MGA Entertainment

MGA Entertainment

Company type	Private
Industry	Toy company
Founded	1997
Headquarters	Van Nuys, California, USA
Key people	Isaac Larian, CEO
Number of employees	more than 500 (2005)
Website	www.mgae.com

MGA Entertainment (Micro Games of America Entertainment) is a private manufacturer of children's toys and family entertainment products founded in 1997. It is best known for manufacturing the phenomenally popular fashion doll line, Bratz.

MGA Entertainment is a private company that exists in lots of different categories and is not just a toy company.

History

Isaac Larian, an Iranian immigrant left his country to travel to the USA at the age of 17 with just a few dollars in his pocket. A year after he graduated from business school, he founded the company that would become MGA Entertainment. In 1997 the first doll (Singing Bouncy Baby) was produced and won toy of the year award,(Who named them toy of the year?) selling over a million pieces. The company was originally called Micro Games, but changed its name in 1997 to MGA Entertainment – a name that was more fitting to a company selling dolls.

In June 2001, the Bratz Dolls has been released. MGA Entertainment is reputed to be earning tens of thousands of dollars a minute. After 18 months of research, the newly founded company came up with the Bratz Dolls as a product that would be able to compete with the long-time #1 fashion doll, Barbie. Isaac Larian discovered that girls didn't want to play with Barbie after the age of seven, and managed to launch the Bratz Dolls to appeal to preteen girls. The Bratz Dolls were also made at 9.5 inches high (unlike most fashion dolls who are 11 inches tall) so their proportions would be more realistic, and were given diverse ethnicity. With their fashionable clothes and 'passion for fashion' attitude, the Bratz Dolls were an instant success – not only in the UK and USA, but also all over the world, including Brazil, Hong Kong and Spain. Before the launch of the Bratz Dolls, MGA Entertainment was growing by 40-60% each year, however after the Bratz Dolls hit the stores, this rose to a 200-300%. It is estimated that about 65-70% of MGA's business is from the Bratz, however the extra 30% still amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars, which makes MGA a hugely successful company.

With their headquarters in Van Nuys, California, MGA Entertainment manufactures innovative entertainment products for children of all ages. Although the recent success of the Bratz Dolls has been phenomenal, MGA Entertainment produce much more than just fashion dolls, and also manufacture toys, games, electronics, stationary, home décor and sporting goods. The success of the Bratz Dolls does tend to overpower the other products though, and MGA Entertainment have expanded the range to include Bratz Babyz, Itsy Bitsy Bratz, Lil Bratz, Bratz Petz, Bratz Electronics, Bratz Home Décor Collection and Bratz Play Sportz.

The company also has a line of action figures called Alien Racers that include remote controlled (RC) vehicles, and other doll sets like Yummi-Land Soda Pop Girls and Storytime Princesses. CEO Isaac Larian helped found a company called ABC Electronics in 1982, which changed its name to Micro Games of America in the late 1980s, then shortened it to MGA when it shifted from electronic games to dolls in the late 1990s.

On January 7, 2004, it is announced that MGA Entertainment became the #1 privately-owned toy company.

On May 21, 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment bought 51.3% the Bratz dolls from MGA, but still uses the MGA Entertainment branding. WWE currently owns the Bratz Babyz, Bratz Kidz and Lil' Bratz (later discontinued).

On November 6, 2006, MGA Entertainment bought Little Tikes from NewellRubbermaid .

On March, 2007, MGA Entertainment is been reported about the singing Bratz doll by Elisa Long and they give her the answers and is answered on December 2006 which is after christmas and is anounnced that will release the Save-Ums toys which included a DVD with episodes from the TV.Noodle, Ka-Chung, Custard, Foo, BB Jammies, Jazzi and the Puffs was in plushes, but in June Jazzi had discontinued the plush version, it was decide that her body, head and hair was in ROTO version like the bratz big babyz, but in later 2007 her ROTO hair version was change to real hair, and is called Hair Flair.

MGA Entertainment vs. Mattel Inc.

MGA Entertainment's Bratz have been able to appeal to preteen girls – something which competitors Mattel have been trying to do for years. New lines such as Bratz Babyz and Lil Bratz have been successfully launched as well. MGA Entertainment has even managed to give Barbie a run for her money, after her 40-year reign of the doll market. Since the release of the Bratz, Barbie sales have consistently decreased.

MGA Entertainment's innovative products have earned numerous awards. In September 2004, Bratz became the #1 fashion doll line in Great Britain.

At the end of 2002, Mattel introduced a new line of dolls, called My Scene. However this line look more like the multi-ethnic Bratz dolls and for that in April 13, 2005, MGA Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against the line, alleging duplication of its popular doll line, Bratz property's multi-ethnic looks, fashions and packaging and accuses the toy manufacturer of engaging in acts of unfair competition and intellectual property infringement intended to damage its market share, confuse consumers and trade on the company's goodwill.

Toys Produced by MGA Entertainment

• Bratz
• Bratz Babyz
• Bratz Big Babyz
• Itsy Bitsy Bratz
• Lil Bratz
• Bratz Kidz
• Bratz Video games
• Bratz CD's
• Bratz Petz
• Bratz Babyz Ponyz
• Bratz Play Sportz
• Miuchiz
• Alien Racers
• Rescue Pets
• Yummi-Land
• Creature Mix
• Big Fish Lil' Fish
• the Save-Ums (on March 2008)

External links

• MGA Entertainment Official Website