User:Namcokid47/Takara Tomy

Takara Tomy Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラトミー) is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and video game publisher headquartered in Katsushika, Tokyo. Outside Japan, the company is known as Tomy Company Ltd., and holds offices in Oak Brook, Illinois (Tomy International), southwest Asia (Tomy Asia Limited), and Pathum Thani Province (Tomy Thailand). In addition to toys and video games, Takara Tomy also produces apparel, baby supplies, and anime series.

Takara Tomy was founded on March 1, 2006 following the merger of Japanese toy companies Tomy and Takara. The merger was in response to Japan's declining birthrate, which led to decreasing sales of their toys, and needing to remain competitive in a market that was becoming more required higher manufacturing costs. Alongside its toys, Takara Tomy began releasing consumer electronics and supplying content for mobile phones to help diversify itself. The company established its video game division in 2008 after it acquired Takara's video game franchises from Atlus and their parent company Index Corporation.

Takara Tomy is one of Japan's largest toy and game companies and has produced several successful brands, including Transformers, Beyblade, Choro Q, and Zoids. It is an operator of indoor amusement spaces in Japan and a sponsor for several anime series and television programs. Takara Tomy has been identified for its employee-friendly corporate environment and the quality of its products. The company has received criticism for its business model, which has been viewed as "outdated" compared to its competitors.

History
The company decided to use the name "Tomy" in international subsidiaries, and "Takara-Tomy" in Japan, because Tomy had built considerable international brand recognition while Takara's products (Microman, Transformers, Battle Beasts, Beyblade, B-Daman etc.) had been sold and branded by other toy companies such as Hasbro. Additionally, the financial cost of rebranding was prohibitive.

In Western media, the Takara–Tomy merger was typically characterised as a 'takeover' of Takara by Tomy, likely because several years of losses had put Takara in a financially weakened state at the time of the merger (although Takara did have significantly higher sales than Tomy). However, the companies' management teams had previously discussed merging, including at times when Takara appeared stronger. Under Japanese corporate law, the move was a merger of both companies on an equal basis.

Post-merger media speculation about the control of brands from the Takara–Tomy merger arose from the new use of a "TOMY" copyright on all packaging, including former Takara brands shipped by Hasbro, but this was merely a consequence of the decision to use only the Tomy name in international subsidiaries. In Japan, Takara-Tomy continues to use both Tomy and Takara as distinct brand names on toy ranges which originated in each separate company, and most new toy ranges or stand-alone products now carry the new Takara–Tomy brand.

Takara purchased a majority stake in Tatsunoko Production in June 2005. The studio then became a full subsidiary of Takara–Tomy following the March 2006 merger. (Tatsunoko is now majorly owned by Nippon TV.) Tomy UK was founded in 1982 for the sale and distribution of Tomy products in Europe, and it has successfully brought toys such as Zoids, and games like Pop-up Pirate, to the West. Tomy UK's slogan has traditionally been "Trust Tomy". In 2006, Tomy UK launched a website on which consumers can buy online from Tomy's catalogue. In 2010, Takara Tomy announced it was among the first third-party publishers for the Nintendo 3DS at that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. The company acquired RC2 Corporation and the RC2 sub-brand Learning Curve, which included The First Years, Lamaze, and Compass, in 2011.

Corporate structure
Takara Tomy's headquarters is in Katsushika, Tokyo. It holds offices in Oak Brook, Illinois (Tomy International), southwest Asia (Tomy Asia Limited), and Pathum Thani Province (Tomy Thailand). Takara Tomy's international branches do business as Tomy Company Ltd., and release products under the Tomy brand name. The company chose to adopt the name Tomy for its overseas divisions due to the brand loyalty and recognition to the Tomy brand, and to avoid high rebranding costs.

Relationships between Takara Tomy's international offices, particularly those in North America and Japan, have not always been smooth. According to Toyo Keizai, miscommunication between its Japanese and American branches has often led to overestimated product sales and unsuccessful company acquisitions. Takara Tomy of Japan has since begun imposing countermeasures to help smoothen out relations with its overseas branches, such as consolidating its smaller divisions into other subsidiaries to improve profitability. Takara Tomy is one of Japan's largest toy and game companies, being worth ¥164.8 billion (US$1.539 billion) in revenue as of 2020. The company is also known for its fierce competition with Bandai Namco Holdings, which it sees as its main rival.

Products
Takara Tomy is best known for the Transformers franchise, which is co-owned by American company Hasbro. As of 2018, Transformers has grossed $11.752 billion in merchandise sales alone, and is the company's most successful intellectual property. Its Beyblade metallic spinning tops have sold over 150 million units worldwide by 2010, and launched a media franchise with manga and two television series, in addition to worldwide competitions. The Licca-chan dress-up doll series has become a mainstay in Japanese pop culture, and by 2007 sold 53 million dolls. The company has also found success with younger demographics through its Tomica diecast cars and Plarail plastic trainsets. Takara Tomy's other toy brands include the Choro Q pullback racers, the B-Daman marble shooters, the Microman action figures, and the Zoids garage kits and plastic models. Aside from its original properties, Takara Tomy has produced toys for other licensed brands, including Disney, Pokémon, Naruto, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Star Wars, and Thomas the Tank Engine. It has also imported toys from other manufacturers to Japan. Licensed products include Magic: The Gathering, The Game of Life (released as Jinsei Game in Japan), Furby, the Super Soaker, and Play-Doh.

Takara Tomy is also a developer and publisher of video games for home consoles. Many of its releases are based on its toy brands, including Zoids, The Game of Life, and Choro Q. As of 2021, the Choro Q video game series has sold a combined 1.87 million units in Japan. The company has also released games featuring licensed anime properties such as Naruto and Yatterman for platforms like the Wii and Nintendo DS. The development of these games is often outsourced to external companies. Though most of its releases are based on licensed brands or its toys, Takara Tomy has developed a number of original titles, such as Nano Diver. Alongside games for consumer game consoles, Takara Tomy has published arcade cabinets and video games for mobile phones in Japan. Some of its products, including the Bottle Man bottlecap launchers, are compatible with consoles like the Nintendo Switch.

Tomy sells many products worldwide, including baby and pre-school toys, baby monitors, mechanical and electronic games, consumer electronics, children's arts and crafts products, and a vast range of toys suited to girls or boys. They make a large selection of Disney, Pokémon and Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise. They also publish video games in Japan (mostly based on Zoids and Naruto anime series), and are responsible for the distribution of some Hasbro products in Japan, such as Play-Doh, Jenga and Monopoly. The company was formerly responsible for distribution of the My Little Pony products in Japan before Bushiroad acquired the distribution rights to them starting with the franchise's Friendship Is Magic line (though the animated television series was owned by Hasbro). Later in 2015, after Bushiroad disowned the distribution rights, Sega Toys reacquired the rights to all generations of the franchise. In the 1960s, Tomy was a sponsor and toy maker for the television show Giant Robo. They merged with Takara shortly before the bankruptcy of the mentioned company.