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 | 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. |
| 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 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 20 2024 | The Bridgehampton, New York Kmart location closed, leaving only the Miami store as the sole Kmart in the continental U.S. |
| October 16 2024 |
Care Bears
WildBrain announced the production of The Care Berry Switch, a forty-four minute special that crosses over with Strawberry Shortcake.
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| September 2024 | McFarlane announces new Batman cowl releases including Batman: Knightfall, Batman (1966), and Tim Burton's Batman versions. |
| September 2024 | T.I. and Tameka 'Tiny' Harris won a $71 million lawsuit against MGA Entertainment for violating the intellectual property rights of their music group OMG Girlz through L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls. |
| September 18 2024 |
National Toy Hall of Fame
Finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame were announced, including Apples to Apples, balloons, Choose Your Own Adventure books, Hess toy trucks, Pokémon Trading Card Game, remote control vehicles, Sequence, stick horse, and trampolines.
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| September 9 2024 | Big Lots files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, planning to sell to Nexus Capital Management. |
| August 2024 |
Pac-Man
Announced that Pac-Man will be adapted in the video game anthology series 'Secret Level' on Amazon Prime Video, voiced by Emily Swallow in the episode 'PAC-Man: Circle'.
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| August 2024 | Announced partnership with Epic Story Media and released the new Wild Manes toy line. |
| August 28 2024 | Big Lots warns of potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing within weeks, with stock dropping 27%. |
| August 16 2024 |
Ryan's World
Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure released in 2,000 theaters across the United States.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles American Girl, Care Bears, Mattel, McFarlane Toys, Five Below, My Scene, Myer, Pac-Man (character), Lego Friends, Todd McFarlane, Big Lots, Walmart Canada, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Tamagotchi, MGA Entertainment, Jakks Pacific, Crayola, Fisher-Price, National Toy Hall of Fame, Toys "R" Us, Diamond Select Toys, Pokémon Center, Ryan's World, Kmart, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Ethical Supply Chain Program, Hasbro, FAO Schwarz & Strawberry Shortcake, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.