University Games has a growth strategy that we started executing probably five or six years after we started, and that is to expand internationally into more markets and to do acquisitions. Every time we expand into a new market, we’re able to bring our games, puzzles, and toys to new people on the planet, and that’s really cool. A lot of companies in our industry, especially in our categories, focus on the U.S., and then maybe they do a little bit in Canada, and the rest of their international sales are what comes to them. Somebody comes from Poland, France, Germany, or Brazil, and they want to buy their games. We don’t do it that way. We do our international expansion by opening up subsidiaries in different countries, and for a company our size, that’s very unusual in terms of the acquisition strategy and how that increases our product offerings.
We’re pretty specific about what kinds of companies we want to acquire. They need to be in games and puzzles, science, or something that is adjacent to that. You wouldn’t see University Games doing action figures, vehicles, or dolls. We want to stay focused. We’ve done 16 acquisitions, which I think is, if not the most of any company in the last 25 years, we’re up there with Spin Master and Hasbro and those kinds of people. We’ve done two in the last year and a half that have been great. The first was The Learning Journey International, which emphasized and allowed us to get preschool products down to 2 years old and extend into electronic preschool toys. We were able to get into a new area and at the same time stay true to games and puzzles, which is primarily what The Learning Journey is. Most recently, we did an exclusive global distribution agreement with the John Hansen Co., and that allows us to have products that we never would’ve had before. They own the Hoberman line of Hoberman Spheres, which is a really cool line. And they also have a game called 221B Baker Street that I’ve always loved. So we’ve acquired that. They also have some more science-based products that broaden our great exploration science offerings. So these two acquisitions strengthen us in games and puzzles, but also broaden us in science and in children’s activities
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