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Walthers sells Darda to German licensee

By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 2/5/2010 7:11:00 AM

MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Wm. K. Walthers has sold its Darda toy brand to Germany’s Simm Marketing, a long-time licensee of the Darda line in Europe, for an undisclosed sum.

The sale comes nearly five years after Walthers, best known for its model railroad products, purchased Darda from then owner Life-Like Products. Simm Marketing, a toymaker since 1965, has been distributing Darda products in Europe since 1999.

Darda's current line includes its core pull-back powered toy vehicles and playsets, plus tops and jack-in-the-boxes.

“This sale presents an outstanding opportunity for both companies,” said J. Philip Walthers, president of Wm. K. Walthers. “Darda helped us reach new markets outside the traditional hobby channels, where we’re well known as the leading supplier of model railroad products. The sale clears the way for us to apply what we’ve learned from Darda to focus on and grow our core products and services. Darda’s popularity with parents and specialty retailers makes it a perfect fit with Simm Marketing’s current product mix. And their ability to reach a wide range of customers promises to make Darda even more successful in the future. Darda is a great brand and we have no doubt it will do well under Simm’s management.”

While the details of the arrangements, in particular the U.S. distribution of Darda products, were still being finalized at press time, “Customers should see a seamless transition,” Walthers said.

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