007.]]

Marvel Entertainment licensing agreement to Hasbro

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. As a result of the early termination, Marvel Entertainment paid Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd. a penalty of between $13–16 million USD.

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.

Legacy

In 2022, Hasbro released updated versions of Toy Biz's first wave of Marvel Legends figures to celebrate the line's twentieth anniversary.

References

References

1. "Toy Biz, Inc. -- Company History". fundinguniverse.com.
2. "Archives".
3. (2007-10-31). "Marvel Toys - Home".
4. "Complete List of Marvel Legends Action Figures".
5. Ward, Arthur. (2020-02-24). "Action Figures: From Action Man to Zelda". The Crowood Press.
6. "Toy Biz Lives on in Hasbro Marvel Action Figures".
7. "ToyBiz Marvel".
8. "Marvel's $1.4 Billion Man".
9. Raviv, Dan. (April 2002). "Comic Wars". Broadway Books.
10. [https://13thdimension.com/the-top-13-wonderful-batman-89-toys-ranked/ The TOP 13 Wonderful BATMAN ’89 Toys] Posted By Dan Greenfield on Feb 19, 2021, the 13th Dimension.com
11. Madore, Bt James T.. (1994-02-19). "Competitors crowd Fisher-Price's market".
12. (1995-08-22). "Company Briefs". The New York Times.
13. "Toy Biz to take over Marvel - Jun. 29, 1998".
14. Norris, Floyd. (1997-04-29). "Marvel Proposes a Merger With Toy Biz". The New York Times.
15. Errico. (27 December 1996). "Marvel Files for Bankruptcy".
16. Williams, Trey. (2018-04-29). "How Marvel Bounced Back From Bankruptcy to Become Hollywood's Biggest Brand".
17. Norris, Floyd. (29 April 1997). "Marvel Proposes a Merger With Toy Biz". [[The New York Times]].
18. (2021-03-23). "20 Years Ago Today WWF Bought WCW".
19. (2021-04-14). "13 Frodos changed action figures forever".
20. "Figure Collections".
21. "Toy Biz Gets 'Curious George' License".
22. "Marvel Reviews Synergies in Toy and Toy Licensing Operations".
23. (2006-01-09). "Marvel, Toy Biz Worldwide Part Ways". Animation Magazine.
24. (2006-01-09). "Marvel Terminates Toy Biz Worldwide Licensing Agreement and Plans for Transition to Hasbro License in 2007".
25. (October 31, 2007). "Marvel Toys - Home".
26. K, Dabid. (2021-10-23). "Marvel Legends 20th Anniversary Captain America & Iron Man Up for Order!".