BEAMSCOPE LOOKING FOR AGENCY
By Adnews Staff
Beamscope Canada of Toronto is looking for an agency to advertise toys, marketing director Gary Mirsky told Adnews yesterday. The account is for the company's new subsidiary called Beamscope Toys. Beamscope will begin its agency search next week and expects to have a short list in a month. In the meantime, it is using Mark Sherman Advertising of Montreal for the spring launch of a beach toy called Rocket Sock, which is made by European toy maker Keiko. Beamscope Toys already has agreements to market and distribute products from RoseArt Industries, a maker of crafts, activities and puzzles, European preschool toy company Chicco Toys and stuffed toy company Ace Novelty. It will also be distributing toys associated with the upcoming Disney summer movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as merchandise from movies such as Star Wars, Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Stuff for Kids. In the fall Beamscope will be launching a line of toys in based on the movie Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Toons characters.
Beamscope is doing well in the marketplace with its current line of products. President Larry Wasser says in a release that although the Christmas retail period was slow in general, the demand for home computer products is still strong. Beamscope sales increased 39% last year, reaching $270.8 million. Net income for 1995 jumped 23% to $6.5 million. Beamscope distributes home office products, home computer software and video entertainment products. It handles products from manufacturers such as IBM, Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard, Canon Canada, Sony Canada, Nintendo of Canada, Panasonic, Sega of Canada and Texas Instruments.