Spin Master

Three college friends from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario - Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie and Ben Varadi - founded Spin Master with $10,000 in Toronto in 1994. The company's first product, Earth Buddies, were small heads made out of Kmart pantyhose and grass seeds, which grew "hair" when watered. The Earth Buddy went on to sell over 26,000 units.

Spin Master's first major success came in 1998 with the launch of the Air Hogs brand and its first item, the Sky Shark. Developed from the prototype provided by inventors John Dixon and Peter Manning, the Sky Shark was a foam plane that used compressed air to enable outdoor flight. Product development took over two years and more than $500,000, but ended up generating $103 million in revenue over the next few years. The Sky Shark put Spin Master on the map, becoming one of the most popular toys in the world and earning them a slot on daytime television Regis and Kathie Lee alongside other international press.The company, which had grown to 28 employees by 1999, told the LA Times they were already “assessing 1,000 inventions a year.” They’d moved their manufacturing supply chain to Hong Kong in 1998 and were ready to rise as a new name in the toy industry.

The company scored another success in 1999, with Flix Trix Finger Bikes, a string of 1/2 inch replicas of BMX bikes. In 2003, the company made its first corporate acquisition buying Bounce ‘Round, a company that created scaled down versions of the inflatable bouncy castles. Over the next handful of years, Spin Master opened offices in the United States, Japan and Western Europe.

In 2008, Spin Master launched the Bakugan Battle Brawlers franchise, a card game developed in conjunction with Sega Toys, featured plastic balls which burst open to reveal anime-style characters. Bakugan reached almost $1 billion in yearly sales.Under Harary's leadership, Spin Master Entertainment launched with Bakugan Battle Brawlers the animated action adventure television series under the direction of Mitsuo Hashimoto. To date, Spin Master Entertainment has developed six television series with over 400 cumulative episodes. In 2019, Abby Hatcher, an animated preschool series debuted on Nickelodeon on January 1, 2019, in the U.S. The show centers on Abby and her new friends the Fuzzlies, who are amazing and quirky creatures that live in her family's hotel. Together with her best Fuzzly friend Bozzly, Abby goes on wild adventures to fix Fuzzly mishaps and help them in any way she can. In 2020, Spin Master launched its first direct to Netflix series, Mighty Express. The show follows a team of trains and their kid best-buddies as they keep things moving and get the delivery through no matter what the trouble -one thrilling adventure after another.

In August 2013, Spin Master acquired the Erector Set by Meccano construction set line. In June 2015, Spin Master entered into an agreement to acquire Cardinal Industries, a 60-year-old game and puzzles company. The purchase made Spin Master the second largest games company in the United States. A month after announcing it was buying Cardinal, Spin Master made its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange.In January 2016 Spin Master purchased the library of board games owned by Editrice Giochi SRL, one of the oldest privately held toy game companies in Italy. In February 2016, Spin Master bought the Etch A Sketch and Doodle Sketch brands from The Ohio Art Company for an undisclosed price. In April 2016, Spin Master purchased digital toy makers Toca Boca and Sago Mini from the Bonnier Group of Sweden. In August 2016 Spin Master diversified into the water and outdoor sports category through the acquisition of Swimways corporation.In 2017, Spin Master acquired Marbles, a firm known for creating games, gifts and gadgets and the maker of Otrio; Aerobie, a leading producer of outdoor flying disks and sports toys; and Perplexus, a 3D ball-in-a-maze Spin Master had been distributing since 2013.In March 2018, Spin Master acquired the 120 year old stuffed toy brand Gund. Spin Master is now a $1.5 billion company, which employs over 1,600 people in 16 countries. At the end of 2019, Spin Master completed the acquisition of the award-winning Orbeez brand from Maya Toys, complementing its growing Activities segment. Also in 2019 Spin Master started a ten year toy licensing contract with Monster Jam ending a previous toy licensing deal between Monster Jam and Mattel who marketed it Monster Jam toys under the Hot Wheels line.In February 2020, Spin Master announced the theatrical release of the PAW Patrol movie, a Spin Master Entertainment production in association with Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. PAW Patrol: The Movie released in theatres on August 20, 2021, grossing $142 million worldwide. Following the success of its first theatrical film for the franchise, Spin Master announced that production had begun on a sequel, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie slated to release on October 13, 2023. On 27 October 2020, Spin Master said it will pay $50 million for Rubik's Cube, the iconic game invented nearly 50 years ago. The acquisition was completed on 5 January 2021. At the end of 2020, Spin Master announced executive leadership changes appointing Max Rangel as Global President effective January 2021, assuming the position of Global President and CEO in April 2021.In 2021, Spin Master launched the Future of Play Scholarship committing to invest $100,000 in financial aid annually to the education and mentorship of underrepresented individuals. On October 19, 2021, Spin Master established Spin Master Ventures, a $100 million venture fund to back up games, toys and entertainment startups with investments made in Nordlight, a game development company in Stockholm and Hoot Reading, an online tutoring service that provides reading lessons to children. By the end of 2021, Spin Master had grown to a global children's entertainment company, employing over 2,000 people in 28 offices around the world.