Toy industry
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We include updates on Hello Kitty, Walmart, Kmart, Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake, Hasbro, Target Corporation, Care Bears, Ryan's World, Golliwog, Tamagotchi, Mattel, The Lego Group, Todd McFarlane, Bratz, Al Snow ... and more.
| 2025 | Walmart closed several U.S. offices and consolidated corporate associates into its Bentonville headquarters and West Coast offices in Sunnyvale, California. |
| April 2025 | The Tesco concession partnership was announced to expand to over 2,000 Tesco Express stores. |
| April 12 2025 | Announcement that the flagship Disney Store at Disney Village in Disneyland Paris would permanently close in fall 2025, to be replaced by a new store called Disney Wonders. |
| April 10 2025 | LeapFrog founder Michael Wood died from complications caused by Alzheimer's disease. |
| 2025 | Sixth Crayola Experience location planned to open in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. |
| 2025 | Tamagotchi Plaza released for Nintendo Switch internationally. |
| 2025 | Mattel plans to sell Minecraft movie-related toys. |
| 2025 | Set to make directorial debut with King Spawn film starring Jamie Foxx. |
| March 17 2025 | Diamond Select Toys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking a significant turning point for the collectibles company. |
| March 10 2025 |
Lego Friends
A Warner Animation studio representative confirmed that if no other Lego movies are made, they retain the rights to start the Lego Friends movie project.
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| March 2025 | Purchased 63 store leases from Big Lots with intent to convert locations to Ollie's stores by end of 2025. |
| February 2025 | Ollie's Bargain Outlet purchases 63 former Big Lots stores. |
| February 7 2025 |
Bratz
Premiere of the second season of 'Alwayz Bratz' web series
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| January 30 2025 |
Bratz
Bratz announced the second season of the 'Alwayz Bratz' miniseries on Instagram
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| 2024 | Walmart reaches a record revenue of $648 billion and reports a net income of $15.5 billion, demonstrating continued financial strength |
| 2024 |
Filly
Continued expansion of Filly Butterfly toy line to additional countries.
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| 2024 | Danish news broadcaster DR revealed that the Kirk Kristiansen family operates three private jets that have flown over 1,000 times between 2020 and 2023, raising concerns about sustainability commitments. |
| 2024 | Mattel expanded Barbie line to include dolls representing individuals with Down syndrome and vision impairments. |
| 2024 | Mattel Adventure Park is set to open in Glendale, Arizona, featuring themed attractions from brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels, Thomas & Friends, and Uno. |
| 2024 | McFarlane releases Batman Forever 30th anniversary action figure line including Val Kilmer's Batman, Chris O'Donnell's Robin, Jim Carrey's Riddler, and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face. |
| 2024 | Rainbow High underwent a soft reboot, introducing a slime gimmick similar to Rainbow Surprise. |
| 2024 | Online Pokémon Center stores for Australia and New Zealand were launched. |
| 2024 | Walmart announces closure of the Toronto technology hub and relocation of staff to US locations, with pending layoffs. |
| 2024 |
Lego Friends
Scheduled launch of a Lego Friends themed land at the new Legoland Shanghai Resort.
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| 2024 | Lila Monetti is chosen as the Girl of the Year doll. |
| 2024 |
Care Bears
Basic Fun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to repay creditors while remaining in operation.
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| 2024 | Tamagotchi celebrated its 28th anniversary, sparking renewed nostalgia among fans who grew up with the digital pet in the late 1990s. |
| 2024 | Opened a new store at Harlem Irving Plaza in Norridge, Illinois. |
| 2024 | Kmart closes its last big-box store in the mainland United States. |
| 2024 | A new FAO Schwarz location opened in Paris at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store. |
| 2024 | Fisher-Price introduced the Link Squad product line. |
| 2024 | Renamed to the Ethical Supply Chain Program to reflect broader adoption in global manufacturing industries. Committed to supporting 30,000 children by end of 2025 through the Family-Friendly Factory program, expanding to Vietnam and Mexico with primary funding from LEGO and support from Spin Master. |
| December 2024 | Liquidation sales began across the company's store network. |
| December 2024 | Winnie Park, former Forever 21 CEO, was appointed as the new CEO of Five Below, replacing Kenneth Bull. |
| December 2024 | Big Lots announced the decision to cease operations, liquidate, and close all remaining stores across the United States. |
| December 28 2024 | Big Lots reached an agreement with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer 200–400 stores and one or two distribution centers to Variety Wholesalers, with the remaining stores to be permanently closed. |
| December 27 2024 | Big Lots reaches agreement with Gordon Brothers to transfer up to 400 stores and two distribution centres to Variety Wholesalers. |
| December 19 2024 | Big Lots announces it may not close sale to Nexus and might go out of business, closing all 963 remaining stores. |
| November 2024 | Mattel discovered and apologized for an inadvertent website link error on Wicked themed dolls, and addressed a leaked Ariana Grande song from Wicked dolls. |
| November 2024 |
My Scene
Mattel releases collector versions of the three main My Scene characters, potentially signaling a possible return of the franchise.
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| November 25 2024 | Walmart announced the ending of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and delisting of certain transgender-related products. |
| November 20 2024 | CEO Chris Cocks announced Hasbro would stop co-financing future movies based on company brands, focusing instead on mobile games and digital entertainment. |
| November 12 2024 |
National Toy Hall of Fame
My Little Pony dolls, Transformers action figures, and Phase 10 card game were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
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| October 2024 |
Strawberry Shortcake
WildBrain announces the production of 'The Care Berry Switch', a 44-minute special that will crossover with the Care Bears franchise.
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| October 2024 | Myer announced a deal to buy Premier Investments' Apparel Brands division, issuing new shares worth $863.78 million. Solomon Lew will join the Myer board as a non-executive director, pending shareholder approval. |
| October 2024 | Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking a significant turning point in the company's history. |
| October 31 2024 |
Bratz
Bratz released Karen and Gretchen dolls as part of the Mean Girls 20th anniversary collaboration on Halloween.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles McFarlane Toys, Kmart, Pokémon Center, Disney Store, Big Lots, The Entertainer (retailer), Filly (toy), Ollie's Bargain Outlet, FAO Schwarz, Myer, Lego Friends, Ethical Supply Chain Program, Care Bears, Fisher-Price, National Toy Hall of Fame, LeapFrog Enterprises, Diamond Select Toys, Crayola, Strawberry Shortcake, My Scene, Toys "R" Us, Mattel, Tamagotchi, American Girl, Bratz, The Lego Group, Five Below, Hasbro, Todd McFarlane, MGA Entertainment, Walmart & Walmart Canada, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.