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Non-Tech : Radica Games (RADA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David who wrote (2758)	2/20/1998 9:00:00 AM
From: BI*RI	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7111

David, I didn't see the Ad that Gary referred to in yesterday's Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, but this morning's Business section's lead article is about toy ripoffs! It's a front page, 2 page article with a banner that includes a large copy of your Don't Get Hooked by Imposters ad that "appeared in several trade publications at the recent toy fair in New York" and right next to it is a color photo of "imposter" Sport Fishing. Below the photo is the caption: "Radica USA, which patented the hand-held video game Bass Fishin', warns against imposters. But can you tell the difference between the real thing in the ad and the half-price knockoff on the right?" Excerpt from the article: Copycats, Copydogs, Copyfrogs By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN Radica USA, a Dallas toy company, has had a real problem with its Bass Fishin' hand-held video fishing game. Maybe you've never heard of Bass Fishin'. But counterfeiters have. ''Don't Get Hooked By Imposters,'' the company wrote in an ad that appeared in several trade publications at the toy fair in New York, the industry's biggest show. In the ad, Radica said demand for the game ''has given rise to knockoffs and counterfeit products in the market. We intend to protect our high-quality game and our related intellectual property rights by aggressively pursuing those involved in this activity.'' Graham Cotton, Radica's vice president of sales, said Radica began seeing knockoffs of the game - identical in every way except the company logo - soon after it was introduced in June 1996. He knows he's not alone in the industry. ''It tends to be that anything that's highly successful, there's going to be something phony that follows it,'' Cotton said. Knockoffs and counterfeits find a market for an obvious reason: They're cheaper. The Bass Fishin' game costs $25 at Toys 'R' Us. A nearly exact copy of an earlier design of the game is selling this week for $9.99 at Ocean State Job Lot. (''Similar to the one on TV!'' the store's ad says.) news.courant.com This link brings you to the complete text of the article, which, as I mentioned, in the actual newspaper has a very large picture of Radica's warning Ad and a color picture of the knockoff.

To: David who wrote (2758)	2/21/1998 1:33:00 PM
From: Robinski	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7111

David, The Walmart with the fakes is in Aransas Pass, Tx. EOM

To: David who wrote (2758)	2/21/1998 5:38:00 PM
From: j rector	Respond to of 7111

Hi david, I spoke with another retailer located in a major shopping mall in Marin County, CA. Everything was flooded out so the manager had some time. I noticed two radica games--poker and blackjack, with about 4 tiger games marked down 25%. I asked re bass fishing, he said they hadn't been able to get it from their buyers since before christmas. He has checked into it pretty thoroughly and found that no buyers could get it for him-- said there were production problems with the games. I assume we would have had a news release if there were, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. He also told me what happened when the games came in in Oct. He played for eight hours straight. He brought to dinner where his buddies played throuout dinner The waitress started playing it, and brought out the chef who started getting into it. Seems like BF should have a much bigger year this year than last. If RADAF can produce enough. Will you address production problems (also read demand overload) in CC?