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Christmas/Chanukah 2000 Brought To You By 4Kids Entertainment: The Company Who Helped Make Pokemon A Household Name Makes Major Splash At Toy Fair.


Business Editors

Toy Fair 2000

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2000

Over 75 Companies, Including Big Three -- Hasbro, Mattel, and Toy

Biz -- Exhibited Products Licensed Through 4Kids Entertainment

The first Christmas and Chanukah of the new millennium will be brought to you by Leisure Concepts Inc. (LCI LCI Livable Centers Initiative
LCI Life Cycle Inventory
LCI Landing Craft, Infantry
LCI La Chaine Info (French cable news channel)
LCI Lean Construction Institute
LCI Lions Club International
), the licensing division of 4Kids Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ
 in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on
:KIDE).

Indeed, at the American International Toy Fair The American International Toy Fair (the trademarked name uses all capitals for TOY FAIR) is one of a few major toy industry trade shows held around the world. It is held annually in late winter (mid February) in New York City's Toy District (Broadway and 5th Avenue in the mid  in New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
 last week, more than 75 companies, including the "Big Three" of Hasbro, Mattel, and Toy Biz, exhibited hundreds of games, books, action figures, electronic toys, computer software, children's furniture and other merchandise that were the result of licensing agreements brokered by LCI/4Kids Entertainment, Inc.

This panoply pan·o·ply  
n. pl. pan·o·plies
1. A splendid or striking array: a panoply of colorful flags. See Synonyms at display.

2.
 of (toy) products ran the gamut from USHRA USHRA United States Hot Rod Association  Monster Trucks A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
  • Aces High - Shell-Camino
  • Aftershock
  • Air Force
  • Airborne Ranger
  • American Dream
  • American Guardian
  • Annihilator
  • Arachnaphobia
  • Avenger
  • Awesome Kong
  • An Escalade
B
 to Pokemon. 4Kids, along with Nintendo, brought Pokemon out of Asia, making it a household word around the world. As the exclusive licensing agent for Nintendo, the LCI division of 4Kids has licensed the franchise to more than 150 U.S.-based companies, as well as others outside America, bringing smiles to countless millions of children across the globe.

At Toy Fair, LCI/4Kids teamed up with Hasbro and Nintendo for "Pokemon 2000: A Sneak Pikachu," a "runway fashion show" at which hundreds of new Pokemon toys and games were debuted.

And as the licensing company for World Championship Wrestling For the Australian professional wrestling promotion, see World Championship Wrestling (Australia). For the poet, see William Carlos Williams.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001.
, the professional wrestling Noun 1. professional wrestling - wrestling for money
sport - the occupation of athletes who compete for pay

rassling, wrestling, grappling - the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other down
 home of such legendary grapplers as Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Goldberg, LCI/4Kids brokered a long-term alliance between Mattel, Inc, WCW WCW World Championship Wrestling
WCW Wellesley Centers for Women
WCW West Coast Watchers
, and Pace Motor Sports for a new line of Hot Wheels die-cast cars and other toy vehicles featuring Pace's line of Monster Trucks, including those bearing the colors and likenesses of WCW superstars.

"We're very excited to be teaming up with Leisure Concepts Inc. to develop merchandise for such top-notch properties," said Jim Wagner, senior vice president of Hot Wheels Marketing & Licensing at Mattel, Inc.

"Mattel produces awesome children's products and boasts a portfolio of lifestyle brands - like Hot Wheels - which are household names," said Al Kahn, president of Leisure Concepts Inc. "It's a great opportunity for us to partner two of the hottest licenses with the number one toy manufacturer in the world."

This new line was launched at Toy Fair when the WCW Monster Machine, a Monster Truck, showed that the best way to beat New York's taxi traffic is to run over and crush the yellow cabs.

While children will clamor for Pokemon merchandise, not to mention the new Hot Wheels Monster Trucks at holiday time, Santa's sleigh sleigh: see sled.  will also be filled with other LCI/4Kids licensed products which are also being touted as the "hot" items this year.

Toy Biz will be stocking store shelves with an array of WCW action figures and WCW toys and games that were developed through an agreement established by LCI/4Kids. If last year is any indication, all are sure to be on every boy's wish list. Indeed, at last year's Toy Fair, Toy Biz introduced the electronic interactive "Tuff Talkin' Wrestlers" and they flew off the shelves at holiday time.

Other LCI/4Kids Entertainment licensed products introduced at this year's Toy Fair included: Tiger Electronics' Zelda electronic board game; Golden Books' Pokemon children's books; American Greetings' Pokemon gift wrap and bags; Hedstrom Corporation's Pokemon slumber bags, bean bag chairs, and balls; Oddz On/Cap Toys' Pokemon candy and toys; Wizard of the Coast's Pokemon trading card game; Interplay Productions' Nintendo computer software; Bensussen Deutsch's Nintendo game music CDE (1) (Computer Desktop Encyclopedia) What you are reading at this very moment. See About this product.

(2) (Common Desktop Environment) A user interface for desktop computing from The Open Group.
, tattoo sheets, lapel pins, key chains, watches, and action figures; Tomy Corporation's Nintendo vending toys; Figure Toy Company's WCW replica belts and placques; and Funomenon! LLC's WCW mugs, cups, bowls, and jars.

Nintendo originally launched Pokemon in Japan for the world's best-selling "Game Boy" hand-held game system and watched the 150 creatures evolve into a cultural phenomenon. The franchise arrived in North America in September 1998 with the release of the Pokemon Blue and Red Game Boy games and has grown into a $7 billion industry worldwide. Nintendo and its licensing agency Leisure Concepts, Inc., a division of 4Kids Entertainment, have licensed the franchise to more than 150 U.S.-based companies whose products entertain millions of fans all over North America.

Headquartered in New York City New York City: see New York, city.
New York City

City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S.
, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:KIDE) is a vertically-integrated entertainment company whose wholly-owned subsidiaries include: Leisure Concepts, Inc., a leader in domestic and international merchandise licensing and product development; 4Kids Productions, a television, film, music and home video production company; and Summit Media, a domestic and international television distribution, media buying, and planning company.

World Championship Wrestling is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (often abbreviated TBS Networks or TBS, inc.) is the company managing the collection of cable networks and properties started by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner from the mid-1970s to the late-1990s. , Inc., a Time Warner company. WCW produces and markets television programs and live events featuring wrestling superstars. WCW produces eight hours of original programming seen each week throughout the U.S. and over 25 countries around the world. Check out WCW's Web site at www.WCW.com.

PACE Motor Sports, a company of SFX SFX Special Effects
SFX Self Extracting (data compression)
SFX SpreadFireFox (IRC)
SFX Sound Effect(s)
SFX Side Effects (counter-strike gaming clan) 
 Entertainment, is one of the world's largest producers and promoters of specialized motorsports events, presenting more than 500 events attracting more than four million spectators each year. For more information, log on to www.PACEMOTORSPORTS.com and www.USHRA.com.

(This press release contains forward-looking statements. Due to the fact that the Company faces competition from toy companies, motion picture studios, and other licensing companies, and the uncertainty of the public's response to the Company's properties, actual results or outcomes may differ materially from any such forward-looking statements-4Kids Entertainment, Inc.)
COPYRIGHT 2000 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2000, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Feb 28, 2000
Words:911
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