Jazwares

Last updated
Jazwares
Company type Private
Industry Toys and entertainment
Founded1997
FounderJudd Zebersky
Headquarters Sunrise, Florida
Owner Berkshire Hathaway
Website https://www.jazwares.com/

Jazwares, LLC is an American company headquartered in Sunrise, Florida that designs and manufactures toys and other consumer products. As of 2022, the company is owned by investment holding company Berkshire Hathaway. The company is best known for its Squishmallows plush toy line.

Contents

History

Jazwares was founded in 1997 by Judd Zebersky, who left his practicing law career to start the company. [1] Zebersky spent six months visiting factories in China and learning the toy manufacturing process before starting Jazwares, after his wife told him to pursue his dream of "making toys." His wife, Laura Zebersky, also a lawyer, joined in 2005 after selling her practice and, as of September 2023, serves as the company's president and chief commercial officer. [2] The two met in University of Miami School of Law in 1990. [3]

The company launched its first product, oversized plastic cups called Big Sippers, in 1998. The novelty cups were molded to resemble WWE wrestlers and characters from the animated TV series The Simpsons and Pokémon. [4] Since then, the company has focused heavily on licensing entertainment brands for toys, eventually moving to include video games and YouTubers. [5]

In 2008, Jazwares acquired the license to Sega video game character Sonic the Hedgehog and used that license to make action figures and stuffed or plush toys. [6] A sonic Squishmallow was released in December 2022. [7] In April 2013, video game developer Mojang Studios appointed Jazwares as its license partner for its game Minecraft. Jazwares released its first line of action figures, plush toys and paper craft items in December 2013. [8]

Alleghany

In July 2014 Alleghany Corporation completed a minority equity investment in Jazwares. [9]   A second Alleghany Corporation equity investment was closed in April 2016, which led to majority stake in Jazwares. [10] It is one of eight portfolio companies Alleghany owns outside of the insurance industry. [11]

In 2017, Jazwares partnered with Hasbro and started releasing Nerf-branded products, such as targets and sports equipment. [12]

In July 2018, Jazwares partnered with video game developer Epic Games to create licensed toys based on its online video game Fortnite. [13] That partnership was renewed in 2022, with Jazwares as the exclusive producer of 2" and 4" action figures for the game.

In October 2019, Jazwares acquired Wicked Cool Toys, which focused on licensed toys from brands Pokémon, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Tyler Blevins' Ninja. In 2019, the company also announced a partnership with YouTube children's entertainer Blippi.

In February 2020, the K-pop band BLACKPINK announced a collaboration with Jazwares to create dolls in their likenesses. [14] In April 2020, Jazwares acquired toymaker Kellytoy, which had created the Squishmallows brand in 2017. [15] That followed a partnership with Kellytoy that started in February 2019 to promote Jazwares' Russ Berrie brand. [16]

In 2021, Jazwares began a costume division, starting with costumes and accessories based on Marvel Entertainment characters, which were released in North America. [17] In January 2023, Jazwares signed an agreement with grocery store chain Krogers to have the chain sell costumes in their retail locations. [18] In May 2021, Jazwares launched action figures based on the video game Halo via a stop-motion video using the action figures on the Halo YouTube channel. [19] [20]

Berkshire Hathaway

In March 2022, Berkshire Hathaway purchased Alleghany. [10] Jazwares commissioned Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Squishmallows to commemorate Jazwares appearance as a portfolio company at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders festival. [2] The Squishmallows later appeared on auction site EBay for $450. [21] In a 2023 interview, the Zeberskys said they are working closely with Buffett successor Greg Abel. [15] In June 2023, Jazwares announced a partnership with fast food chain McDonald's to produce Squishmallows Happy Meal toys. [22]

Acquisitions

Jazwares acquisitions include First Act, [23] Russ Berrie, [24] Zag Toys, [25] Wicked Cool Toys and Kellytoy. [26]

Brands

Jazwares offers product lines for various age groups and interests, including action figures, plush toys, collectibles, role-playing accessories and musical instruments. Examples include BumBumz, [27] Big Fat Yarn, [28] Living on the Veg, [27] CoComelon and Micro Machines. The company has engaged in partnerships with entertainment and media properties and has developed products based on licensing fictional characters from popular franchises such as Star Wars, Pokémon, Marvel, Halo, [20] All Elite Wrestling and Fortnite. [13]

Roblox

In 2018, Jazwares partnered with an online game platform and creator Roblox to create toys based games, characters, and developers in the Roblox universe, such as Roblox action figures. [29] It was Roblox’s first foray into merchandising. In May 2022, Jazwares entered a licensing agreement with Uplift Games for its Role-playing video game Adopt Me!, which was developed for and played on the Roblox platform. [30] In June 2023, Jazwares announced a collaboration with Roblox game developers to launch “DevSeries,” which would produce toys and other consumer products based on popular Roblox games. [31]

Recognition

Jazwares has received awards including the "Vendor of the Year" award by Toys "R" Us [32] ,  the 2022 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award (for Big Fat Yarn Plush Décor Kit and First Act Roll Up Drum Pad), and the annual Kidscreen Hot50 list.  Squishmallows has won several awards including the Toy Association's overall Toy of the Year award, Plush Toy of the Year, License of the Year, and People’s Choice. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattel</span> American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company

Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. Mattel consists of three business segments: North America, International and American Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Buffett</span> American investor and philanthropist (born 1930)

Warren Edward Buffett is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his immense investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of March 2024, he had a net worth of $134 billion, making him the seventh-richest person in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LJN</span> American toy and video game publishing company

LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher based in New York City. Founded in 1970 by Jack Friedman, the company was acquired by MCA Inc. in 1985, sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990, and dissolved in 1994. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and the company shifted towards video game publishing before being closed in 1994. The company's branding was last used for the release of Spirit of Speed 1937 in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkshire Hathaway</span> American multinational conglomerate holding company

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1839 as a textile manufacturer, it underwent a drastic restructuring into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the leadership of chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger. The company's main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float in a broad portfolio of subsidiaries, equity positions and other securities. Buffett and Munger are known for their advocacy of value investing principles and under their direction, the company's book value has grown at an average rate of 20%, compared to about 10% from the S&P 500 index with dividends included over the same period, while employing large amounts of capital and minimal debt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alleghany Corporation</span> American investment company

Alleghany Corporation is an American investment holding company originally created by the railroad entrepreneurs Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their railroad interests. It was incorporated in 1929 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1984. On March 21, 2022, Berkshire Hathaway made an $11.6 billion offer to acquire the company, which completed in October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest River (company)</span> American manufacturer of recreational vehicles and trailers

Forest River Inc. is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles, cargo trailers, utility trailers, pontoon boats, and buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duracell</span> Battery and smart power system manufacturer of the United States

Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, and rechargeables; it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben and Philip Mallory, and the formation of the P. R. Mallory Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruit of the Loom</span> American clothing manufacturer

Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and underwear. The company's world headquarters is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

McFarlane Toys is an American company founded by comic book creator Todd McFarlane which makes highly detailed model action figures of characters from films, comics, popular music, video games and various sporting genres. The company, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Enterprises</span> American media company

Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa.

HomeServices of America is the United States' largest residential real estate services company, based on closed transactions. The company provides real estate brokerage services, mortgage loan origination, franchising, title insurance/escrow and closing services, home warranties, property insurance, casualty insurance, and relocation services.

Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users to program games and play games created by other users. Created by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and released in 2006, the platform hosts user-created games of multiple genres coded in the programming language Lua. For most of Roblox's history, it was relatively small, both as a platform and as a company. Roblox began to grow rapidly in the second half of the 2010s, and this growth has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applause Inc. was a company that produced stuffed toys and collectible figurines. Its principal subsidiaries included Dakin Inc. and International Tropic-Cal Inc. The Applause brand survives as part of Kid Brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Select Toys</span> American Toy Company

Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, Ghostbusters, Halo, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones, Battlestar Galactica, 24, The Muppets and Back to the Future. While they have made collectibles in numerous product categories, including action figures, plush, banks, busts, statues and prop replicas, many of their licensed properties are released in the form of Minimates mini-figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Padawer</span> American Toy Industry Executive

Jeremy Padawer is an American businessman, founder, animated television producer, and broadly recognized toy industry executive and entrepreneur. Padawer serves as Chief Brand Officer of Jazwares, a Berkshire Hathaway company. Prior to selling to Berkshire Hathaway (2022), Padawer's toy company Wicked Cool Toys was acquired by Jazwares and parent company Alleghany Corporation in 2019.

Moose Toys 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 50 countries.

Gregory Edward Abel is a Canadian businessman, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and vice-chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway since January 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonbug Entertainment</span> British media company

Moonbug Entertainment is a British children's media company and multi-channel network headquartered in London, with an overseas office in Los Angeles, United States which creates, produces, and distributes children's video and audio content. It is currently owned by Candle Media, an American media company led by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. Moonbug distributes children's entertainment intellectual property, including the YouTube channels Cocomelon and Little Baby Bum and YouTube series such as Mia's Magic Playground, Blippi, and My Magic Pet Morphle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squishmallows</span> Brand of stuffed toys

Squishmallow is a brand of anthropomorphic stuffed toy that was launched in 2017 by Kelly Toys Holdings LLC. Squishmallows are round and come in a variety of colors, sizes, animals, and textures. The brand has created over 1,000 Squishmallows characters with unique names and background stories.

References

  1. ↑ Meléndez, Mel (June 30, 2023). "Squishmallows: For the child in all of us". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  2. 1 2 Mott, Filip De. "Warren Buffett says the married couple behind the maker of Squishmallows are 'ideal Berkshire managers'". Markets Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  3. ↑ Stempel, Jonathan (2023-05-14). "How TikTok sensation Squishmallows found Warren Buffett". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  4. ↑ "Jazwares celebrating 25 years of innovation and play". Vol. 13, no. Spring. pp. 68–69.
  5. ↑ Sheridan, Victoria (2020-02-21). "Company Profile: Jazwares". aNb Media, Inc. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  6. ↑ Amaro, Joe (2010-06-06). "SEGA America Blog | Joe Amaro from Jazwares Answers Your Questions". Sega Blog. Archived from the original on June 6, 2010. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  7. ↑ Lada, Jenni (2022-12-24). "Sonic the Hedgehog Squishmallows Debut". Siliconera. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  8. ↑ Tach, Dave (2013-04-19). "Mojang and Jazwares team up to build MInecraft toys". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  9. ↑ Velasquez, Alexi (2014-08-05). "Alleghany Capital Corporation Invests in Jazwares". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  10. 1 2 Spoehel, Jay (2022-10-19). "Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway completes $11.6B acquisition of insurer Alleghany". Associated Press. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  11. ↑ Zahn, James (2022-03-23). "Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to Acquire Jazwares Owner Alleghany Capital". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  12. ↑ Howell, Madeleine (2017-11-08). "Revealed: the 12 'must-have' toys for Christmas 2017". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  13. 1 2 Foster, Elizabeth (July 20, 2018). "Jazwares to launch Fortnite-inspired toy line" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  14. ↑ Pangan, Karen (Feb 23, 2020). "BLINKS, Rise! BLACKPINK Members Are Getting Their Very Own Dolls". Cosmopolitan.
  15. 1 2 Li, Yun (2023-07-02). "100 million Squishmallows sold in a year — How the toy sensation joined Warren Buffett's conglomerate". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  16. ↑ Zahn, James (2019-02-15). "Jazwares, Kellytoy Team for Russ Berrie Worldwide". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  17. ↑ Zahn, James (2021-04-20). "Jazwares Enters the Costume Category with Marvel Deal". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  18. ↑ Pelletier, Ashley (2023-01-30). "Kroeger, Jazwares Team Up for Halloween". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  19. ↑ Edwards, Trevor (2021-05-04). "Halo Releases 'World of Halo' Stop-Motion Action Figure Short". Game Rant. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  20. 1 2 Thompson, Luke Y. (2020-08-03). "Jazwares Unveil Their First Halo Action Figures". Comic Book Movies and Superhero Movie News - SuperHeroHype. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  21. ↑ Devor, Nick. "Who Needs Berkshire Stock When You Can Buy Warren Buffett Squishmallows?". barrons. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  22. ↑ Watson, Cole (June 7, 2023). "Market Moves" . Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  23. ↑ Foster, Elizabeth. "Jazwares acquires instrument maker First Act" . Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  24. ↑ Foster, Elizabeth. "Jazwares acquires Russ Berrie, Applause brands" . Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  25. ↑ "Alleghany Capital Corporation Announces @Jazwares ' Acquisition Of Zag Toys". Action Figure Insider. 2018-02-23. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  26. ↑ "Alleghany's Unit Closes Buyout of Squishmallows Owner Kellytoy". Yahoo Finance. 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  27. 1 2 "Exclusive: Jazwares talks Squishmallows and more". Toy World Magazine | The business magazine with a passion for toys. 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  28. ↑ "'The View' shares 2022's hottest toys and must-haves for the holidays". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  29. ↑ McCumbers, Alex (2022-01-31). "Our Favorite Action Figures for Play and Display". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  30. ↑ Canela, Annabelle (2022-05-19). "Jazwares Enters Long-term Global Licensing Agreement with Uplift Games". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  31. ↑ Patterson, Madison (2023-08-29). "Jazwares' DevSeries Collection Brings Virtual Roblox Games to the Toy Box". The Toy Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  32. ↑ "Toys 'R' Us Awards Jazwares | License Global". www.licenseglobal.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  33. ↑ Zahn, James (2022-02-18). "The Toy Foundation Crowns 2022 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award Winners". The Toy Book. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.