Formerly | Pansy Ellen Products, Inc.; Kids II |
---|---|
Company type | Private |
Founded | 1969 |
Headquarters | |
Key people | Ryan Gunnigle (CEO) |
Brands | Bright Starts, Baby Einstein, Ingenuity |
Owner | Ryan Gunnigle |
Number of employees | 750 |
Website |
www |
Kids 2, Inc., doing business online as Kids2, is an American infant and toddler toy and product manufacturer based in Atlanta, Georgia. [1] [2][ dead link] The company designs, manufactures and markets Bright Starts, Baby Einstein, and Ingenuity brand products. [3] [4] Kids 2 has international affiliate operation locations in Australia, Canada, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Mexico. [3] [4] In 2013, Kids II had more than 400 products under its brands. [4] [5]
Ryan Gunnigle is the company's CEO. [4] [6]
The company was originally named Pansy Ellen Products, and was founded in 1969 primarily as an infant bath and toy manufacturer. [7] In 1992, the company debuted its products in Toys "R" Us stores. [7] The company re-branded in 1993 and changed its name to Kids II, Inc. [7] Kids II began licensing for Disney in 1999. [7]
In 2001, Kids 2 opened its first international office in Hong Kong. [7] The company expanded to Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Japan, and Canada by 2006 [7] [8] The company expanded its Hong Kong - based testing lab with the addition of a chemical testing sector in 2009. [7]
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) partnered with the company in December, 2010. [9] [10] The partnership allowed SCAD students to conceptualize and prototype toy concepts for the company. [9] [10] The firm acquired the Oball and Taggies brands the following year. [11]
In 2012, the company relocated its headquarters from Alpharetta, to Atlanta. [1] The company's new office space and showroom were a finalist in the design category for Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2012 Best in Atlanta Real Estate Awards. [1] The company was also a finalist in the 2011 Georgia Family Business Awards in the large business category. [12] Kids II opened an office in Johannesburg, South Africa in March 2012. [4] [13] The company was one of the first companies in the industry to expand its direct global distribution in South Africa according to Vertical News. [13]
The company received 11 awards at the Graphic Design USA Awards for its package design in 2012. [14] Kids II attended Kind + Jugend, an international juvenile products trade fair in Cologne, Germany. [15] The company showed 350 SKUs at the show. [15] The Atlanta Business Chronicle named Kids II one of the best places to work in Atlanta in 2013. [16] [17]
In October 2013, Kids 2 acquired Baby Einstein, formerly owned by The Walt Disney Company. [18] Baby Einstein products use real world objects, music, art, animals and nature with the intention to introduce infants to the world around them. [18] [19]
In April 2019, Kids 2 announced a recall of 700,000 inclined baby sleepers sold under a variety of different brand names and models. [20] In August 2019, Kids II announced a name change to Kids2, opening a new factory in China and launching a new direct to consumer website. [21]
In July 2022, Kids 2 acquired a public company, Summer Infant, out of Woonsocket, RI. Summer Infant is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Kids2 and part of the Kids2 Group. [22]
In 2018, Kids II was named one of Atlanta's top 50 Private Companies.
In November 2018, Kids 2 launched Kids2.com, a resource for early stage parents.
Kids II has approximately 750 employees worldwide in 8 offices. [4] [6]
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