Palitoy
Industry | Toys |
---|---|
Founded | 1909 | (as Cascelloid Company)
Defunct | 1994 in the United Kingdom |
Palitoy was a British
History
The Cascelloid Company was founded by Alfred Edward Pallett in
Cascelloid was bought in 1931 by
In 1978, the Chad Valley toys company was sold to Palitoy.[3]
Palitoy was sold to US food company General Mills in 1968, and formed part of the company's toy division, sometimes known as CPG Products Corp (Creative Products Group Products Corp).
In 1981, British toy group
Palitoy effectively ceased to be an independent business in 1984 when its parent company, CPG, part of General Mills, closed its entire design department leaving it effectively just a sales and marketing operation.[4]
In January 1985, General Mills announced it would be quitting the toy business. In the US, its toy business was split into three distinct companies:
On 1 May 1985, most of the work at Palitoy ended with 327 staff in manufacturing and distribution out of 585 made redundant and manufacturing shifted overseas.[5]
The restructure was undertaken in advance of the spin-off of General Mills' toy division CPG, separated from its parent in 1985 as Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. There were many potential acquirers of the business but the subsidiary was floated on the stock exchange with General Mills' shareholders getting equivalent shares in Kenner Parker. This was more tax efficient for General Mills.[6]
In 1987, Tonka purchased Kenner Parker including Palitoy for $555 million, borrowing extensively to fund the acquisition. However, the cost of servicing the debt meant Tonka itself had to find a buyer and it was eventually acquired by Hasbro in 1991.[7]
Hasbro closed the former Palitoy site in 1994 [4] with manufacture of the last product made there, Play-Doh, being transferred to Hasbro's Irish factory. In 2016 fans of the popular Palitoy Action Man toy gathered to celebrate his 50th birthday at the site,[8] and in the following year Palitoy was honoured with a green plaque for helping "stoke children's imaginations" by Leicestershire County Council at Coalville Business Park, which now stands on the site of the former factory. [9]
Toy list
References
- ^ Jennifer Harby (9 August 2015). "Star Wars and Action Man". BBC News. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ V&A Museum of Childhood website
- ^ "The History of Chad Valley". Choose Valley. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ a b "The Palitoy Archive". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ Dow Jones News Service, 1 May 1985: UK Unit of General Mills to end some operations
- ^ Ward, Arthur(2009), The Boys' Book of Airfix London: Ebury Press (Ebury Publishing).
- ^ Wojahn, Ellen (2003) Playing by Different Rules: The General Mills/Parker Brothers Merger" New York: Beard Books
- ^ "Action Man convention at Palitoy factory". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ "Palitoy: Action Man's home set for green plaque honour". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2018.