Applause (toy company)

Applause Inc. was a company that produced stuffed toys and collectible figurines. The company produced licensed toys from Warner Bros., Disney, and Jim Henson's Muppets. Its principal subsidiaries included Dakin Inc. and International Tropic-Cal Inc. The Applause brand survives as part of Kid Brands.

Applause Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryStuffed toy
Founded1966 as The Wallace Berrie Company
Defunct2004
Headquarters6101 Variel Avenue, P.O. Box 4183, Woodland Hills, California 91365-4183, U.S.A.
OwnerRuss Berrie
Number of employees
600

History

The company was founded as The Wallace Berrie Company in 1966 by Wallace Berrie. In 1979 the company obtained worldwide rights to The Smurfs and released figurines in 1979 at $1.50 each. The figurines became one of the best-selling toys of 1982. That year, the company acquired the Applause division from Knickerbocker Toys, which came with the licenses to Disney, Sesame Street, and Raggedy Ann and Andy. In 1986, the company changed its name to Applause Inc. and released California Raisins merchandise. It would also produce various Batman merchandise, focusing largely on small figures and dolls, from the late 1980s into the early 1990s. In 1992, Applause released the Magic Trolls Babies toy line.

R. Dakin & Co.

On April 1, 1955, Richard Dakin, a San Francisco entrepreneur, started a business importing shotguns from Europe.[1] In 1957, his son, Roger, joined and imported battery-operated trains, and the manufacturer also sent samples of small, sawdust-filled cotton-velveteen-covered toys.[1] Roger quickly booked an order for three hundred pieces from a nearby department store.[1] On 20 December 1966, Richard Dakin, and his wife, Roger Dakin, and his wife and four children, died in a plane crash.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Dakin merger

From 1991 to 1995, the company built a retail business by focusing on entertainment licensed brands with in-store merchandising displays for entertainment properties, e.g. The Lion King, The Flintstones, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Also during this period, one of the most significant events was the company's acquisition of the licensed rights to the very popular Looney Tunes characters.

In late 1995 the company acquired Dakin Inc., a stuffed animals company. This acquisition strengthened Applause's generic stuffed animal business to balance out its already strong entertainment license portfolio.

Applause created a Strategic Alliances Group to oversee products for food-related and premium-based programs such as from Taco Bell, KFC, Kellogg's, General Mills, and Pillsbury. In 1998 the company produced fast food toys for A Bug's Life, Mulan, Pokémon (KFC) and Godzilla.

Bankruptcy, suicide, and auction

In 2004 CEO Bob Solomon killed himself once it became apparent the company was not going to survive. The company filed for bankruptcy shortly after his death. The Applause name was acquired by Russ Berrie in a bankruptcy auction.[9][10]

Sources
  • "Applause, a Novelty Maker, Sold to Management Group," The New York Times, September 26, 1997, p. C4(N)/D4(L).
  • Bozman, Jean S., "New, Tougher Garfield Emerges," Computerworld, February 17, 1992, p. 53.
  • Cuneo, Alice Z., "Hot Raisins; It's Licensed Products That Bring Big Bucks," Advertising Age, May 16, 1988, p. 30.
  • "Custom Warehousing, Distributor Services Pay; Dakin, Stafford Make a Winning Combination," Playthings, May 31, 1989, p. 10.
  • "Applause to Sell Name; Bankrupt Toy Company's Label to be Shed for $4 Million," Los Angeles Daily News, September 30, 2004.

References
  1. "Excerpt from: 'The Great Beanie Baby Bubble'". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. "Henry Dakin Obituary". Legacy.com. Ukiah, CA: San Francisco Chronicle. 2010.
  3. Walsh, Margaret (1992). "Plush Endeavors: An Analysis of the Modern American Soft-Toy Industry". Business History Review. 66 (4): 637–670. doi:10.2307/3116843. JSTOR 3116843. S2CID 155455358. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  4. Said, Carolyn (July 27, 2012). "Counterfeit goods plague toymakers". sfgate.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  5. "Plush Beginnings: Dakin Turns 45". Gifts & Decorative Accessories. 1 December 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  6. Woman of California biodiversitylibrary.org
  7. The Landmark landmarkssociety.com Fall 2013
  8. Bancroftiana berkeley.edu May 1967
  9. Brent Hopkins (September 30, 2004). "APPLAUSE TO SELL NAME - Bankrupt Toy Company's Label to be Shed for $4 Million". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  10. "Anatomy of a Meltdown - November 1, 2004". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.