Discovery Toys

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Not to be confused with Discovery Kids, a brand name owned by Discovery Communications which is unrelated to this company.
Discovery Toys
IndustryMulti-level marketing
Founded1978; 44 years ago (1978)
FounderLane Nemeth
HeadquartersLivermore, California, U.S.
Key people
Jerry Salerno (CEO)
ProductsToys
Websitewww.discoverytoys.com

Discovery Toys is a multi-level marketing company specializing in educational toys.[1] Its products are sold in the U.S. and Canada, and its headquarters are in Livermore, California.

History[]

Discovery Toys was founded as a multi-level marketing company in 1978 by Lane Nemeth, a former daycare director, with a $5,000 family loan.[1][2] According to Nemeth, the company had 2,500 sales "consultants" in 1982 and had reached $4.6 million in revenue the previous year.[3] Ms. Nemeth grew the company to a $100 million in annual revenue by 1997 then sold the company to Avon[4] who sold it in 2002 to a private equity group. Discovery Toys was acquired by and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eos International, Inc. in July 2001.[1]

One of the company's top selling toys is Marbleworks. Released in 1982 it consists of colorful, sloped, plastic half-pipes of different designs. The individual pieces interlock, creating a track on which marbles are run. Marbleworks was included in Discovery's product line when Discovery Toys expanded into China in 2003.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Eos International, Inc. Form 10-K (2001)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Nancy Rutter (July 1, 1990). "Greer vs. Nemeth". Inc. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  3. ^ Steve Kaufman (November 7, 1982). "Entrepreneur's sales thrive from educational toy parties". Boca Raton News (Knight Ridder). Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  4. ^ Coco Masters (April 4, 2005). "Let's Pawty!". Time. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  5. ^ Kathy Chen (2003-09-24). "Discovery Toys Will Launch Its Toys and Games in China". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-19.

External links[]


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