Bluebird Toys plc was a British

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

company. They are responsible for the

Polly Pocket Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories first founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and licensed by Bluebird Toys from 1989 until both entities/properties were acquired by Mattel in 1998. History Polly Pocket was first designe ...

brand, Havok wargame and Disney Tiny Collection. Previous toy lines include

Manta Force MANTA Force was a line of toys produced by British toy company Bluebird Toys, Bluebird in 1987. The toyline was initially divided into two main factions: the heroic MANTA Force and their opponents, the evil Viper Squad. Following the popularity ...

, Oh Penny, the British version of Oh Jenny from Matchbox Toys, Mighty Max and miniature

Thomas and Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

sets.

Corporate history

Torquil Norman Sir Torquil Patrick Alexander Norman, (born 11 April 1933) is a British businessman, aircraft enthusiast, and arts philanthropist. Early life and education Norman is the youngest of three sons born to Air Commodore Sir Nigel Norman, 2nd Baron ...

founded Bluebird Toys in 1980, his first product being the now famous Big Yellow Teapot House. This was one of the first 'container' houses which broke away from the traditional architectural style of dolls' houses in favour of this light and colourful family home. He is also famous for his Big Red Fun Bus and Big Jumbo Fun Plane, A La Carte Kitchen, Polly Pocket,

Lucy Locket "Lucy Locket" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19536. Lyrics Common modern versions include: :Lucy Locket lost her pocket, :Kitty Fisher found it; :Not a penny was there in it, :Only ribbon round i ...

(A larger version of Polly Pocket) and the Mighty Max range, as well as the invention of the plastic lunch box. Bluebird was an almost immediate success, coming within £18,000 of breaking even in its first year of business, on turnover of £1.25m. By 1983 turnover had reached £3.4, and in 1985 the company went public on the

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. The shares had reached 500p by 1987, before sliding back to 26p in 1991, when the company reported a hefty loss. The company acquired Peter Pan Playthings in 1987 and Merit Toys in 1988. The company was saved by the

range, introduced in 1989, which became a global phenomenon. By 1993, the shares were back up to 575p, and the next year Bluebird announced profits of £7m on sales of over £40m, rising again to £20m on turnover of £100m in 1994–95. This figure was dominated by Polly Pocket and Mighty Max, a parallel line for boys introduced in 1992, accounting between them for 87% of sales. Already by 1994 nearly three-quarters of Britain's 2 million girls aged between three and eight were estimated to own a Polly Pocket. The shares rose still further, trebling again by October 1995 when the company announced a licence for a new line of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

characters in the pocket-size format, which became the Disney Tiny Collection series, and a new distribution deal with Mattel. However, by 1997, Polly Pocket sales had fallen back, Mattel announced it would take no more of the existing stock until a reformat of the brand, and the share price was down to only a quarter of its previous peak value. Financier Sir

Ron Brierley Ronald Alfred Brierley (born 2 August 1937) is a New Zealand born investor and corporate raider, chairman and director of a number of companies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. He founded R. A. Brierley Investments Ltd (BIL; renamed ''Guo ...

Guinness Peat Group Guinness Peat Group was an investment holding company with interests in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. History The company, which had been formed as an investment offshoot of London based investment bank Guinness Mahon in the 1980s, was acqu ...

made an unsolicited bid for the company in January 1998, but was outbid by Mattel acting as a white knight.Mattel wins contest for Bluebird

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 19 May 1998
(The final bid was 116.5p per share, equivalent to 466p per unsplit share, valuing the company at £48.5m in total) Mattel swiftly went on to integrate Bluebird's products into its own lines, closing the headquarters in Swindon and offering redundancy packages to all those who were not offered relocation to the Mattel headquarters.

References

External links

Directory listing
at business.com * https://www.independent.co.uk/news/toy-tycoon-unveils-plans-for-roundhouse-revamp-1187177.html {{Mattel Mattel Toy companies of the United Kingdom Toy companies established in 1980 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom