worlds of wonder ( toy company )
worlds of wonder inc. , the high - tech toy company that ...
worlds of wonder inc. , the high - tech toy company that... - upi archives
donald d. kingsborough, who founded worlds of wonder inc. , a toy company that went into bankruptcy proceedings after two years of fast growth, has left the company .
worlds of wonder action max owners manual (pdf) - 0. 62 mb
worlds of wonder inc. , the high - tech toy company that zoomed to the top of the toy industry before stumbling into bankruptcy, will go private under control of new york investor eli jacobs, the company said tuesday .
big trouble in toyland: debt - ridden worlds of wonder, the ...
in re worlds of wonder securities litigation. this document relates to: all actions .
i visited worlds of wonder water park yesterday with my family. fun music and entertainm
the investors' new company will acquire worlds' assets for an undisclosed amount of cash, notes and preferred stock and will continue to operate as worlds of wonder at the company' s fremont, calif. headquarters .
worlds of wonder: ‘ the talking snoopy ‘ (( 1988) ) – gogreenmachine. org
for the past two years, kingsborough has guided his fremont, calif. , toy company, worlds of wonder inc. , from a fledgling start - up to a challenger in the competitive $ 12. 5 billion toy market .
the number of nintendo entertainment system consoles that toy stores had to stock to get access to worlds of wonder' s other popular toys, according to giant bomb. nintendo got around the nerves of toy stores throughout the country with this method, and within a year, the nes was enough of a hit that it could break off the deal with worlds of wonder. that was bad news for worlds of wonder .
could it be that worlds of wonder simply needed to sell more crap? god, i hope not .
in re worlds of wonder se | 814 f. supp. 850 (1993) | upp85011509 | urltoken
in re worlds of wonder securities litigation. rosetta miller; walter untermeyer; alan nisselson; trud ...
until its recent financial troubles, worlds of wonder was one of the fastest - growing companies in the toy industry, posting sales of $ 327 million in its first two years .
worlds of wonder, inc. v. vector intercontinental, inc. and new age communication center, inc. ,
worlds of wonder toys swot analysis | usp & competitors | brandguide | mba skool - study. learn. share .
here is a closeup of the drive wheel. worlds of wonder made a huge mistake here. on every worlds of wonder gt screamers set you will find the main drive tire is ruined and hard and oily compared to the other 3 tires .
worlds of wonder said it expected the cash and most of the stock received in the transaction would go to its secured lenders .
worlds of wonder v. veritel learning systems, 658 f. supp. 351 (n. d. tex. 1986 )
right now, don kingsborough and worlds of wonder have the hot hand ,
said david liebowitz, an analyst who follows the toy industry for american securities corp. in new york .
worlds of wonder inc. , the toy maker known for its talking teddy ruxpin bear, said today that it had agreed to sell operating control of the company to eli jacobs, a new york investor, after the bankruptcy court approves its reorganization plan .
worlds of wonder took the toy world by storm two years ago with teddy ruxpin, a stuffed bear that
talked
with the assistance of a special cassette tape and retailed for a whopping $ 70 .
mr. kingsborough, 40 years old, formerly served as a marketing executive at the atari corporation. when he started worlds of wonder, he licensed a toy teddy bear, teddy ruxpin, from its creators, alchemy ii, a southern california company .
worlds of wonder v. veritel learning systems, 658 f. supp. 351 (n. d. tex. 1986): : justia
worlds of wonder certainly knew the apple - like moves. when teddy ruxpin became a hit, they did something that any good silicon valley company would do: they put their money into research and development .
worlds of wonder said that its banks are expected to provide financing over the next 60 days while a new operating plan is developed for creditor approval .
with that in mind, kingsborough said worlds of wonder is actively exploring toys that incorporate such high - technology areas as interactive video and artificial intelligence .
on the heels of teddy ruxpin came a second big success from worlds of wonder: lazer tag, a game with guns that shoot infrared beams at targets .
that' s a familiar problem to worlds of wonder. its talking pamela doll was delivered late to toy stores last christmas. the talking dolls by galoob and playmates were big hits, but pamela was a flop .
the brandguide table above concludes the worlds of wonder toys swot analysis along with its marketing and brand parameters. similar analysis has also been done for the competitors of the company belonging to the same category, sector or industry .
stephen d. susman, susman godfrey, karen a. oshman, houston, tx, for defendants - appellees margolis and worlds of wonder shares partnership .
the toy industry is highly competitive... . the relatively low barriers to entry into the toy industry also permit new competitors to easily enter the industry. the company believes it has enjoyed limited competition to its teddy ruxpin product line. due to the success of teddy ruxpin, however, the company anticipates other companies will introduce talking toy products that will compete with teddy ruxpin and other new products announced by the company. such entrants might force price reductions or cause the company to lose market share, which events may adversely affect the company .
worlds of wonder inc. , the toymaker that declared bankruptcy late last year, has asked a federal bankruptcy court for permission to auction off $ 500, 000 worth of surplus furniture and computer equipment, a company attorney confirmed friday .
worlds of wonder, inc. , a california corporation, plaintiff, v. veritel learning systems, inc. , and christopher j. daly, defendants .
by the end of world of wonder' s first year, 1. 4 million teddy ruxpin dolls had been sold. for fiscal 1986, worlds of wonder posted sales of about $ 93 million for earnings of $ 8. 1 million, or 43 cents a share .
its best - known toy, the teddy ruxpin stuffed talking bear, isn' t a big seller anymore. the company is deeply in debt; it recently fired half its work force, and it has put itself up for sale. analysts who follow the industry, in fact, wonder if the northern california toy company will last much beyond christmas .
worlds of wonder took the toy industry by storm in 1985 with the introduction of teddy ruxpin, a $ 70 talking bear. the company had another hit with its lazer tag pistols, but it was plagued by delivery problems, rising costs and an industry slowdown. the company filed for bankruptcy in december 1987, citing assets of $ 313. 6 million and liabilities of $ 312. 1 million .
on paper, worlds of wonder makes toys that involve
electromechanical animation ,
infrared light
and
digital speech .
that' s on paper. on the shelves of toy stores nationwide, kingsborough has cloaked technology beneath a cover of fuzzy fur .
with worlds of wonder and bushnell' s axlon setting the way, it certainly felt like the start of a trend, even if it didn' t end up that way .
staffed by former atari employees and with a big hit on its hands, worlds of wonder tried to ride teddy ruxpin to the promised land. they failed, fast .
investors, too, were dazzled. worlds of wonder went public in june, 1986, at $ 18 a share, but eager stock buyers quickly drove its price up to $ 29. now they' re bailing out. worlds of wonder' s shares closed friday at $ 1. 25 in over - the - counter trading .
this case arises out of the demise of worlds of wonder, inc. (
wow
), a high - technology toy company which sold its products to major toy retailers, mass merchants, and department stores. within a year of its incorporation, wow reached the peak of success for the toy industry when its first product, a talking teddy bear, became the nation' s best selling toy. two years later, however, wow' s sales had declined dramatically, and wow was faced with a serious liquidity crisis. wow filed for bankruptcy protection within three years of its founding .
browse marketing analysis of more brands and companies similar to worlds of wonder toys. the brandguide section covers swot analysis, usp, stp & competition of more than 6000 brands from over 20 categories .
mr. kingsborough could not be reached for comment. a secretary at worlds of wonder headquarters in fremont, calif. , said she did not know how to reach him .
with the strength of its line of toys worlds of wonder’s fortunes rose well beyond its assets. this culminated in a rather spectacular tumble as stock trades by company officers spooked investors. attempting to stem the tide, wow issued non - investment grade bonds, commonly known as
but teddy ruxpin was soon buried by an avalanche of talking toys from competitors. and worlds of wonder was unable to satisfy the initial burst of demand for lazer tag last christmas. demand later subsidied .
the problem continues: costly production difficulties have delayed shipments of radio - controlled muppet toys and wondervision videocassettes until next year. worlds of wonder' s dancing little bopper dolls were delivered late .
two years ago, the start - up company made toy history with teddy ruxpin, a bear that talks with the aid of a special cassette tape. consumers were charmed and paid $ 70 each for the bears. with only teddy, the company had sales of $ 93 million that year, the most ever for a new toy .
the following christmas, lazer tag, a shooting game with infrared light beams, was a boon to sales, which shot to $ 327 million in the company' s fiscal year ended march 1987. that made worlds of wonder one of the fastest - growing companies ever .
san francisco — worlds of wonder, the once high - flying maker of talking teddy bears and other high - tech toys, on monday sought protection from its creditors under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code .
the shooting was believed to be a contributing factor to the demise of worlds of wonder, which first filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy just eight months later, and shut its doors for good in 1990 .
fremont, calif. - based worlds of wonder owes money to a group of hong kong manufacturers, as well as u. s. and foreign banks and suppliers, including the walt disney co .
according to worlds of wonder, the licensee, more than a million teddy ruxpin dolls will be sold by christmas. a spokesman for toys r us, the toy - store chain, said the teddy ruxpins are selling better than cabbage patch dolls did during their first year .
i have a worlds of wonder pamela doll. she talks on her own just fine. however, when i put a cartridge in her, nothing happens. am i doing something wrong ?
nearly 30 years earlier, a situation with many parallels to the crawford shooting played a contributing role in the failure of worlds of wonder. it didn' t involve an airsoft gun, but a misunderstood game of lazer tag .
attorneys for worlds of wonder said they are negotiating for continued financing from bank creditors .
they are definitely planning a product line for next year ,
said ronald s. orr of gibson, dunn & crutcher .
“the thing with toy box always was ‘oh, this isn’t iron man. this is a toy of iron man! ’” said the source, “which gave us a lot more liberty in terms of approvals and all that stuff. having a toy box story mode would give us more free reign. ”
if an investor doesn' t step forward to bail out the company, worlds of wonder may not be around next year, says barry rothberg, an analyst with mabon, nugent & co. in new york .
in no way can it salvage this year ,
he says .
worlds of wonder, with $ 327 million in sales during its last fiscal year, isn' t much of a factor in the $ 12. 5 - billion toy industry. it is dwarfed by larger and long - established giants such as hasbro and mattel, which each have sales that exceed $ 1 billion .
to date, the company has marketed from a single product line, the world of teddy ruxpin. the product life cycle of a toy line is relatively short. successful new products and new product lines may therefore be crucial to the success of the company' s business... . the company has only limited experience in product introductions, and product line expansion will place great demands on management and other company resources. if the teddy ruxpin product line loses market acceptance, or if new product introductions are unsuccessful, the company' s business would be affected adversely .
having a lot of toys is not what worlds of wonder is about. what children gain from our toys is social value. lazer tag teaches them to play with each other, and teddy ruxpin teaches bravery and friendship .
by merging modern technology and old - fashioned toys and games, worlds of wonder is cutting a path in the world of
techno toys
and has produced two of the best - selling - - and most talked about - - toys of the holiday season .
before he started worlds of wonder, founder donald kingsborough had worked at atari, as did many of his employees. and he wasn' t alone: his primary competitor in the talking toy space was nolan bushnell, kingsborough' s old boss at atari and a man who had experience with anthropomorphic characters as the founder of chuck e. cheese .
the company' s cash flow from operations, existing bank lines of credit and the proceeds of this offering may not be sufficient to provide the working capital required beyond the end of fiscal 1987. thereafter, the company may have to obtain additional working capital from expanded bank borrowings or through additional debt or equity financings. if the company is unable to obtain adequate working capital from these sources on acceptable terms, its operations would be adversely affected. a significant portion of the company' s working capital is composed of accounts receivable. the company believes the toy industry is characterized by accounts receivable on extended terms, especially in the summer months, and as a result a material portion of the company' s accounts receivable are aged longer than 90 days. the company' s liquidity may be adversely affected by excessive aging of its accounts receivable .
worlds of wonder went public and became an overnight darling of wall street as its price shot up. unfortunately, in a brief three and a half years the company filed for protection from its creditors in 1987. large r & d, advertising, production, distribution, logistical, and repair costs hampered the company' s ability to grow as quickly as it wanted to and it soon owed payment to many creditors. over the next two years, the company reorganized. worlds of wonder went on creating new products until 1991, when it closed its doors for good. its products were licensed to hasbro, which continued to sell teddy ruxpin until 1997. to date, over 40 million teddy ruxpins have been sold - - enough to populate a small nation .
- company, best known for its teddy ruxpin talking teddy bear and lazer tag gun game .
that cost, which would be a hard - to - swallow $ 156. 55 today, was an immensely expensive price for a state - of - the - art toy. but tens of thousands of people paid around that much in its first month on the market, turning worlds of wonder into an overnight success story—one that initially didn' t have the benefit of a saturday morning cartoon .
bernard shapiro, a los angeles attorney who represents a committee of the company' s unsecured creditors, said proceeds from the auction will likely go into the company' s coffers, not creditors' pockets .
“the way i explain toy design to students is, don’t think about the toy as an object, ” says krystina castella. for the past 24 years castella has taught in both the graduate industrial design (grad id) and the product design departments, and these days her most popular course is toy design. “design an experience, ” she continues, “and think of the toy as the tool to bring about that experience. ”
still in early access, lego worlds is the company’s answer to minecraft. a natural next step for lego, the game aspires to become the ultimate creative sandbox for the next generation. in worlds, players explore and customize infinitely variable worlds, as well as create and play within structures and environments of their own design. “it’s like a cleanly organized bin of virtual lego bricks, ” says winger of worlds, which his group developed and handed over to another team. “it offers unlimited access to everything, plus no more sorting to find that red 2x2 slope in the pile. ”
i just love worlds of wonder’s class act line of school products (as i have already mentioned here). i finally managed to get my hands on what i consider to be the flagship of the line, the express - it locker answering machine. here’s an unboxing .
kingsborough said worlds of wonder could not produce the talking teddies fast enough to meet the demand - - despite having chartered jumbo jets to deliver planeloads of teddy ruxpins from manufacturing sites in hong kong, china and taiwan to ensure an ample supply for the holidays .
1. the company was big brand name 2. diverse line of franchises in its portfolio 3. the products were of high quality
this action arises out of the collapse of worlds of wonder, inc. (
wow
), a high - technology toy company. plaintiffs, a class of purchasers of wow stock and debentures, brought an action under the federal securities laws against various individuals and firms involved in wow' s securities offerings. on january 20, 1993, this court entered an order granting summary judgment in favor of every defendant (the
order
). see page 850. plaintiffs now move the court to reconsider its order. 1
7. a company' s liquidity, or immediate access to cash, is evidenced by factors other than total sales, such as the company' s ability to collect accounts receivable and the amounts of cash available on existing bank credit lines. it is common for a company to disclose these factors in a prospectus .
jordan said the new investors intend to keep the company' s 120 employees and its fremont headquarters .
mr. kingsborough, a graduate of the university of california at berkeley, was a salesman for several years before forming dk marketing in 1976, which did some work for atari. in 1983 mr. kingsborough sold dk marketing to atari and joined the company as head of sales and distribution. he left in 1984 and founded his toy company the next year .
mr. jacobs recently led a group that acquired the baltimore orioles baseball team. the propective new management group for worlds of wonder also includes franklyn s. barry jr. , the former president of fisher - price toys, and david edelman, the former president of ingram software .
worlds of wonder general counsel anne jordan said the vast majority of the purchase price will go to wow' s secured creditors, algemene bank nederland n. v. and a group of five banks lead by first national bank of chicago. together, the secured lenders are owed about $ 100 million .
( by the way, about that $ 70 price tag: it could have been a lot worse. according to fortune, when the company first showed off the toy at a toy fair, it was a $ 150 prototype. they had to nickel and dime it into something that was at least somewhat reasonably priced. )
but its latest financial report, for the quarter ended oct. 31, showed a record loss of $ 43 million on declining sales of $ 49. 7 million. worlds of wonders' products include teddy ruxpin, a talking bear, and lazer tag, an electronic toy .
the two incidents, while having much in common, were each defined by their respective eras. in the crawford incident, the police officers received much of the criticism from the public. but in the death of leonard falcon, much the blame was largely directed toward worlds of wonder .
2. debentures are unsecured debt, as opposed to bonds, which are secured by the assets of the issuing company .
in addition to the bank line of credit, the company recently negotiated a $ 35 million unsecured import financing line which expires on december 31, 1987. as of june 3, 1987, the company had standby letters of credit of approximately $ 32 million outstanding under this line .
the company' s development of its management information system and other systems and control procedures has at times lagged behind its growth. while the company continues to upgrade its systems, procedures and controls to meet the demands of its expansion, there can be no assurance that the company can successfully implement these enhancements or that these enhancements will keep pace with growth .
the way we' re able to do it is pretty simple ,
kingsborough said .
it' s my opinion that too many toy companies build a toy first and then convince kids to buy it. we spend thousands of hours asking kids to imagine what they would like in a toy, and there are some pretty far - fetched things .
this christmas, the company is depending on sales of julie, a $ 119 talking doll with sensors that allow it to
read
special storybooks or
feel
cold. the company is shipping 150, 000 this christmas .
worlds of wonder staff members continue to frequently poll school - aged children to learn what they prefer in a toy, and, according to kingsborough, the greatest response is that they want to be able to fly .
i don' t think we' d literally make kids fly ,
he said ,
but if we could, that would be a hot product .
worlds of wonder chose not to comment on falcon' s shooting when it took place, and when called by jerry rubin, the southern california coordinator for the national stop war toys campaign, he said that he was
shocked by their insensitivity
to the incident .
alchemy ii is also earning royalties on a just - released teddy ruxpin talking doll, a hot item despite its steep $ 70 retail price. the toy is made by a fremont, calif. , company through a licensing agreement .
worlds of wonder can survive an industry shakeout, he argued, because its toys have lasting appeal. talking toys aren' t a fad, he argued, but a category that will last for years .
there will always be a teddy ruxpin ,
he says .
seasonality of quarterly results... . the company anticipates that net sales for the quarter ending june 30, 1987 will be less than those for each of the prior three quarters, and the company expects to report a loss for the quarter... .
wonder. the 1980’s was full of it. the ‘80s were an era of wonder. they were for me; i was just coming of age in the mid - ‘80s and found wonder wherever i looked. they were for others as well. many people likewise found wonder wherever they looked, so many that a coworker of mine once commented on it. sometime in 1999, he contrasted the ‘80s with the ‘90s in this way: “in the ‘80s, we thought everything was high tech even though it wasn’t. in the ‘90s, everything was high tech and we didn’t notice. ”
net sales... . because sales of toys are highly seasonal, the company would generally expect net sales to be lower in the first half of the calendar year. the company' s net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 1987 were lower than net sales in each of the preceding two quarters. similarly, the company expects net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1988 to be lower than sales for each of the prior three quarters. at the same time, the company is continuing to expand its operations in anticipation of the christmas selling season. as a result, the company expects to report a net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 1988 proportionally greater than the net loss reported for the first quarter of fiscal 1987 .
it is
an extreme example of a company that has gone too far, too fast ,
says john e. klauer. he is chief financial officer of axlon, a 2 - year - old silicon valley company that has stopped making high - tech toys .
details of the bankruptcy filing were not immediately available. the move was precipitated by a
cash shortage resulting from an inability to get timely collection from customers ,
said stephen kaplan, an attorney with the firm of gibson, dunn & crutcher, which is representing the toy maker. customers slowed payments as word of the company' s problems spread, he said. officials of the company could not be reached for comment monday .
forsse found cost - effective ways to shrink disney' s animatronic technology to toy level. a texas heiress contributed $ 15 million to the effort on the condition that the toys would be designed to enhance the quality of play for all children, providing an alternative to the violence in video games, television and movies. the company established to employ forsee' s inventions ,
worlds of wonder
, was headquartered in fremont, california. its first product was teddy ruxpin, an animated, talking teddy bear. it was an overnight success .
and went through a series of layoffs. the creditors continued to operate the company in receivership until finally closing its doors in late 1990 .
see in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 694 f. supp. 1427 (n. d. cal. 1988) (dismissing plaintiffs' complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with federal rule of civil procedure 9 (b) ) [ wow i ]; in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 721 f. supp. 1140 (n. d. cal. 1989) (dismissing in part plaintiffs' amended complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to federal rule of civil procedure 12 (b) (6) ) [ wow ii ]; in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 1989 - 90 fed. sec. l. rep. (cch) p 95, 004, 1990 wl 61951 (n. d. cal. 1990) (certifying plaintiffs' class as those who purchased wow securities between june 20, 1986 and november 9, 1987) [ wow iii ]; in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 1990 fed. sec. l. rep. (cch) p 95, 689, 1990 wl 260675 (n. d. cal. 1990) (denying shareholders' initial motion for summary judgment on the insider trading claims) [ wow iv ]; in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 1992 fed. sec. l. rep. (cch) p 97, 018, 1992 wl 330411 (n. d. cal. 1992) (granting plaintiffs' motion to quash defendants' subpoenas of absent class members) [ wow v ]; in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 147 f. r. d. 208 (n. d. cal. 1992) (denying officers' motion to quash plaintiffs' subpoena to securities exchange commission for documents from an investigation of wow) [ wow vi ]; in re worlds of wonder sec. litig. , 147 f. r. d. 214 (n. d. cal. 1992) (denying plaintiffs' motion to compel deloitte to produce internal audit manuals) [ wow vii ]
one of the few times kingsborough ever tried to say no, osterhout recalls, was when the toymaker brought him an ordinary - looking toy car .
the company said that it would file the plan shortly and that it expected to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings by early may .
maybe' toy valley' will become a reality here ,
kingsborough said in a 1985 interview with the new york times .
meanwhile, worlds of wonder no longer has the
talking toy
market to itself. such competitors as mattel, playmates inc. , lewis r. galoob toys, coleco and ideal have talking toys. the market is so crowded with toys that burp, cough, sneeze and hiccup that no one is expected to do well. richard sallis, a marketing vice president at playmates inc. in la mirada, predicts a shakeout .
worlds of wonder - 6, 156 photos - 19, 177 reviews - amusement & theme park - entertainment city | sec - 38 a | entry from gate no. 11, adjacent to gardens galleria mall / the great india place mall, noida - new delhi / ncr, noida, india 201303
in this appeal, we consider the saga of worlds of wonder, inc. (
wow
), a toy company that sold $ 80 million of
junk bonds
to the investing public in june 1987. when wow defaulted on its very first interest payment and filed for bankruptcy just six months later, rendering the securities worthless, a class of disappointed investors filed this securities - fraud action, naming as defendants wow' s officers, directors, auditors, underwriters, and major shareholders. the district court granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants and the investors appealed. after considering a myriad of issues, we affirm in part and reverse in part .
worlds of wonder said it expects to file a reorganization plan with the u. s. bankruptcy court in late april or may. if the court approves the plan, jacobs and a management team lead by frank barry, former president of fisher - price toys, and david edelman, former president of ingram software, will take over almost immediately .
the plaintiffs next argue that the following debenture prospectus description of wow' s internal controls was materially misleading: information systems and control procedures. the company' s business has grown dramatically in the last year, and the company' s development of its management information system and other systems and control procedures has at times lagged behind this growth. while the company continues to upgrade its systems, procedures and controls to meet the demand of its expansion, there can be no assurance that the company can successfully implement these enhancements or that these enhancements will keep pace with the growth .
on the toy front, the non - iron man highlights were hot toys’ 1 / 6th - scale figurines of captain america and an evil version of the previous christopher reeve superman .
when a company fails, it does not automatically mean that a violation of the securities laws has occurred. there are a number of risks involved whenever one invests in any company... . the securities laws do not insulate investors against stock downturns which are caused by events not foreseeable to the company' s management, nor do they provide insurance against risks that were disclosed to investors at the time they purchased the securities .
and the fact that worlds of wonder thought it could charge that much reflects two things: the product probably cost a lot to build on a per - unit basis (rks design, which helped formulate the talking bear, puts the cost at
under $ 20 ,
but the fact that a design firm had its fingerprints on the product in the first place highlights that this was no ordinary toy), and it was also marketed a lot .
wow' s fortunes took a drastic turn for the worst shortly after the debenture offering. financial results for the quarter ended june 30, 1987 were below the company' s internal projections, even though the company had already predicted a substantial loss for the quarter. wow' s management hoped that the decline in sales was due to the normal seasonality of the toy business, where most sales occur during the christmas season .
disney infinity ’s toy box mode is different from playsets, which are franchise - specific slices of missions and environments. playsets have licensing restrictions, stopping players from using whatever toy they want to. in other words, star wars characters can’t play with marvel ones in the level packs made about marvel movies .
the company missed an opportunity with lazer tag, too. the toy, a game with guns that shoot infrared beams at targets, was a big hit last year. but many shipments didn' t arrive until after christmas, and retailers were left with unsold gun sets .
.... at june 3, 1987, the company had outstanding borrowings of approximately $ 80 million, representing the maximum amounts available under the borrowing limits of its bank line of credit .
but its high - flying status on wall street and its recent dive continue to make it a company to watch in silicon valley .
following the ipo, wow continued to grow rapidly. wow' s second major toy was lazer tag, a game involving toy weapons that used infrared technology. lazer tag, like teddy ruxpin, was wildly successful when it first hit the market. it was the best selling toy for the 1986 christmas season. also, teddy ruxpin maintained its popularity for the most part during 1986. in lazer tag and teddy ruxpin, wow had two of the ten best selling toys for the 1986 christmas season. at the beginning of 1987, wow was the toast of the toy industry, having recorded net sales of over $ 327 million for the previous fiscal year .
worlds of wonder' s creditors include a five - member group of banks led by first national bank of chicago. the group, whose members are barclays american business credit, centerre bank, first national bank of louisville and chicago - tokyo bank, is owed a total of $ 79 million, according to attorney patrick a. murphy, whose firm - - murphy, weir & butler - - represents the banks .
the toymaker filed for protection under chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code in december, following lackluster sales and mounting costs due to a rapid expansion of the company' s business .
today, rahardjanoto works as a creative director for goldieblox, a toy company dedicated to “leveling the playing field” with its construction sets designed for girls, with the ultimate goal of getting more girls interested in the field of engineering—a perfect fit for the designer. “i’m back to empowering future generations through new toys, ” she says .
osterhout will unveil what he hopes is that next great idea - or rather, several of them - at toy fair 2000 in february in new york. he and his team have been tinkering away in the odg labs, turning more of his childhood fantasies into real - world prototypes that the big toy companies then turn into must - haves .
capital requirements... . to meet seasonal working capital requirements, the company has borrowed, and expects to continue to borrow, substantial amounts... . the company anticipates that the proceeds of this offering, together with cash flow from operations, existing lines of credit and new bank credit facilities presently being negotiated, will provide sufficient funds to meet the company' s capital needs through march 31, 1988. however, if the company is unable to obtain adequate capital from this offering and such new bank credit facilities on acceptable terms, its operations would be adversely affected... .
whether it’s one element of a $ 1 billion brand or a stand - alone product, the ultimate purpose of a toy, as castella points out, is to bring about a desired experience .
electronic toys now account for more than half of the $ 20 billion toy business, and the tech - toy gold rush has set off a mad scramble involving market leaders hasbro and mattel, subsidiaries like tiger and sound bites (both owned by hasbro), and a handful of independent players like playmates, bandai, radica, and takara .
the toy companies are all screaming for cool tech that they can sell at the magic price ,
says osterhout .
they' re desperate .
angelo m. pezzani; donald d. kingsboro; richard b. stein; john b. howenstein; barry h. margolis; deloitte & touche; smith barney, harris upham & co. , inc. ; dean witter reynolds, inc. ; josephine e. abercrombie; worlds of wonder shares partnership; and robinson interests, inc .
disney’s cancellation of its lucrative toy - centric disney infinity series is even more shocking given the tantalizing plans for the series that two sources close to the project have shared with kotaku .
the company' s existing bank lines of credit and import financing line expire september 30, 1987 and december 31, 1987, respectively. to meet seasonal working capital requirements, the company has borrowed, and expects to continue to borrow, substantial amounts under these lines, both of which it expects to replace or extend prior to expiration. the company anticipates that the proceeds of this offering, together with cash flow from operations, existing lines of credit and new bank credit facilities currently being negotiated, will provide sufficient funds to meet the company' s capital needs through march 31, 1988. however, if the company is unable to obtain adequate capital from this offering and such new bank credit facilities on acceptable terms, its operations would be adversely affected. see
management' s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations—liquidity and capital resources .
it' s kind of sad, they had the foundations of a great game that could have grained massive amounts of potential, but what killed it is the fact you could use most of the characters in the worlds, only in the toy box area, i wanted to play mickey mouse in the incredible world. if they had the use any character in any world, i' m sure it would have survived
and those high tech worlds of wonder products could not be limited to the play room or living room. no, they infiltrated the class room as well. in 1987, worlds of wonder released a line of high tech school products. this line included sack - it (a backpack), book - it (a day planner), stack - it (a locker organization system), stuff - it (a binder), and, at the crème de la crème, express - it (a locker answering machine). high tech. oh yes. high tech indeed. so high tech that they were not only rocking a theme with the names of their products (making everything “something - it”) but doing so years before apple did .
plaintiffs are a class of purchasers of stock and debentures issued by worlds of wonder, inc. (
wow
). plaintiffs have sued several officers of wow, two members of wow' s board of directors, wow' s independent auditor, the underwriters of wow' s securities offerings, and several major shareholders of wow stock. plaintiffs allege federal claims under section 11 and section 12 (2) of the securities act of 1933, and also section 10 (b) of the exchange act of 1934 and rule 10b - 5 of the securities and exchange commission promulgated thereunder. in addition, plaintiffs allege state law claims of fraud and negligent misrepresentation .
6 .
professional investors, and most amateur investors as well, know how to devalue the optimism of corporate executives, who have a personal stake in the future success of the company .
when a company fails, it does not automatically mean that a violation of the securities laws has occurred. there are a number of risks involved whenever one invests in any company. the function of the federal securities laws is to provide investors with full disclosure of these risks, and to prevent fraud. the securities laws do not insulate investors against stock downturns which are caused by events that were not foreseeable to the company' s management, nor do they provide insurance against risks that were disclosed to investors at the time they purchased the securities .
the court fails to see the logic in plaintiffs' argument. the amount of revenue posted by a company during a prior year is a number that exists only on paper to reflect total sales during that year. the amount of actual cash the company has access to at the moment is not necessarily related to its total sales in the previous year. this is a separate issue, and investors are savvy enough to look in places other than the company' s statement of revenue to find out the relevant facts on the company' s immediate access to cash. 7 the market would not interpret wow' s running out of cash as a signal that its revenues for the previous year were overstated .
osterhout' s crash - and - burn episode with machina hasn' t shaken the faith of his true believers outside the company, either. his agent at william morris, paul bricault, still has big hollywood plans for him. bricault wants to hook him up with directors and screenwriters in need of gadget ideas, then use him as bait to get major toy companies behind a film .
hasbro is going to be more interested if we' ve got a movie and ralph is attached as the toy designer ,
says bricault .
his departure as chairman and chief executive was part of an agreement with banks and unsecured creditors and was approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing the chapter 11 proceedings, the company said .
the officer defendants have submitted testimony that they believed the decline in lazer tag sales to be due to the normal seasonality of toy sales, which was adequately disclosed in the debenture prospectus. the officer defendants also offer testimony that they believed sales of lazer tag would increase by the christmas season, which was reasonable given that lazer tag was a best selling toy during the prior christmas season .
there can be no assurance that the company will successfully complete the development of its new products or that it will be successful in manufacturing... or marketing the products in the face of intense competition ;
since its inception, the company' s internally generated cash flow has not been sufficient to finance accounts receivable, inventory and capital equipment needs, as well as support its growth. the company has met its capital requirements to date primarily through borrowings under bank lines of credit, the private and public sale of equity securities and borrowings under subordinated notes payable to shareholders .
this is a rare worlds of wonder promotional video showing footage of prototype hector, baby teddy ruxpin and grubby (grubby was never released), mickey mouse and goofy, and the lil' bopper' s set. special thanks goes to my friend mathue taxion for finding this for me, as well as urltoken for originally hosting the video and allowing me to share it on here. you guys are so awesome: d
heading into this christmas season, kingsborough, 39, is riding last year' s success of teddy ruxpin, the talking teddy bear, and is counting on lazer tag, an infrared version of the childhood game of tag, to become the hot shot of the 1986 toy season .
but tiger had plenty of bad ideas like this (looking at you, r - zone), and they never took down the company, because they could always rely on their lcd consoles .
the marvel presence was awe - inspiring at stgcc – its booth was constantly swarming with visitors and participants (the free flow of gifts also helped) and almost every toy maker capitalising on iron man - ia .
what tickles masilko is that bloom essentially replicates a style of play that’s existed since the ice age, but enables it to happen from a distance. “the imagination and fun that happens comes from the two people using the toy, ” says masilko, who posits commercial toys are sometimes so plugged into a company’s branding and story portfolio that it constrains play. “sure, you can create all this media and software that updates, but that might actually mean less space for open - ended play. in some ways you might be better off with a simple metal toy car. ”
while the company believes that the technical risks in the development of [ the product line ] are well controlled, the product cost objectives are very aggressive and there is no assurance they can be achieved .
this case is before the court on the motion of plaintiff worlds of wonder, inc. (
w. o. w .
) for a preliminary injunction against defendants veritel learning systems, inc. (
veritel
) and christopher j. daly (
daly
). upon review of the motion, memoranda, affidavits and exhibits, the court is of the opinion that plaintiff' s motion is meritorious. consequently, for the reasons stated below, plaintiff' s motion is granted. [ 1 ]
welcome to the silicon valley' s latest riches - to - rags story. bolstered by the success of teddy ruxpin, the company poured money into development of more than 100 high - technology toys. only a few have paid off .
although his business philosophy may sound simple, kingsborough has managed to carve out a niche in a battlefield of 700 players dominated by such giant toy makers as mattel toys inc. , coleco industries inc. and hasbro bradley inc .
osterhout is ailing - he has a mild case of pneumonia - but that doesn' t seem to faze him. he' s hemorrhaging arcane toy information, peppering the engineers with questions that he usually ends up answering himself .
los angeles - - onald kingsborough traded a career in personal computers for talking teddy bears and toy guns. but don' t think for a moment the former atari corp. executive regrets the decision .
another less public challenge for the disney infinity project was the balancing act of collaborating with the other disney - owned stakeholders marvel and lucasfilm that led to overreach. one said that when the developers wanted marvel’s guardians of the galaxy included, they had to include a full range of characters, including a toy for the blue - skinned yondu, a relatively minor character from the film. yondu’s inclusion may have been a well - intentioned gesture to represent the full cast, but the toy was a flop .
within three years, the company employed over 400 workers. follow - on innovations included the microprocessor powered interactive dolls pamela and julie, gt super screamer race cars and the laser tag game .
this warm spring day finds her at toymaker mattel’s headquarters in the city of el segundo, about three miles southwest of lax. artcenter students enrolled in a sponsored project are busy presenting their concepts for the future of vehicles—of the 1 / 64 die - cast variety—to an auditorium packed with the company’s designers and executives, many of them college alumni.
worlds of wonder or wow was a 1980s american toy company founded by former atari employees , including don kingsborough and mark robert goldberg . 
worlds of wonder or wow was a 1980s american toy company founded by former atari employees, including don kingsborough and mark robert goldberg.
worlds of wonder or wow was a 1980s american toy company founded by former atari employees, including don kingsborough and mark robert goldberg.