Russ Berrie
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| Type | Public - New York Stock Exchange: RUS |
|---|---|
| Founded | Oakland, New Jersey (1963) |
| Headquarters | Oakland, New Jersey |
| Key people | Andrew R. Gatto, CEO Angelica Berrie, Vice-chairman |
| Products | Teddy bears |
| Employees | 1,591 |
| Website | www.russberrie.com/ |
Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. NYSE: RUS is a major manufacturer of teddy bears and other gift products, including stuffed animals, baby gifts, soft baby toys and development toys, as well as, pictures, candles, figurines and home fragrance products.
Founded in 1963 by the late Russell Berrie (1933 - 2002) in a rented garage in New Jersey, today the Company operates offices, showrooms, and distribution centers all over the world and trades on the NYSE under the symbol RUS.
One of Russ Berrie's most popular stuffed animals was the Russ Rutherford III stuffed monkey line. These monkeys were produced from the early 80's to early 90's and featured a monkey with a plastic face, feet, and hands.
A pivotal moment in Russ's history is the troll doll. Troll mania became popular in the early 90's and doubled company sales. By 1992, the public lost interest in the homely troll dolls, which resulted in crippling losses of more than two million dollars. Although this was devastating to the company, it only made Berrie stronger and more determined to succeed. Today the company sells over 900 products[1].
In 2003, Russ Berrie had revenue of US$329.7 million and net profit of US$34.7 million. For the nine months ending September 30, 2004, net sales fell 18% to US$198.4 million. Net losses totaled $12.9 million compared to income of US$25.8 million for the first nine months of 2003. According to Reuters, revenues reflect weak customer acceptance of new product releases; net losses reflects an increases in selling and administrative expenses due to unfavorable exchange rate fluctuations.
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[edit] Acquisitions
In July 2002, Russ Berrie acquired Sassy, Inc.
In December 2004, Russ Berrie acquired Kids Line LLC.
In June 2007, Russ Berrie acquired Shining Stars, a collection of stuffed animals that go online in a kid - safe virtual world.
[edit] Shining Stars program
The Shining Stars program was introduced in partnership with the International Star Registry. Russ Berrie's Shining Star Friends product line was introduced to market the program. When an individual purchases a plush animal they can log into the website and name a star in, which is officially recorded in the United States Copyright office.
[edit] Video games and films
"Shining Stars: Super Starcade" is a video game released for the Nintendo DS on June 9th. There was also a movie released, obtained by purchasing 2 Shining Stars.
[edit] Philanthropy
The Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University is named after Russ Berrie.
In 1993, Russ Berrie made a lead gift of $1 million to build a new performing arts center and cutting edge learning facility at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, New Jersey called, "The Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing Arts."
[edit] Notes
- ^ Russ Berrie Educational Page
[edit] External links
- Yahoo! profile
- Official homepage
- Russ Berrie at ToyShelf.com
- Russ Baby at ToyShelf.com
