Topic: Recreational Equipment and Toy Manufacturing

Leadership Lessons from... Classic Toys

Associated Press staffer Mae Anderson wrote a very interesting article for TIME about the value of old-school toys in these tough economic days. In Hard Times, Nostalgic Toys Strike a Chord By AP / MAE ANDERSON (NEW YORK) — ...READ»

Ivy Ross Is Not Playing Around

For years, Mattel has worked to grow beyond Barbie. One strategy was growth through acquisition. Ivy Ross's strategy is to inspire innovation -- to reinvent how the world's number-one toy company designs its toys.READ»

Toy Story

What will prove this year's Tickle Me Elmo? Here's how three companies are taking on the notoriously fickle holiday toy market--and what their prospects are.READ»

The Safety Issues with Children’s Toys

Of all the things in this world that you would think should be safe for your children, you would think toys would be.READ»

Barbie Gets Life

No, I'm not talking about Martha Stewart. One of the most difficult marketing challenges is keeping a long standing product relevant with its target audience, especially when the target is children whose attention span at best can ...READ»

Rick Hind

Legislative Director, Greenpeace Toxics CampaignREAD»

Fast Talk: The Independent Tester

Sue DeRagon, 49, runs toy testing for Connecticut-based STR, one of the industry's leading third-party labs. "Our phones have literally been ringing off the hook. The Mattel recalls opened people's eyes. Current clients are ...READ»

A Craving For Cool

Big companies are outsourcing "cool" to nimbler, closer-to-the-ground outsiders. They might as well farm out their souls.READ»

Hey Laptop, Get Me a Beer II

Kevin's post reminds me of the old Tomy Omnibot and similar personal robots from the '80s. The Omnibot 2000 even came with a rotating serving tray.READ»

Fast Talk: The Watchdog

Consumer advocate Stephanie Oppenheim, 45, taps a network of families across the country to test hundreds of toys each year, then produces a guide rating the best and the worst. "The false sense of security that parents have--that ...READ»

Is the Calfee Bamboo Bike Really Eco-Friendly?

Bamboo bikes are, as we recently pointed out, growing in popularity thanks to bamboo's status as the fastest growing (and hence most renewable) plant. The newest bamboo bike manufacturer to enter the spotlight is Calfee Design, a ...READ»

Bikes Outsold Cars at the Start of 2009. Does It Matter?

Both automobile and bicycle purchases fell overall in the first quarter of 2009, but in a surprising twist, bike sales trumped car sales (2.6 million bicycles vs. 2.5 million cars). And while bike sales are down 30% overall from the ...READ»

Barbie Turns 50, Celebrates by Having Some Work Done, Dropping Price to '59 Levels

For 50 years, a certain American blonde with the figure of a Playboy bunny, the hair-do of a USC cheerleader, and the arches of a Conde Nast editor has been channeling the zeitgeist and fashioning her wardrobe accordingly. She ...READ»

• 50 Years of Barbie slideshow

The Barbie Bubble

When I finally cleared through the crowd of technology reporters at the press preview for Digital Life ­-- the largest consumer electronics show on the East Coast -- I saw the booth causing the buzz was Mattel. Besides hand-held ...READ»

Adult Toys - No, Not That Kind

It's not easy being a toy maker these days. With discounters Wal-Mart and Target controlling more than half the retail market, there are fewer traditional retailers around. That means less shelf space and, ultimately, less ...READ»

MEET: World Retail Congress

Barcelona is the place for executives to talk shop -- from green packaging to worldwide economic worries -- April 9-11. We asked five attendees to tell us what's on their agendas, besides tapas.READ»

• Now: April 2008
• Numerology: Tax Time
• Journal-ist: Freedom of Choice

Play Things

More ways the Web can amuse you and your friends.READ»

Getting Its Game On

A report from the past.READ»

Take That, Toy Story! Mattel's 'Avatar' Action Figures to Offer Augmented Reality [VIDEO]

Mattel's new line of characters, creatures, and vehicles licensed from James Cameron's highly awaited 3-D opus will come to life on-screen--your screen.READ»

Kid Digital

Cams that will make your kids the envy of the neighborhood.READ»

From the Cutting Room Floor

It's not uncommon that articles get cut -- or that sidebars get dropped -- while we edit each monthly issue of Fast Company. If stories don't fit in the magazine and contain ideas still worth sharing, we usually try to publish them ...READ»

The Best of Toy Fair 2009

More than 100,000 toys flooded New York this week for the Toy Industry Association’s annual Toy Fair. We scoped out the new products and here’s what caught our eye.READ»

Coin-Op Karaoke?

The days of video game soundtracks in which the background music consisted of anonymous bleeps and blorks are over. Not only are composers scoring video game-specific pieces -- think Lucas Arts' Grim Fandango -- but pop stars such as ...READ»

Retail Details II

Shades of Julian Dibbell's entrepreneurialism in the Ultima Online gaming environment, the executives of There Inc., maker of an online gaming environment by the same name, are encouraging commerce among players. For $1, There ...READ»

Video Games: The New Hollywood?

Today's Wall Street Journal features an awesome article on how video games are reshaping the entertainment business. The piece features a list of the 25 most powerful people in the industry. Several companies previously profiled in ...READ»