Moose Toys

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Moose Toys
TypePrivate company
Industry
  • Toys
  • Entertainment
Founded1985; 37 years ago (1985)
HeadquartersCheltenham,
Melbourne
,
Australia
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Paul Solomon
  • Manny Stul (Chief Executive) and Jacqui Tobias (Director of Girl's Products)
Products
  • Shopkins
  • Real Littles
  • Happy Places
  • Shopkins Cutie Cars
  • Shopkins Lil Secrets
  • Kindi Kids
  • Little Live
  • Little Live Pets
  • The Grossery Gang
  • The Trash Pack
  • Pikmi Pops
  • Really Rad Robots
  • Oonies
  • Bindeez
  • Boom Blast Stix
  • Mineez Despicable Me
  • Mighty Beanz
  • Disney Crossy Road
  • Quixels
  • Betty Spaghetty
  • Twozies
  • Hyper Toss
  • My Fairy Garden
  • Fur Babies World
  • Electronic Games
  • The Zelfs
  • Heroes of Goo Jit Zu
  • Oh My Gif
  • Boom City Racers
  • Scrunchmiez
  • Treasure X
  • #FAILFIX
  • I DIG MONSTERS!
  • Jelli Rez
  • Capsule Chix
  • Goo Goo Galaxy
  • Foam Alive
  • Fortnite Battle Royale Collection
  • Fizz n Surprise
  • Collins Key
  • ChuChu TV
  • Pop N Fun
  • Scruff-a-Luvs
  • Bluey
  • Tom and Jerry
  • Space Jam: A New Legacy
Websitewww.moosetoys.com

Moose Toys (or Moose Enterprises or Moose Creative Management Pty Ltd or The Moose Group) is an Australian-owned toy design, development and distribution company founded in 1985. Moose is headquartered in Australia, has over 600 staff and distributes to over 100 countries.[1]

History[]

In 1985, Moose Toys was founded by Brian Hamersfeld.[2] Later in 2001, Moose was acquired by Chief Executives Manny Stul, Jacqui Tobias and Paul Solomon. The company is based in Cheltenham, Melbourne, Australia[3]

From the 2000's to 2015, revenue for the company grew from $10 million to more than $900 million.[4]

'In 2011, Paul Solomon led a move to distribute Moose Toys products directly into US retail (which ends it's distributer license with Canadian toy company Spin Master), starting with a collectible brand called "The Trash Pack".[5]

In 2014, Moose Toys launched the Shopkins toy line which later grew into a franchise in later years with spin-offs and other merchandise and relocated its main office to Cheltenham, in Melbourne, Australia. The brand in late 2014 also changed it's logo design.

In 2015, at the 15th annual Toy Industry Association's Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards ceremony held in New York City, Moose Toys' Shopkins Small Mart was awarded the '2015 Girl Toy of the Year'[6]

In 2016, Moose was recognised as Toy Vendor of the year in the US by Toys R Us, Target and Walmart[7] CEO Manny Stul also wins the EY World Entrepreneur Year Award, and is the first Australian to do so.[8]

2016: Shopkins won girl toy of the year for the second time running for the Shopkins Scoops Ice Cream Truck at the 16th annual Toy Industry Association's Toy of the Year Awards [9]

2017: Manny Stul inducted into the Australian Toy Industry Hall of Fame [10]

2018: Moose Toys acquired Worlds Apart as part of a European expansion [11]

2019: The Moose portfolio continued to diversify as the business entered the preschool category with Kindi Kids, a Shopkins spin-off which features the popular Shoppies line of dolls as preschoolers.[12]

2021: Awarded five wins at the Australian Toy Awards

2021: Moose expanded into the Canadian market with the launch of a hybrid direct distribution model for a strategic selection of new brands, including Akedo and Bluey [13]

Shopkins[]

Main article: Shopkins

Shopkins are a collectible line of figures based on The Trash Pack figures, designed, and developed by the Moose team in Melbourne, Australia.

Shopkins toys are miniature store item characters. Each Shopkins character is given a name, hobby, hang out, and BFF, intended to create an emotional bond for the collector.[14]

Each new series of Shopkins combines 140+ characters with playsets and accessories. As of December 2015, there are 420 individual characters.[15]

Originally released in June 2014, by December 2015 over 115 million Shopkins had been sold worldwide. Due to the toy line's popularity, it expanded into a franchise including licensed merchandise and spin-offs for the toy line (notably the Shopkins Shoppies line of dolls, Happy Places in which people can decorate homes with Petkins furniture, Cutie Cars which are miniature Shopkins cars, Lil' Secrets, a line similar to Polly Pocket, and Kindi Kids, a Shoppies-spin-off doll line for preschoolers.) [15] Paul Solomon credits his mother Jacqui Tobias, director of girls' products, for the idea of Shopkins.[3]

In December 2015, a one-of-kind glass Shopkin called Gemma Stone sold for $21,500 on eBay with all proceeds going to the Toy Industry Foundation.[15]

Other Product Lines[]

Moose Toys creates, manufactures, and markets toy brands across many categories including action figure, arts, craft & activity, collectible, doll, games, plush, aisles are where you'll find our 'WOW' toy brands. Using ground-breaking designs, the team is constantly thinking outside the (toy)box and pushing innovation boundaries

Recent Awards[]

  • 2021 French Grand Prix du Jouet Toy of the Year: Magic Mixies [32]
  • 2021 French Grand Prix du Jouet Magic Toys : Magic Mixies [32]
  • 2021 French Grand Prix du Jouet Electronic Toys (Friends): Little Live Pets [32]
  • 2021 French Grand Prix du Jouet Fighting Game Toys: Akedo [32]
  • 2021 Global Toy of the Year – Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers: Magic Mixies
  • 2021 Electronic Toy of the Year – Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers: Magic Mixies
  • 2021 ATA Judges Choice Award: Bluey Pool Time Playset [33]
  • 2021 ATA Australian Development Product of The Year: Treasure X Aliens -Ultimate Dissection [34]
  • 2021 ATA Action Product of the Year: Treasure X Sunken Treasure Ship [34]
  • 2021 ATA Craft & Activity Product of the year: JelliRez StyleMi Assortment [34]
  • 2021 ATA Plush Product of the Year: Bluey & Friends Basic Plush [34]
  • 2020 Walmart Toy Supplier of the Year[35]
  • 2020 ATA Australian Development Product of the Year: Treasure X Kings Gold: Treasure Tomb [36]
  • 2020 ATA Collectable of the Year: Shopkins Lil' Shopper Pack, Australian Toy Awards [36]
  • 2020 London Toy Fair Hero Toy of the Fair: Kindi Kids [37]
  • 2020 London Toy Fair Action Figure of the Year: Heroes of Goo Jit Zu [37]
  • 2019 ATA Action figure of the Year: Treasure X Aliens [38]
  • 2019 TOTY : Plush Toy of the Year: Scruff A Luvs [39]
  • 2019 London Toy Fair Plush Toy of the year, Scruff A Luvs: London Toy Fair [40]

Content[]

Animation[]

In 2014, Moose partnered with Pixel Zoo to create Shopkins animated content, including the webisodes.[41] For the launch of Shopkins, a series of animated Webisodes were created for the ShopkinsWorld YouTube channel (now MooseTube Squad). There have been 85 released, along with 6 original music video clips, and has gained millions of views. WildBrain distributes Shopkins content on their channels (including the WildBrain - Cutie Cartoons channel) and, in 2016, has also been placed on Netflix[42] amongst many other territorial stations globally. Moose also partnered with Universal to create 3 direct-to-video movies for global distribution.[43] In 2019, Moose also released a spin-off line of Shopkins intended for preschoolers, Kindi Kids, which was supported by a CGI animated series. In 2021, to promote the toys for Season 5, the brand was supported by a new-look 2D animated series for the series' 4th season.[44]

Moose also created Trash Pack cartoons which ended shortly near the end of the toy franchise in 2014.[45]

In 2016, to promote The Trash Pack's sequel, The Grossery Gang, Moose has done Grossery Gang cartoons which continue to amass views on YouTube. This content includes 3 mini movies and more than 35 webisodes. The first Grossery Gang animated mini movie was released on 28 July 2017 on YouTube to promote Series 3 of the toy franchise.[46]

In 2018, Moose released a digital-first series to support the launch of Treasure X. This 2D content spanned 3 years and continues on MooseTube Mania and the Treasure X Official YouTube pages.[47]

Further work cemented Moose in the boys' space in 2019 with Goo Jit Zu animated content. First releasing in 2019 and gathering over 120 million views on the 5 mini movies that have followed as of November 2021. Further to this, the content has also been placed on Netflix in English, French and German amongst other distribution platforms.[48]

In 2021, Moose announced their partnership with WildBrain on the brand Akedo. This digital-first series launched in June 2021 and is part of a larger partnership between Moose, Wildbrain and CPLG (Consumer Products). This series was brought to YouTube and Amazon Prime initially in both English and French, with wider distribution to come on additional platforms and in Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and Russian in 2022.[49]

Other[]

In October 2015, the first official Shopkins app was released to much success.[50]

Licensed Partnerships[]

Merchandise[]

Moose has licensed Shopkins for additional products through Bulldog Licensing in the UK,[51] The Licensing Shop[52] in the US, and Merchantwise in Australia.[53]

As of January 2016, 51 Shopkins licencees had been signed in North America, including apparel, construction, candy, games, and bedding.[54] In that same month, Shopkins partnered with McDonald's to release special edition Happy Meal toys.[55]

Toys[]

Bluey[]

On June 12, 2019, Moose Toys was named "Global Toy Master" (excluding Asia) for the Australian preschool series, Bluey.[56] Toys based on the show were released on November 2019 in Australia[57] and July (Target) and August (Walmart and Amazon) in 2020 in the U.S.A.[58]

Warner Bros.[]

  • Tom & Jerry: The Movie
  • Space Jam: A New Legacy

Octonauts[]

Moose Toys partnered up with Silvergate Media to release a toy line to promote Octonauts's spin-off, Octonauts: Above & Beyond.[59]

Strawberry Shortcake[]

In September 2021, WildBrain named Moose the new toy partner for the relaunched Strawberry Shortcake franchise, with new toys being released for Early 2022.[60]

YouTubers[]

  • Fortnite
  • ChuChu TV
  • Collins Key

References[]

  1. ^ "Moose Toys: About Us - Learn all bout us and our awesome toys!". Moose Toys.
  2. ^ "Not all fun and games: Paul Solomon". Brw.com.au. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Moose Toys plays at the top of their game; Herald Sun". Herald Sun. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Toy king takes out EY Entrepreneur of the Year". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  5. ^ Bailey, Michael. "How Melbourne's Moose is charging into Mattel's share of US toy market". BRW. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. ^ Group, The Intermedia. "Moose Toys wins big at US toy awards". Australian Giftguide. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Moose Toys Awarded 'Partner Award Of Excellence' By Target". www.retailitinsights.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Manny Stul". www.ey.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. ^ Toys, Moose. "Moose Toys' Shopkins Scoops Ice Cream Truck Wins 2016 Girl Toy of the Year Award". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Aus Toy Membership Hall of Fame".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Sign-up". ToyNews. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Moose Toys launches new preschool range". Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Moose Toys expands global presence with new distribution into Canada". ToyNews. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  14. ^ Al Duwick, Hala. "just-like-the-shopkins-get-your-products-flying-off-shelves-through-powerful-marketing-messages". Global Toy News. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  15. ^ a b c "This Tiny Toy Just Sold for $21,500". FOX40. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Moose Toys: Innovative & award-winning toy company. Making kids happy!". Moose Toys.
  17. ^ Institute, The Good Housekeeping (15 November 2014). "Moose Toys Beados Quick Dry Design Station Review". Good Housekeeping.
  18. ^ "Blingle Bands Brand Page". Moose Toys.
  19. ^ "Dream Seekers". Moose Toys.
  20. ^ "Heroes of Goo Jit Zu". Moose Toys.
  21. ^ "Kindikids Official". Moose Toys.
  22. ^ "Magic Mixies - Magic Cauldron Blue". Moose Toys.
  23. ^ Toys, Moose. "Collectibles King, Moose Toys, Launches The Next Wave of Must-Have Mini Figures". www.prnewswire.com.
  24. ^ "Pikmi Pops". Moose Toys.
  25. ^ Wallace, Mitch. "'Shopkins' Creator Moose Toys Introduces Talkative 'Really Rad Robots'". Forbes.
  26. ^ "Scruff-a-Luvs". Moose Toys.
  27. ^ "ScrunchMiez Brand Page". Moose Toys.
  28. ^ "Squeakee the Balloon Dog". Moose Toys.
  29. ^ Paes, Ralston (25 April 2018). "The Grossery Gang Series 4 Bug Strike & Series 5 Time Wars".
  30. ^ "Trash Pack deal comes up roses".
  31. ^ "Treasure X". Moose Toys.
  32. ^ a b c d "Moose Toys takes Toy of the Year 2021 among slew of wins at Grand Prix du Jouet". Moose Toys. 15 July 2021.
  33. ^ "MOOSE TOYS STEAL THE SHOW AT THE ATA AWARDS WITH FIVE WINS AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW KEY PRODUCT LINE FOR BLUEY!". Moose Toys. 3 March 2021.
  34. ^ a b c d "Moose Toys Wins Five Australian Toy Association Awards". 2 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Moose Toys named Walmart Toy Supplier of the Year". Toy World Magazine | The business magazine with a passion for toys. 5 March 2021.
  36. ^ a b "Even Toys & Games' Genius Square takes out product of the year - Toy & Hobby Retailer". www.toyhobbyretailer.com.au.
  37. ^ a b "Toy Fair's Hero Toys List Announced at Toy Fair 2020". 21 January 2020.
  38. ^ "Ka-pow! Moose wins Action Figure of the Year!". Moose Toys. 7 March 2019.
  39. ^ Toys, Moose. "Moose Toys Wins Prestigious Toy of the Year Award". www.prnewswire.com.
  40. ^ "Worlds Apart celebrates new year Scruff-a-Luvs success". Toy World Magazine | The business magazine with a passion for toys. 6 February 2019.
  41. ^ "Shopkins – Pixel Zoo". Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  42. ^ "Watch Shopkins | Netflix". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  43. ^ Toys, Moose. "Moose Toys Announces Release Of First-Ever Shopkins DVD". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  44. ^ Kindi Kids (Animation), Relish Digital, 4 July 2019, retrieved 11 November 2021
  45. ^ "Toymakers Turn to YouTube". Enterprise. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  46. ^ The Grossery Gang: Time Wars | FULL MOVIE (OFFICIAL) | Videos For Kids, retrieved 11 November 2021
  47. ^ Treasure X OFFICIAL Trailer | Will you find the golden treasure? | Cartoons For Kids, retrieved 11 November 2021
  48. ^ Heroes of Goo Jit Zu (Animation, Action, Comedy), Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Pixel Zoo, 27 June 2019, retrieved 11 November 2021
  49. ^ "MOOSE TOYS DELIVERS A TRIPLE THREAT WITH NEW 'AKEDO' FRANCHISE COMBINING ACTION FIGURES, BATTLING AND COLLECTABILITY". WildBrain. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  50. ^ "Moose Toys launches first Shopkins app". licensing.biz. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  51. ^ Licensing, Bulldog. "Bulldog Continues to Grow Shopkins". Bulldog Licensing. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  52. ^ Global, License. "Shopkins Bags 16 New Licensees". License Global. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  53. ^ Guie, Phil (4 December 2014). "Moose Toys Lines Up New Shopkins Licensees for Toys and Games". The Toy Book. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  54. ^ "Moose Toys Announces New Shopkins Licensees – The Licensing Book Online". licensingbook.com. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  55. ^ Redfield, Yumi (31 December 2015). "Shopkins Season 4: New Shoppie Introduced, Season 4 Roundup, Shopkins App, Happy Meal, News, Updates". Crossmap.
  56. ^ "Moose Toys named as Global Master Toy Partner for Bluey". Moose Toys. Moose Toys. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  57. ^ "Christmas is Sorted... Bluey Toys are hitting Australian stores from November!". Moose Toys. Moose Toys. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  58. ^ "Moose Toys launch Bluey Toys in US Stores This Summer". Moose Toys. Moose Toys. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  59. ^ "Moose Secures Toy Rights to Silvergate Media's Hit IP Octonauts". Moose Toys. Moose Toys. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  60. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (9 September 2021). "WildBrain Bakes Up Fresh 'Strawberry Shortcake' for Today's Kids".
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