Mega Brands facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mega Brands Inc.

Formerly	Ritvik Holdings (1967–2002) Mega Bloks Inc. (2002–2006)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Toys Stationery and crafts
Founded	1967; 58 years ago (1967)
Founders	Victor and Rita Bertrand
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people	Marc Bertrand (CEO) Vic Bertrand (CIO)
Products	construction toys message boards activity kits art materials school supplies writing instruments wood products puzzles
Brands	Board Dudes Locker Dudes Mega Bloks Mega Construx Mega Puzzles RoseArt Write Dudes
Revenue	$1.08 billion (Est. FY 2020)
Number of employees	1,700 (2018)
Parent	Mattel (2014–present)

Mega Brands Inc. is a Canadian company that makes toys for kids. It used to be called Mega Bloks Inc. and Ritvik Holdings. Today, it is part of Mattel, a very large toy company.

Mega Bloks are its most famous toys. These are building sets with blocks that connect. Mega Brands also makes other popular toys like Mega Construx, Mega Puzzles, and Board Dudes. The company sells many different kinds of building toys, puzzles, and craft kits.

In 2016, Mega Bloks was the second best-selling building toy in the world. It made up 11% of all toy construction sales.

History of Mega Brands

Starting as Ritvik Holdings

In 1967, Victor Bertrand and his wife Rita started the company. They named it Ritvik Holdings (RH). The name "Ritvik" comes from combining "Rit"a and "Vic"tor. At first, RH sold toys made by other companies in Canada. They also helped foreign toy brands work with Canadian factories.

Later, Ritvik Holdings grew bigger. They started making their own plastic parts for toys. They also added design teams and marketing services. By the early 1980s, they were a top company for making plastic parts.

Victor Bertrand wanted to sell toys outside Canada. He became interested in building block sets. These toys had been around since the early 1900s. Lego was the most popular building toy at the time. Bertrand decided to make a similar set of blocks.

His friends and advisors were unsure about this idea. But Bertrand believed he had two advantages. First, he wanted to make jumbo-sized blocks for toddlers. Lego blocks were too small for very young children. Second, he thought his experience in making plastic parts would help him offer a better price.

The Birth of Mega Bloks

In 1984, Ritvik showed their new Mega Bloks toys at trade shows. These shows are where companies show off new products. Mega Bloks were an instant success in the US and Canada. They sold $1 million worth of toys to Toys R Us. By 1985, you could find Mega Bloks almost everywhere in both countries. Many big companies wanted to sell Mega Bloks or even buy Ritvik.

By 1989, Mega Bloks were sold in 30 countries. They were very popular in Europe, the US, and Canada. There were about 30 different play sets available. In 1988, they released a piano set with keys that worked with Mega Bloks. By 1989, Ritvik decided to focus only on Mega Bloks. They sold off all their other toy and plastic lines.

Competition and Growth

In 1991, Ritvik released a "Micro" line of Mega Bloks. These blocks were similar to Lego bricks. This meant Ritvik and The Lego Group were now direct competitors. Lego Canada sued Ritvik, saying that the Micro Mega Bloks looked too much like Lego. However, Lego's patent for its brick shape had expired. Ritvik won the case because their brand was clearly different from Lego. Similar lawsuits in Europe and the U.S. had the same result.

Mega Bloks sales grew very fast during this time. They grew by about 70% each year until the mid-1990s. In 1996, a company called Blackstone Group bought 28% of Ritvik. Rita Bertrand and her daughter Chantal retired that year. Marc and Victor Bertrand Jr. took on bigger roles in the company.

Ritvik started two international companies: Mega Bloks Latinoamerica S.A. de C.V. in 1997 and Mega Bloks Europe N.V. in 1998. In the 1990s, 30% of sales came from outside Canada and the US. Most sales came from big stores like Toys 'R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart.

In 1998, Ritvik started making toys based on popular characters. Their first deal was for Teletubbies toys. Then they made toys for Fisher-Price with Sesame Street characters. They also launched a NASCAR line.

In 2000, Ritvik added new features to its toys. They made building sets that could change into vehicles. They also created a remote control electronic kit called the Mega Bloks RO Action Builder. Ritvik started advertising on TV that year, spending a lot of money to promote their toys.

Becoming Mega Bloks Inc.

Sales had doubled since 1999. So, in May 2002, Ritvik became a public company. This means people could buy shares of the company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They changed their name to Mega Bloks Inc. The shares started at $14.50 each. Victor Bertrand Jr. and Marc Bertrand became important leaders in the company. Victor Sr. remained the chairman.

The toy market was a bit slow from 2002 to 2003. But Mega Bloks still saw its sales grow. The company had grown for 17 years in a row. It became the second biggest construction toy company, right after Lego.

In 2003, Mega Bloks worked with a Japanese toy company called Bandai. They sold Mega Blok sets with popular Japanese cartoon characters. They also released a Dragon series of toys. This was because movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings were very popular. Mega Play! was also launched, which were block sets big enough for children to play inside.

In 2005, Mega Bloks, Inc. bought Rose Art Industries for about $350 million. Rose Art made the Magnetix line of toys. Soon, there were problems with Magnetix toys, and they had to be recalled. This caused Mega Bloks' share value to drop. In 2006, the company bought Board Dudes, Inc., which made message boards and locker products.

Changing to Mega Brands Inc.

On June 15, 2006, the company changed its name again. It went from Mega Bloks Inc. to Mega Brands Inc. This was because they had bought other brands that were not just building bricks. Rose Art Industries, Inc. was renamed Mega Brands America, Inc.

After 23 years of growing sales, Mega Brands lost a lot of money in 2008. The company faced financial difficulties. Fairfax Financial became a major partner to help the company recover.

In 2014, Mattel, Inc. announced it would buy Mega Brands Inc. for about $450 million. On April 20, 2014, Mega Brands became a part of Mattel. Before this, Mega and Mattel had worked together. Mega made building sets for Mattel's brands like American Girl.

In 2017, Mattel introduced Mega Construx. This is a new type of building set for kids aged four and up, and also for adult collectors. The first Mega Construx toys were based on Pokémon characters.

In 2021, the RoseArt brand was sold back to the Rosen family, who had owned it before.

Product types

Construction Toys

• Bricks
  • Mega Bloks - These are the original large blocks for younger children. They are now called 1st Builders.
  • Mega Blocks - These are medium-sized blocks that work with Duplo. They are now called Junior Builders.
  • Mega Bloks micro - These are smaller blocks that are similar to Lego bricks.
• Mega Construx - These are also similar to Lego bricks. They are now called Wonder Builders & Advanced Builder lines.

Mega Construx figures are different from Lego figures. They have up to 16 points where they can bend and move. This allows for many different poses and ways to customize them.

In 2022, many Mega Construx lines were renamed to just MEGA with a purple logo. Some older products might still have the old branding.

Pop culture connections

Mega Bloks were once shown in a TV commercial for the Honda Element car. In the ad, giant bricks fell from the sky and built the car. The commercial clearly showed that they were Mega Bloks.

Mega Brands currently has licenses for many popular characters and shows. This means they can make toys based on them. Some of these include:

• Thomas the Tank Engine
• Video games like Call of Duty and Halo
• Barbie
• Masters of the Universe
• Hot Wheels
• Power Rangers
• American Girl
• Monster High
• Pokémon
• Destiny

Mega Brands also got the rights for Nickelodeon shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They also make toys for Nick Jr. Channel shows like Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Shimmer and Shine. They have even recently gotten the license for Alien movies.

Themes

See also

In Spanish: Mega Brands para niños