BRIO

BRIO's business concept is to market products to children and families with children, in which play, activity, company, development/stimulation and entertainment are the dominant elements, and in which care of, and attention to, the child are at the center of focus. BRIO branded products are targeted mainly at infants/young children in the BRIO business areas of play, moving/transport of children and child day care. In all these areas, the hallmarks of BRIO products are detailed consideration to quality and a focus on, and awareness of, the needs of children. BRIO AB is a century-old toy company based in Osby, Sweden, with subsidiaries in North America and Europe. The family-run company operates in several child-related business areas. BRIO is best known for its line of wooden trains and preschool toys which are sold by 14,000 stores in 34 countries. With a market share of about 40 percent, BRIO is the largest supplier of wooden toys in the world. In the Nordic region (Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark), BRIO is the leading toy wholesaler, distributing both its own BRIO brand toys and a wide range of imports including products from such large American toy manufacturers as Hasbro, Tyco, Mattel, and Fisher-Price. The company also manufactures a line of baby carriages and high-chairs that are marketed primarily in the Nordic region. BRIO's Lek & Lär division, operating in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, distributes daycare and school equipment through a mail-order catalogue. Other ventures include the manufacture and sale of Alga games, a toy wholesaling business in Poland, and a promotional toy licensing company. The roots of the BRIO organization are traced back to 1878 when 17-year-old Ivar Bengtsson invested his savings of 77 riksdaler (the Swedish currency of the time) in the purchase of woven slatted baskets to sell in neighboring Denmark. The youthful venture was a success, and by 1884 Bengtsson and his wife, Sissa, were operating a small basket factory out of their cottage in Boalt, just outside Osby, Sweden. By 1902 the basket company required larger facilities, and the company was moved to Osby, an expanding community in the province of Skåne. Osby's position on the main railway line in the country made it an excellent location for the growing wholesaling concern because it allowed Bengtsson to distribute his products across the region. With its new location and facilities, the Ivar Bengtsson Basket Company was able to greatly expand its product line. The 1907 catalogue lists more than 170 articles available for order. Among these items was the Göinge Horse, a traditional wooden pull toy. This small, painted horse on wheels marked BRIO's first entry into the wooden toy business that would become the company's hallmark product line. In 1908, at the age of 47, Bengtsson decided to turn his business over to his sons, Viktor, Anton, and Emil Ivarsson. Although the three boys were still young, Bengtsson hoped that by giving them the management of the company they would be dissuaded from joining the waves of Swedish youths who were then immigrating to the United States. His ploy worked. The boys stayed in Sweden, and the company name was changed to BRIO for Bröderna Ivarsson of Osby (Ivarsson Brothers of Osby). The company continued to expand its range of product offerings so that by 1914 the BRIO catalogue offered 6,000 items for sale by mail-order and traveling salesmen. Product types included toys, ceramics, glass, and porcelain among other diverse merchandise. BRIO also opened a small retail shop, called the "15-öre Bazaar," to sell the company's products directly to Osby consumers. BRIO opened a new phase in its history in 1930 when the bold BRIO trademark was painted onto the side of two wooden cars distributed by the company. The development of the BRIO brand would become key to the growth and development of the company over the next 70 years. Some five years later the company lent its name to a line of baby carri