Company Performance Metrics
Boyds was founded in 1979 by Gary and Justina Lowenthal as a small antique business in Boyds, Maryland. By 1984, Boyds had begun to reproduce and sell miniature houses, duck decoys and merino wool teddy bears to selected retail outlets. In 1984, Boyds also introduced its first major plush product, a unique, fully-jointed wool teddy bear named
MATTHEW-TM-, and the GNOMES HOMES-TM-, a small collection of hand-sculpted miniature cast resin houses. Boyds relocated from Maryland to southern Pennsylvania in 1987 in order to take advantage of more favorable labor markets. The product line was expanded to include other plush animals and related accessories including miniature clothes, furniture and ornaments. Boyds began distributing its plush animal lines to department stores and gift retailers, opting against selling to mass merchandisers, major discount stores and toy chains. This strategy strengthened Boyds' relationship with its retailers, a competitive advantage which exists today. In 1993, Boyds began selling cast resin figurines with the introduction of its BEARSTONES line.
