Discovery Toys
Multi-level marketing company specializing in educational toys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Discovery Toys is a multi-level marketing company specializing in educational toys.[1] Its products are sold in the U.S. and Canada, and its headquarters are in Livermore, California.
| Industry | Multi-level marketing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Lane Nemeth |
| Headquarters | Livermore, California, U.S. |
Key people | Jerry Salerno (CEO) |
| Products | Toys |
| Website | www |
The company was purchased by Avon Products in 1997 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eos International in 2001.[2][3][4]
History
Discovery Toys was founded as a multi-level marketing company in 1978 by Lane Nemeth,[5] a former daycare director, with a $5,000 family loan.[1][6] Lane, a mother from the San Francisco bay area, started the company when she was unable to find educational toys for her own children.[7]
According to Nemeth, the company had 2,500 sales "consultants" in 1982 and had reached $4.6 million in revenue the previous year.[8] Ms. Nemeth grew the company to a $100 million in annual revenue by 1997 then sold the company to Avon[9] who sold it in 2002 to a private equity group. Discovery Toys was acquired by and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eos International, Inc. in July 2001.[1][4]
One of the company's top selling toys is Marbleworks. Released in 1982, it consists of colorful, sloped, plastic half-pipes of different designs. The individual pieces interlock, creating a track on which marbles are run.[10] Marbleworks was included in Discovery's product line when Discovery Toys expanded into China in 2003.[11]
