Toy Company Basic Fun! Acquires K'NEX
BOCA RATON, Fla. (PRWEB) February 12, 2018 -- Basic Fun!, the Boca Raton toy and novelty company, announced today that it has purchased the assets of K’NEX, the Pennsylvania-based construction toy company where creativity clicks®. K’NEX will join Tech 4 Kids and Uncle Milton as the latest addition to “the new” Basic Fun!
“We are very pleased to be adding this incredible iconic toy brand into our platform,” said Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun! “The K’NEX story is a great American toy story in every way – from its inception as a toy invention, to its unique manufacturing profile, to being recognized by consumers and the trade as a distinctive construction platform in one of the most challenging categories in the toy industry.”
“K’NEX was invented by Joel Glickman, one of the company’s founders, and our family has been operating this business for over 25 years,” said Michael Araten, current CEO of K’NEX. “It’s time for us to connect this wonderful brand and its innovative product line with new owners whom we expect will take K’NEX to new heights over the next 25 years. We are proud to have built an iconic brand that has inspired creativity in millions of children, young and old, all over the world.”
Basic Fun! plans to continue to manufacture K’NEX rods and connectors at an eco-friendly manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania under a long-term agreement with The Rodon Group and will continue to operate the K’NEX office and distribution center in Hatfield, PA.
Both Basic Fun! and K’NEX will be showcasing their 2018 product lines at the North American International Toy Fair in New York, February 17 to 20, in separate displays on the main floor of the Jacob Javits Center. The companies’ products will come together under one roof in subsequent shows later in the year. Both companies’ products can be found at major brick and mortar retailers, as well as online, in North America and all over the world.
Basic Fun! has a 25 year history in the toy industry: it was acquired by The Bridge Direct in 2013, along with its then owner, The Good Stuff Corporation, who bought the small novelty company from its founder in 2009. The growing company began to put its portfolio of brands and companies together, and it settled upon its own “Basic Fun!” as the most appropriate brand name going forward in order to establish its new identity in the industry. The company will continue to market its key sub-brands under the Basic Fun! banner, including amusement-division Good Stuff, STEM toys under Uncle Milton, and now K’NEX – the company’s growing construction toy business.
About Basic Fun!, Inc.:
Basic Fun! is a developer of innovative and fun children’s entertainment products. The company was created as a result of an organized roll-up strategy, of several smaller toy companies including: The Bridge Direct, Tech 4 Kids, Uncle Milton and Good Stuff. The company’s products are sold through a well-established network of retailers and distributors around the globe and include the following product lines: Cake Pop Cuties, Poopeez, Classic My Little Pony, Mash’ems and Fash’ems novelties, Uncle Milton’s Star Wars Science activities and Original Ant Farm, C3 Sports and Collector Construction, Arcade Classics Electronic Games including Pac-Man and Frogger, Pokémon Trainer Guess, Fisher-Price Classics®, Strawberry Shortcake, Lite-Brite® and many more. For more information, visit http://www.BasicFun.com.
About K’NEX:
Founded in 1992, K’NEX, part of the Basic Fun! family of brands, did not set out to become an educational toy company, all we wanted to do was show kids that the only limit to building was the size of their imagination! Today, K’NEX prides itself on connecting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math with imagination. STEAMagination™ can be found in every K’NEX set and with it building dreams become a fun-powered, 3-D reality! Winner of over 430 awards and recognitions, the K’NEX product line has building toys specially designed for every age group and skill level. The K’NEX family of brands includes IMAGINE Building Sets, Thrill Rides, K’NEX Education®, Kid K’NEX®, Mario Kart™, Super Mario™, Plants vs. Zombies™, LINCOLN LOGS® and TINKERTOY® both under license from Hasbro, and more! From the living room to the board room, we are proud to help build the leaders of tomorrow! Join us at http://www.knex.com.
Media inquiries:
For Basic Fun!: Jen Derevensky, Ren Beanie Public Relations, jen(at)renbeanie(dot)com, (305) 788-6878
For K’NEX: Kate Loffio, K’NEX Brands, kloffio(at)knex(dot)com, (215) 215.996.4209
Jen Derevensky, Basic Fun!/Ren Beanie Public Relations, http://www.basicfun.com, +1 (305) 788-6878, [email protected]
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