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Tomy

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This is thelatest accepted revision,reviewedon2 November 2024.

Not to be confused withThomy.

Tomy Company, Ltd.[1](Kabushiki gaisha タカラトミー,Kabushikigaisha Takara Tomī)(trading asTakara Tomyin Asia andTomyelsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama asTomiyama Toy Manufacturing Company(Phú sơn món đồ chơi chế tác sở),became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based gamePop-up Pirate.In 2006, Tomy merged with another toy manufacturer,Takara,and although the English company name remained the same, it became Takara Tomy in Asia. It has its headquarters inKatsushika, Tokyo.

Tomy Company, Ltd.[1]
  • Takara Tomy (mostly in Japan and Asia)
  • Tomy (mostly in Western countries)
Native name
Kabushiki gaisha タカラトミー
Kabushikigaisha takara tomī
Company typePublic
TYO:7867
Industry
Predecessor
FoundedMarch 1, 2006;18 years ago(2006-03-01)(original Tomy, 1924; former Takara, 1955)
Headquarters7-9-10, Tateishi,Katsushika, Tokyo,Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsDetails
RevenueDecrease¥154,804 million (FY 2013–2014)[2]
Increase¥3,335 million (FY 2013–2014)[2]
Decrease¥8,929 million (FY 2013–2014)[2]
Total assetsIncrease¥156,467 million (FY 2013–2014)[2]
Total equityIncrease¥50,907 million (FY 2013–2014)[2]
OwnerTomiyama family through Tsukasa Fudōsan KK (7.94%)
Number of employees
509 (as of March 31, 2019)[3]
Divisions
  • Tomy International, Inc.
  • Tomy (Hong Kong) Ltd.
  • T-ARTS KOREA Company, Ltd.
  • Tomy (Thailand) Ltd.
  • Tomy (Shenzhen) Ltd.
  • Tomy Southeast Asia (Philippines) Ltd.
  • Tomy Asia (Taiwan) Ltd.
Subsidiaries
  • T-ARTS Company, Ltd.
  • Penny Company, Ltd.
  • Tomy Tec Co., Ltd.
  • Tinkerbell Inc.
  • Wako Company, Ltd.
  • Tomy Marketing Company, Ltd.
  • Kiddy Land Co., Ltd.
  • T-ENTAMEDIA Company, Ltd.
  • Tomy Ibis., Ltd.
Websitetakaratomy.co.jp

History and corporate name

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Before the merger

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The company was named Tomy as an abridgement of Tomiyama, which was the founder's surname. Starting as a manufacturer, Tomy had the largest product development team in the toy industry and plaudits for its technology. Nonetheless, by its third generation, president Mikitaro Tomiyama decided to streamline the company to be more competitive with wholesalerBandai.Bandai developed its products more quickly, which was more appealing to television properties that required a fast turnaround. Despite internal and external opposition, Tomiyama was determined to aggressively pursue TV licenses such asAkakage,Giant RoboandOsomatsu-kun.

Tomiyama was shocked when his son told him that Tomy's toys were bad and that he wanted to work for Bandai when he grew up. In response, he created the moderately successfulZettai Muteki Raijin-Oh(thenGenki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger) (but the product development team followed these withNekketsu Saikyō Go-Saurer) (which was a catastrophic failure). It became common wisdom within the industry that Tomy could not support a multimedia franchise.[citation needed]However, Tomy established a relationship withShogakukanand created the successfulWedding PeachandLet's & Go.

Tomy learned about the growing popularity ofPokémonthrough monthlyCoroCoro Comicand obtained the commercial rights. Bandai at the time was busy with its big hit,Tamagotchi,and was not interested in Pokémon. Tomy acquired the rights to commercialize a wide range of merchandise, mainly toys, and released the "Monster Collection" of figures next year. The anime became a huge hit, and sales of related products doubled. Tomy (who had been the third largest company in the toy industry since the 1980s) rose to second place in 1997.[citation needed]

In 2001, competitor Takara's hit franchise,Beyblade,and Pokémon's slump saw Takara regaining second place and Tomy falling again to third. However, Beyblade subsequently faltered (which adversely affected Takara's fortunes; Tomy merged with the suffering company and became Takara Tomy).[citation needed]

After the merger

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The former "Tomy" brandname, still used outside of Asia

The company decided to use the name "Tomy" in international subsidiaries, and "Takara Tomy" in Japan, because Tomy had built considerable international brand recognition while Takara's products (Microman,Transformers,Battle Beasts,Beyblade,B-Damanetc.) had been sold and branded by other toy companies such asHasbro.Additionally, the financial cost of rebranding was prohibitive.[4]

In Western media, the Takara Tomy merger was typically characterised as a 'takeover' of Takara by Tomy (likely because several years of losses had put Takara in a financially weakened state at the time of the merger (although Takara did have significantly higher sales than Tomy)). However, the companies' management teams had previously discussed merging (including at times when Takara appeared stronger). Under Japanese corporate law, the move was a merger of both companies on an equal basis.

Post-merger media speculation about the control of brands from the Takara Tomy merger arose from the new use of a "TOMY" copyright on all packaging (including former Takara brands shipped by Hasbro) (but this was merely a consequence of the decision to use only the Tomy name in international subsidiaries). In Japan,Takara Tomycontinues to use both Tomy and Takara as distinct brand names on toy ranges which originated in each separate company, and most new toy ranges or stand-alone products now carry the new Takara Tomy brand.

Takarapurchased a majority stake inTatsunoko Productionin June 2005. The studio then became a full subsidiary of Takara Tomy following the March 2006 merger[citation needed]untilNippon Televisionbought out the majority of Tatsunoko's stake in 2014. Tomy UK was founded in 1982 for the sale and distribution of Tomy products inEurope,and it has successfully brought toys such as Zoids, and games likePop-up Pirate,to the West. Tomy UK's slogan has traditionally been "Trust Tomy". In 2006, Tomy UK launched a website on which consumers can buy online from Tomy's catalogue.[5]In early 2011, Takara-Tomy acquiredRC2 Corporationand the RC2 sub-brandLearning Curve,which included The First Years,Lamaze,andCompass.[citation needed]

Products

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The Tomy Pocket Game Shooting Gallery was manufactured in 1978.[6]
TheTomy Tutor,a 16-bit home computer released by Tomy beginning in 1982

Takara-Tomy has manufactured a broad range of products based on its own properties which include, from the Tomy side:Tomica,Plarail,Zoids,Idaten Jump,Nohohon Zokuand Tomy branded baby care products, and, from the Takara side:Space Pets,Choro-Q(also known as Penny Racers),Transformers,B-Daman, Koeda-chan (also known as Treena) andMicroman.The merged Takara-Tomy also produces and/or sells a wide variety of toy and game brands under license, such asThomas & Friends,Disney,Astro Boy,Pokémon,Beyblade,Duel Masters,Naruto,The Game of Life(also known asLife Game),Rock Man(also known asMega Man),Wedding Peach,Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch,My Hero Academia,Sakura Kinomoto,Sakura Kinomoto: Clear Card,Slayers,Revolutionary Girl Utena,Kirarin Revolution,SugarbunniesandAnimal Crossing.Tomy's rights to these licenses vary by region. One of the first examples ofproduct synergyfor the merged company was the combining ofTakara's Jinsei Game (Game of Life) license and Tomy's Pokémon license to produce a Pokémon Jinsei Game.

Tomy sells many products worldwide, including baby and pre-school toys,baby monitors,mechanical and electronic games, consumer electronics, children'sarts and craftsproducts, and a vast range of toys suited to girls or boys. They make a large selection ofDisney,PokémonandThomas the Tank Enginemerchandise. They also publishvideo gamesin Japan (mostly based onZoidsandNarutoanimeseries), and are responsible for the distribution of someHasbroproducts in Japan, such asPlay-Doh,JengaandMonopoly.The company was formerly responsible for distribution of theMy Little Ponyproducts in Japan beforeBushiroadacquired the distribution rights to them starting with the franchise'sFriendship Is Magicline (thoughthe animated television serieswas owned byHasbro). Later in 2015, after Bushiroad disowned the distribution rights,Sega Toysreacquired the rights to all generations of the franchise before selling the rights back to Hasbro.[citation needed]

A list of notable products include:

The TomyBlipwas a mechanicalPonghandheld released in the 1970s.
A handheld variant ofPac-Manfrom 1981. It was sold asPuck Manin Japan, the Japanese name of the game, on other markets as Pac-Man, Pac Man or Munchman (UK).
Tomicatoys

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Company profile".
  2. ^abcde"Consolidated financial statement for end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014"(PDF).Tomy Co., Ltd. 12 December 2014.
  3. ^"Corporate Profile｜Corporate Information｜TOMY Company, Ltd".Takaratomy.co.jp.Retrieved22 August2015.
  4. ^"Corporate History｜Corporate Information｜TOMY Company, Ltd".takaratomy.co.jp.Retrieved14 March2016.
  5. ^"Tomy Uk".Tomy.co.uk.Retrieved22 August2015.
  6. ^Masters, James."TOMY Pocket Games - The USA List".Masters.me.uk.Retrieved22 August2015.
  7. ^"I-Sobot".Isobotrobot.Retrieved22 August2015.
  8. ^Coopee, Todd (16 May 2016)."Water Games from TOMY (1976)".ToyTales.ca.
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