Fisher-Price: 90 years of building classic toys

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Tis the season for Christmas toys, and for nearly a century now, one innovative company has been crafting both toys and lasting memories. Serena Altschul takes us back. [00:00:14] Speaker 2: They are the touchstones of our youth. Little Wobble, the Rock-A-Stack. The Xylophone. [00:00:24] Speaker 3: And who makes our little people have such an interesting time? And your little people. [00:00:30] Speaker 2: Those little people. No matter how old we are, everyone remembers their favorite childhood toys. [00:00:38] Speaker 4: Here's a toy that everybody knows, the Corn Popper. [00:00:42] Speaker 2: Then, there's the lesser-known Bunny Scoot. It was introduced in 1931, part of the first batch of toys ever sold by Fisher Price. They called them the 16 Hopefuls. This is the Ark of the Covenant, as I call it. Bruce Fox, who used to work for the company, has collected more than 500 Fisher Price toys, and the stories to go with them. [00:01:09] Speaker 4: And in 1933, this toy solved an international incident in Chile. They all were upset, and they were around a table, and the American ambassador pulled this toy out of his briefcase. And he put it on the table, and the toys started walking back and forth and across the table. And everybody started laughing, and they all calmed down. [00:01:29] Speaker 2: Remember the chatter phone? At first, called the talkback telephone. It was a flop. [00:01:36] Speaker 4: Because moms didn't want to buy it because they didn't want their kids talking back to them. So after a year of the talkback telephone, Fisher Price quit making it, and all they did was change the name to the chatter phone. [00:01:46] Speaker 2: All told, more than 27 million have been sold, and counting. This holiday season, cooped-up parents will spend an average of $150 on gifts for each of their kids. And Fisher Price is a goldmine for many toy stores. I used to have one of those when I was little, Emma. [00:02:08] Speaker 5: Oh my gosh. This can't look also. Please. [00:02:13] Speaker 2: At the toy store in Sun Valley, Idaho, some of their best sellers are licensed reproductions of Fisher Price classics. And you can see, you turn it, and it's, wow. Carol Knight is the store's owner. What do customers say when they see the Fisher Price? [00:02:35] Speaker 6: Well, they react and say, oh my gosh, I remember when I had that toy as a child. [00:02:40] Speaker 2: It's emotional. [00:02:41] Speaker 6: It's very emotional, and there's always a smile on their face. [00:02:47] Speaker 2: It all started in the small town of East Aurora, New York, in 1930. Businessman Herm Fisher joined forces with the city's mayor, Irving Price, and his illustrator wife, Margaret, along with a toy shop owner named Helen Shelley. Together, they created a line of whimsical toys. Just after they launched, there's a horrible snowstorm, and they know they have to make this delivery to Macy's. [00:03:16] Speaker 3: When you're a startup, even in 1930, you do what it takes. [00:03:20] Speaker 2: Chuck Skothin is Senior Vice President of Fisher Price. [00:03:24] Speaker 3: They believed that toys were something that would make a difference in the world. [00:03:27] Speaker 2: During World War II, the company stopped making toys and started making aircraft parts and shipping crates for supplies. [00:03:37] Speaker 3: They really delivered the same premise of making great things. They just focused on supporting the war effort at that time versus focusing on toys. [00:03:44] Speaker 2: That ability to pivot served them well again this year. When the pandemic hit, the company released a line of thank you heroes and donated the proceeds. And with more parents working from home, Fisher Price is keeping kids busy with toys that allow them to imitate mom and dad. But it hasn't been all fun and games. Over 30 infant fatalities have occurred. Last year, Fisher Price recalled millions of its rock-and-play sleepers, which were linked to accidental infant deaths. But now, as the company marks 90 years, Chuck Skothin says they have staying power. [00:04:28] Speaker 1: Let's go. Left. [00:04:31] Speaker 2: Because they've embraced their roots, like their legendary Play Lab. [00:04:36] Speaker 3: The Play Lab was inspired really by Herm Fisher's vision that you needed to learn from children, not tell children what they wanted. That observing children would help you make better toys. [00:04:47] Speaker 2: Everybody asks this, how long is the wait list to become a tester? [00:04:51] Speaker 3: The list is not nearly as long as you'd think. Particularly in 2020, we are now doing a lot of virtual toy testing. [00:04:57] Speaker 2: Would you like to keep those toys? Uh-huh. Uh-huh, I bet. Zarni Hattay and Jessica Zolatz and their children, Cyrus and Anya, are among the lucky ones. Can you tell when a toy is like, oh, they really nailed it here. This is a great one. It's going to be interesting for a long time. I think what you're seeing right now is a good sign. And that's music to Dominic Gubitosi's ears because, after all, he designed them. A dream job years in the making. [00:05:29] Speaker 5: It really started at an early age. I probably played with toys longer than most kids. [00:05:35] Speaker 2: Turns out it was more than child's play. Now at Fisher-Price, he oversees the way a toy looks, moves, and even sounds. [00:05:46] Speaker 5: Inspiration can strike at any time. The original Jumperoo, which was a great way inspired by people bungee jumping. And we said, how can we make babies bungee jump? And we said, we figured out a great way. [00:06:00] Speaker 2: Great innovation mixed with a little nostalgia, it's a formula that stood the test of time. [00:06:08] Speaker 5: Anything that's part of your childhood and is part of positive memories is always something you hold dear to yourself. And it's certainly something you want for your children and your grandchildren so that everybody, grandma, grandpa, mom, and dad, and the child, share in that Fisher-Price connection.