Original "Cabbage Patch Kids" Team Back Together; 4Kids Entertainment Gets Licensing Rights to Cabbage Patch Kids.Business and Retail Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2000 Creator Xavier Roberts Xavier Roberts (born 1955, Cleveland, Georgia), the inventor and maker of Cabbage Patch Kids is an American artist and businessman. After learning the German art of soft sculpture, he created a type of doll he called "Little People". Rejoins Former Coleco Marketer Al Kahn, Now CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of 4Kids Entertainment, to License Cabbage Patch Kids Cabbage Patch Kids are a brand of doll created by Xavier Roberts in 1978. The original dolls were all cloth and were available at local craft shows, and later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia. The original team that created the wildly successful merchandising of the one-of-a-kind Cabbage Patch Kids dolls in 1983, headed by their creator Xavier Roberts and Al Kahn, chairman and chief executive officer 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), has announced it is back together to have 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. create new opportunities for licensing the popular Cabbage Patch Kids. Mr. Kahn helped Mr. Roberts and his company, Original Appalachian Artworks Inc. of Cleveland, Ga., launch and market the early `Kids beginning in 1983. At the time, Mr. Kahn headed marketing for Coleco, which originally produced and marketed the unique toys. Cabbage Patch Kids, which were so popular they caused riots in toy stores in the mid-1980s, became one of the best-selling toys of all time. In 1985, Cabbage Patch Kids generated approximately $1 billion in retail sales of all licensed product. More than 95 million Cabbage Patch Kids have been "adopted" in the past 17 years. "Putting together the original creative team from Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. including Xavier Roberts and Della Tolhurst, combined with the marketing and licensing expertise of 4Kids, means that a whole new generation of children will be able to provide loving homes for yet-to-be-born Cabbage Patch Kids," Mr. Kahn said. "We will be working closely with Xavier and Della to manage the existing licensing program and to develop new entertainment and licensing opportunities for the Cabbage Patch Kids." History of the Cabbage Patch Cabbage patch may refer to:
In 1976, a 21-year-old art student named Xavier Roberts decided to utilize his interest in sculpture and began making one-of-a-kind soft-sculptured baby dolls. Soon after, he developed a concept for marketing these LITTLE PEOPLE, by giving each baby a birth certificate and an original name chosen from a 1937 baby book. Instead of putting them up for sale, Xavier decided to make the LITTLE PEOPLE available for adoption. Original Appalachian Artworks started in 1978 with Xaiver and five friends. Moving into a former medical clinic in Cleveland, Ga., they established Babyland General Hospital Babyland General Hospital is the birthplace of Cabbage Patch dolls located in Cleveland, GA. Xavier Roberts converted an old clinic into a facility from which to sell his dolls, originally called "Little People. , where `Kids are not made but delivered as newborns from a Cabbage Patch assisted by "doctors" and "nurses." Babyland General Hospital, located 75 miles north of Atlanta, is still one of the top tourist attractions in Georgia with handmade original Cabbage Patch Kids available for adoption there for $190.00 and up. The success of the original LITTLE PEOPLE was phenomenal. In 1982, Original Appalachian Artworks negotiated a long-term licensing agreement with Coleco, then a major toy manufacturer, to produce a baby with a vinyl head and soft body within an affordable price range. As part of this partnership, the name of the LITTLE PEOPLE was changed to Cabbage Patch Kids. They were an instant success. The `Kids have enjoyed many highlights over the years including the January 2000 release of a US Postage Stamp postage stamp, government stamp affixed to mail to indicate payment of postage. The term includes stamps printed or embossed on postcards and envelopes as well as the adhesive labels. , part of the Celebrate the Century Campaign. In 1992, the `Kids were named the official mascots of the U.S. Olympic Team and traveled with American athletes to the Barcelona games. The `Kids also were the official mascot of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Also in 1996, the Cabbage Patch Kids made their home video debut with the release of two stop-motion animation short films, "The New Kid" and "The Clubhouse." A third film, "The Screen Test," followed in 1997 and won an "Award of Excellence" from the Film Advisory Board. About 4Kids Entertainment 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 Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. include: Leisure Concepts, Inc., 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; Websites 4Kids and Technology 4Kids. This release and prior releases are available on the KCSA KCSA Krannert Center Student Association KCSA Kentucky Crushed Stone Association (Frankfort, KY) KCSA Kyiv City State Administration KCSA Kalamazoo Christian School Association KCSA Kentucky-Canadian Studies Association Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Worldwide website at www.kcsa.com |
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