Mega Brands
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| Subsidiary of Mattel | |
| Industry |
Toys stationery and crafts |
| Founded | 1967; 49 years ago |
| Founders | Victor and Rita Bertrand |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
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Key people
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Marc Bertrand (CEO) Vic Bertrand (CIO) |
| Products |
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| Brands |
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| Revenue | $405 million (Est. FY 2013) |
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Number of employees
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1,700 (2014) |
| Parent | Mattel |
| Website | megabrands |
Mega Brands, Inc., formerly Mega Bloks, Inc., is a Canadian children's toy company currently owned by Mattel. Mega Bloks, a line of construction set toys, is its most popular product. Its other brands include Mega Puzzles, Board Dudes and Rose Art. The company distributes a wide range of toys, puzzles, and craft-based products.
In 2014, Mega Brands' Bloks was second in sales of toy construction building sets with $4 billion.
In 1967, Victor Bertrand and his wife Rita founded the company as Ritvik Holdings (RH). Ritvik is a portmanteau word based on a combination of Rita and Victor. RH began by distributing toys made outside Canada and also facilitated contracts between foreign brands and Canadian manufacturers.
Ritvik later became a vertically integrated company as it expanded by adding plastic injection molding operations, design operations, tooling manufacturers, and marketing services. The company had a leading share of the plastic injection molded market by the early 1980s.
Wanting to expand beyond Canada, Victor Bertrand took an interest in construction block sets. He saw room for growth despite them being an industry staple since the early years of the 20th century when the Batima Block was released in Belgium in 1905. With Lego being the leading construction toy, Bertrand chose to make a similar set. Bertrand ignored friends and advisors feeling he had two advantages in launching Mega Bloks: he aimed to produce jumbo-sized bricks for the toddlers, which Lego bricks were not designed for, and he felt his expertise in injection molding would give him a price advantage.
At 1984 trade shows, Ritvik showed the Mega Bloks line in the US and Canada. An immediate hit, Mega Bloks had generally large sales in Canada, including a $1 million sale to Toys 'R Us, and were available almost anywhere in the two markets in 1985. Several multinational companies had made offers just after the trade show for distribution rights, as well as buying either Mega Bloks or RH itself.
By 1989, Mega Bloks were in 30 countries and popular in Europe, the US and Canada. Up to 30 play sets were available. A piano set with Mega Blok-compatible keys for the pre-school market was released in 1988. In 1989, Ritvik sold all of its other toy and plastics lines.
A Mega Bloks "Micro" line was released in 1991 that were compatible with, or a clone of Lego bricks. This finally placed Ritvik and The Lego Group in direct competition. Soon, Ritvik was sued by Lego Canada for unfair competition, for the supposed confusion caused between its Micro Mega Bloks and the Lego line. Since Lego's brick shape patent had expired, the lawsuit dragged on for years as sales grew worldwide (at an average 70% a year until the mid-1990s), but finally Ritvik won the case by properly distinguishing its brand from Lego. Suits were filed in Europe and the U.S. with similar results.
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Wikipedia