![]() Wanting to expand beyond Canada, Victor Bertrand took an interest in construction block sets. He saw room for growth despite them being an industry staple since the early years of the 20th century when the Batima Block was released in Belgium in 1905. With Lego being the leading construction toy, Bertrand chose to make a similar set. Īt 1984 trade shows, Ritvik showed the Mega Bloks line in the US and Canada.īertrand ignored friends and advisors, feeling he had two advantages in launching Mega Bloks: he aimed to produce jumbo-sized bricks for toddlers, who Lego bricks were not designed for, and he considered his expertise in injection molding would give him a price advantage. Several multinational companies had made offers just after the trade show for distribution rights, as well as to buy either Mega Bloks or RH itself.Īn immediate hit, Mega Bloks had generally large sales in Canada, including a $1 million sale to Toys R Us, and were available almost anywhere in the two markets in 1985. īy 1989, Mega Bloks were in 30 countries and popular in Europe, the US and Canada. A piano set with Mega Blok-compatible keys for the pre-school market was released in 1988. In 1989, Ritvik sold all of its other toy and plastics lines. Ī Mega Bloks "Micro" line was released in 1991 these were compatible with or a clone of Lego bricks. This finally placed Ritvik and The Lego Group in direct competition. Lego Canada soon sued Ritvik for unfair competition, claiming a likelihood of confusion between its Micro Mega Bloks and the Lego line. Since Lego's brick shape patent had expired, the lawsuit dragged on for years as sales grew worldwide (at an average 70% a year until the mid-1990s), but finally Ritvik won the case by clearly distinguishing its brand from Lego. In 1996, a 27% share of Ritvik was sold to the Blackstone Group. Rita Bertrand and her daughter Chantal retired that year, while Marc and Victor Bertrand, Jr. Two international subsidiaries were formed, Mega Bloks Latinoamerica S.A. International sales in the 1990s were at 30%, with 70% from Canada and the US all but 10% were from four major chains: Toys 'R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart. Ritvik followed the late 1990s licensing trend in 1998, with its first licensing agreement being for Teletubbies, followed by an agreement with Fisher-Price with its Sesame Street characters license. was amalgamated with Ritvik Holdings Inc. Lego, K'Nex and Ritvik added features to their lines in 2000. Ritvik made transformable building sets that changed into vehicles, and a remote control electronic kit named the Mega Bloks RO Action Builder. Ritvik also added TV advertising that year with a $2 million campaign the company spent $30 million on advertising, marketing, and research and development in 2002. With sales having approximately doubled since 1999, Ritvik went public via an initial public offering in May 2002 on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new name of Mega Bloks Inc. ![]() and Marc Bertrand, became chief operating officer and chief operating officer/president, respectively, while Victor Sr. The toy market was in a down cycle from 2002 to 2003, with the construction toy segment losing 10 to 15%, but Mega Bloks experienced increased sales. Since 1986, the company had seen a run of 17 years of growth, becoming number two in the construction toy segment behind Lego. This wasn't even all the people attending - there were plenty missing or elsewhere when this was taken.In 2003, the company formed a joint venture with the Japanese toy company Bandai for Asia. And bumped into lots of friends old and new.Ī truly fantastic group photo. And I met up with my friend Beth - Beth helped me out the first time I ever went, and she doesn't get out much so it was amazing to see her again. We helped another newbie on her first time out - Carla. THe Marriott has been a brilliant start venue for the last year and a bit and it's sad to have to move, but we got a professional photographer in to take some photos of the last one, and some incredible group photos outside the Marriott which just go to show what an amazing event Leeds First Friday is. ![]() Sadly our starting venue, the Marriott, is no longer available to us as it's being turned into an Italian restaurant. Comments always appreciated, as long as you keep it clean - I love to hear your feedback! xxĭecember was a bitterweet month at LFF.
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