Kirk: Thank you for your great report on the "Nano" pet by Playmates
Toys. Apparently, it will come in three versions (puppy dog, kitty cat,
and human baby). Playmates Toys (of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
fame is targeting the girls' market (ages 9-13) for their virtual
pet toy. An article referencing Bandai, Tiger Electronics, and
Playmates Toys on the subject of virtual pets may be found:
infoseek.com
There is, as mentioned here, a Playmates Toys thread at:
exchange2000.com
While somewhat dated, the the thread is a rich mine of information
about this very unusual toy firm. I have been following this company
for more than a few years. Playmates Toys trades primarily in Hong
Kong, but is available in the USA on the OTC pink sheets. The price
it fetches in Hong Kong is about HK$1.45 (US$.19). There is no
longer a sponsored American Depositary Receipt (ADR) available.
The company, in my view, is at an interesting point in its 30 year
history. The capitalization is dirt cheap (ca. US$125.4 million)
compared to the other toy giants; the company records no debt and
US$62 million cash reserves. Playmates Toys- through its subsidiary,
Playmates Interactive Entertainment- has become a major force in the
video game market and currently has title to, among others, "MDK",
a huge hit drawing rave reviews. This will be followed by "Meat
Puppet" which has also drawn mountains of excitement from video
game reviewers.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are gearing up for another push,
having added a fifth girl Turtle. Haim Saban (Power Rangers) is be-
hind a Fox Kids' Network live action series airing this fall, and, in
November, the film Turtles IV makes its national and inter-
national debut.
Additionally, George Lucas has invited both Mattel and Playmates Toys
to the bidding table for the new Star Wars trilogy toy licenses.
Hasbro and Galoob Toys are the licensees for the old trilogy and
are also contestants for this, the Holy Grail of all toy licenses.
Those awards are presumably to be announced by end of June or
early July. With Playmates reputation for high quality, affordable
science fiction action toys (e.g. its Star Trek line) and its rich
cash position, it certainly has as good a shot as the others.
As evidenced at Playmates Toys web site,
playmatestoys.com
the company has spent the years since the Turtle craze in an all out
program of diversification of its product lines. I am hoping this is
the year when the program begins to yield the choicest fruits. What I
like about this company is its Spartan management (less than 150
employees) and proven ability to manage costs in the rough and
tumble world of toys. Suffice it to say, the downside risk here for
the shares, at these depressed price levels, is, I believe, minimal.
My apologies for interrupting the Bandai thread. However, since
Playmates Toys has been a matter of discussion here, I thought
these words might be of some interest to the folks here.
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