Discovery Toys
| Industry | Multi-level marketing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Lane Nemeth |
| Headquarters | Livermore, California, U.S. |
Key people | Jerry Salerno (CEO) |
| Products | Toys |
| Website | www |
Discovery Toys is a multi-level marketing company specializing in educational toys.[1] Its products are sold in the U.S. and Canada, and its headquarters are in Livermore, California.
History
Discovery Toys was founded as a multi-level marketing company in 1978 by Lane Nemeth, a former daycare director, with a $5,000 family loan.[1][2] According to Nemeth, the company had 2,500 sales "consultants" in 1982 and had reached $4.6 million in revenue the previous year.[3] Ms. Nemeth grew the company to a $100 million in annual revenue by 1997 then sold the company to Avon[4] who sold it in 2002 to a private equity group. Discovery Toys was acquired by and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eos International, Inc. in July 2001.[1]
One of the company's top selling toys is Marbleworks. Released in 1982 it consists of colorful, sloped, plastic half-pipes of different designs. The individual pieces interlock, creating a track on which marbles are run. Marbleworks was included in Discovery's product line when Discovery Toys expanded into China in 2003.[5]
References
- ^ a b c "Eos International, Inc. Form 10-K (2001)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ Nancy Rutter (July 1, 1990). "Greer vs. Nemeth". Inc. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- ^ Steve Kaufman (November 7, 1982). "Entrepreneur's sales thrive from educational toy parties". Boca Raton News (Knight Ridder). Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- ^ Coco Masters (April 4, 2005). "Let's Pawty!". Time. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- ^ Kathy Chen (2003-09-24). "Discovery Toys Will Launch Its Toys and Games in China". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
External links
 | This article about a toy company is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |