Hasbro

Hasbro Toys from 1923 to 2000 and beyond

Hasbro was originally founded in 1923 by two brothers, Henry and Helal Hassenfeld, in a small office in Providence Rhode Island. It was originally named Hassenfeld Brothers, and sold textiles before moving into school supplies and pencil boxes. Henry Hassenfeld's son, Merrill, became the president of the company and had helped to expand its product lines to include paint sets, toys, crayons, as well as doctor and nurse kits. In 1952 Hasbro created a groundbreaking toy that was the first to be advertised on Television. Mr. Potato Head was their first major toy success that revolutionized the toy industry. In 1964 they launched the world's first action figure, Gi Joe. They wanted to provide poseable toys for boys, and this later proved to be an American Icon even today.

In 1968 Hassenfeld Brother's officially changed their name to Hasbro Industries that became a publicly trade company with a listing on the American Stock Exchange. Their companies growth increased even greater by by 1968 with the successes of Mr. Potato Head, and Gi Joe. They eventually went on to purchase Romper Room, the world's longest running children's Television show.

The 1980's was a successful decade for Hasbro, as they saw major successes in their toy line and brand names. In 1982 Gi Joe once again returned to the stage in a 3-3/4" scale figure, and was name "A Real American Hero". This spawned an animated Television series hit, as well as a successful comic book line. By 1984 they had purchased the Milton Bradley Company, which combined the best toy company in the world with the largest game companies.

In 1984 Hasbro had another hit with toys for boys with their launch of Transformers, die-cast cars and planes that transformed into robots. Their sales had risen and had gone on to include a Television series, comic book line as well as a movie.

The 1990's was another exciting decade for this major company. In 1991 they had acquired Tonka Toys which included Tonka, Play- Dough, Easy-Bake Oven, Nerf, Monopoly and a wide range of licensed properties such as Star Wars and Batman. In 1992 Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers board games became consolidated under the name Hasbro Games. Hasbro Interactive was created in 1995, and they had acquired the Larami Company which made the Super Soakers and other water toys. Later in the 90's they had also sold Koosh toys, Furby and the ever popular Pokemon.

The year 2000 and beyond saw Hasbro team up with the Walt Disney Company. They became the master toy licensees for all Disney event films, and was named the official toy and game company for Walt DisneyWorld, Disneyland and Euro Disney. Other successes beyond 2000 include: TinkerToy, Tiger Electronics HitClips, E-Kara Real Karaoke and Bob The Builder Talking Scoop. They also continued successes with Gi Joe, and Transformers with sales up 46-64%.

For a great selection of Hasbro toys check out our buyers guide for great sites like Amazon, and KBToys who offer competitive prices and high quality products.

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About The Author:

David Sacco is a successful author and publisher of http://www.a1-in-toys.com. A great source of toys for children of all ages, from that early child to teens and hobbyists.