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When did Little Tikes come out?
The Little Tikes™ Company was founded in 1969 and is still headquartered in Hudson, OH. Discover The Little Tikes™ Company's Story.
How Long Has Little Tikes been in business?
Little TikesTypeSubsidiaryFoundedNovember 10, 1969FounderTom G. Murdough Jr.HeadquartersHudson, Ohio , U.S.Area servedWorldwide6 more rows
Who is Little Tykes owned by?
Rubbermaid Inc.Little Tikes is the fourth-largest American toy manufacturer and one of the top three toy makers for the pre-school market. A wholly owned subsidiary of Rubbermaid Inc., Little Tikes has enjoyed meteoric growth over the past decade.
Who invented Little Tikes?
In the early 1990s, Little Tikes founder Thomas Murdough Jr. also started a competing toymaker called Step2 in nearby Streetsboro, Ohio. Step2 makes makes products including plastic playhouses, furniture, wagons and ride-on toys at factories in Streetsboro and Perrysville, Ohio.
Are Little Tikes toys from the 80s safe?
Little Tikes products are regularly tested and retested safe for lead and other heavy metals. We also do not use BPA, latex or harmful PVC and/or phthalates. Little Tikes strives toward higher than required standards to ensure that we not only meet the acceptable limits of compliance, but more often exceed them.
Is Little Tikes made in America?
The Little Tikes Company is located in the heartland of America. Shop our large selection of toys made in the USA.
Are Step2 and Little Tikes the same company?
As the founder of Little Tikes™, Step2™ and Simplay3™, he brought groundbreaking ideas to the toy industry with landmark innovations.
How much did Little Tikes sell for?
The Hudson facility employed 380 workers in 1983 but increased to 500 employees by 1985. Murdough sold Little Tikes to Rubbermaid in 1984 for $50 million but remained for five years in a leadership role.
Is Fisher Price and Little Tikes the same?
Fisher-Price's brand is ranked #- in the list of Global Top 1000 Brands, as rated by customers of Fisher-Price. Little Tikes's brand is ranked #- in the list of Global Top 1000 Brands, as rated by customers of Little Tikes....Fisher-Price vs Little Tikes.55%Promoters28%Detractors1 more row
What is Little Tikes plastic made of?
Little Tikes toys are made with recyclable plastics (specifically High-Density Polyethylene, Low-Density Polyethylene, & Polypropylene).
What did the original Cozy Coupe look like?
Little Tikes accepted the overall design enthusiastically, but for production a yellow roof took the place of a black one. A classic was born. The original Cozy Coupe features slender A-pillars in black, a decal emulating square sealed-beam headlights, and a little "trunk" out back.
Where is Little Tikes manufactured?
Hudson, OhioLittle Tikes'® headquarters and largest manufacturing facility are located in Hudson, Ohio. The company also has a number of locations outside the United States, including several manufacturing and distribution centers in Europe and Asia.
Are Step2 and Little Tikes the same company?
As the founder of Little Tikes™, Step2™ and Simplay3™, he brought groundbreaking ideas to the toy industry with landmark innovations.
Is Fisher Price and Little Tikes the same?
Fisher-Price's brand is ranked #- in the list of Global Top 1000 Brands, as rated by customers of Fisher-Price. Little Tikes's brand is ranked #- in the list of Global Top 1000 Brands, as rated by customers of Little Tikes....Fisher-Price vs Little Tikes.55%Promoters28%Detractors1 more row
How many Little Tikes cars have been sold?
By the early 1990s, the Cozy Coupe was selling briskly enough to be called "the bestselling car in America." More than 10 million units have been sold worldwide.
Where are Little Tikes products made?
Little Tikes, founded in 1970, is known for its large, outdoor-friendly plastic toys, including playhouses, sandboxes, water tables, and the iconic Cozy Coupe push car. Based in Hudson, Ohio, the company still manufactures toys there — 141 toys, to be exact, according to the Little Tikes website.
Who started Little Tikes?
Little Tikes was founded in 1970 by Thomas G. Murdough. Murdough became interested in the toy business in 1968 when his then-employer, Wilson Sporting Goods, asked him to run marketing for its Wonder Products subsidiary. The late 1960s saw the toy industry undergo a period of intense transformation, as smaller companies and distributors found themselves being swallowed up by the big manufacturers. Murdough was reportedly appalled by the increasing shoddiness of toys. According to an article in Fortune, Murdough felt that the toy manufacturers' sole aim had degenerated into bringing toys to market at ever-cheaper prices. This trend was exacerbated by the huge new discount retailers who often sold popular toys at a loss in order to bring people into their stores. Murdough was determined to buck this trend. He quit his marketing job at Wilson and set out to start his own company. Murdough saw a need for well-made plastic toys, as only the cheapest fabrication processes and forms of plastic raw materials were being used in toy manufacture at that time. In 1970, he formed the Little Tikes Co. and, with nine employees, began to manufacture large plastic outdoor play equipment, toy boxes, and children's furniture in an old barn in Aurora, Ohio.
When did Little Tikes start advertising?
2002: Little Tikes launches its first national television advertising campaign.
Why was Murdough important to Little Tikes?
This was important because Little Tikes relied almost exclusively on word-of-mouth to promote its large, and often pricey, plastic play equipment. Murdough was convinced that advertising to kids was not only morally questionable but was also not good business sense. Little Tikes toys were almost exclusively designed for pre-schoolers, an age when pressure to conform to fads is at a minimum. The pre-school market had always shown much more brand loyalty than other segments of the toy industry. Parents tended to choose toys they felt would be durable and safe for the younger child, and they relied on a manufacturer's reputation to ensure this kind of quality.
What was the success of Little Tikes?
The Little Tikes product marketing approach was an overwhelming success. As the baby-boom generation began to have kids of their own, the pre-school toy industry boomed. Little Tikes' image as a sort of parents' toy club encouraged word-of-mouth advertising, and sales soared. The company quickly outgrew the old barn that had served as its headquarters and manufacturing plant and in the mid-1970s moved its operations to a much larger plant in Macedonia, Ohio. Within the next decade, Little Tikes would also open manufacturing plants in Ireland and Canada and begin distribution of its toys outside the United States. By the end of the 1970s, Little Tikes' sales had grown to about $15 million and its product line had expanded to include ride-on toys. In 1979, the company introduced its first major hit toy, the Cozy Coupe ride-in car. This red and yellow foot-powered vehicle was enclosed, unlike the time-honored tricycle, and seemed to give kids a sense of security about venturing forth in the world. By the early 1990s, the Cozy Coupe was the best-selling car in North America, beating both Ford's Taurus and Honda's Accord, which prompted Ford's marketing director to quip that they'd "have to give those kids a good trade-in on a Taurus."
Where are Little Tikes toys made?
To this end, Little Tikes manufacturing and distribution centers were built in Luxembourg and Korea to serve the European and Asian markets. In spite of increased foreign manufacturing, about 80 percent of Little Tikes toys sold in the United States were still manufactured in North America.
What is Little Tikes' goal?
Our common goal is to create and supply innovative children's products that provide fun that lasts to customers and consumers around the world. To reach that goal, Little Tikes' associates' actions are guided by the principles of Customer Satisfaction, Teamwork, Innovation, Marketing, and Continuous Improvement.
How did Murdough help to market toys?
Large discount stores like Kmart tended to "cherry-pick" the hottest items out of a given manufacturer's line and then sell them at or under cost in order to draw parents in. Small retailers were then faced with lowering their prices in order to compete. As their profit margins shrunk to unmanageable levels, they then put pressure on manufacturers to further lower wholesale costs. Murdough avoided this pattern by simply declining to distribute through large discount stores. "Murdough had a good understanding of how not to go to market. He was very careful not to flood the market with merchandise," said one retailing executive in a 1989 Business Week article. Murdough carefully nurtured his relationship with the small toy retailers. By discouraging deep discounting of its most popular toys, Little Tikes kept profit margins high for all its retailers. In exchange, the company insisted that retailers stock the full range of the Little Tikes line.
