A Factory of Their Own
Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts and Dec, 3/14/2011 4:26:11 AM
The Aurora team at the anniversary party in Atlanta.
Aurora World Inc. built a multinational plush business on a foundation of owning their own infrastructure.
IN 1981, H.Y. NOH FOUNDED Aurora Trading Inc., one of the first toy manufacturing companies in Korea. Shortly thereafter, Aurora established factories in Indonesia and China. "We are the only plush company that owns our own manufacturing facilities," said Tina Waldmier, Aurora's head of marketing.
During the same period, the early '90s, the company set up sales networks in Hong Kong and the U. S. "The goal was always to come to the U.S.," said Waldmier. The company's first U.S. catalog, in 1996, had less than 200 products in it, compared to the approximately 3,000 SKUs Aurora offers today.
In the later '90s, Aurora added sales networks in the U.K. and Germany, created design, research and development centers at its Korean headquarters and changed its name to Aurora World Inc.
Celebrating the Present
From 2000 to the present, Aurora participated in more than 20 gift shows worldwide, was listed on the KOSDAQ index, established Aurora Games at its headquarters and appointed a senior vice president of sales in the USA division.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the company held a party during the Atlanta market, and is also holding a private 
The limited edition anniversary bear.
VIP dinner in NY at Toy Fair, where Noh, now chairman, will give the keynote address. The company is also offering a commemorative 30th anniversary bear, of which only 1,200 are being produced.
Looking to the Future
Looking forward, "plush will always be our mainstay, but we're branching out a bit," Waldmier explains. "With our baby line, we're making an entryway into hard goods. We call ourselves a character and content company. YooHoo and Friends is our launching pad: we have the website; we have animation."
That doesn't mean Aurora has taken its eyes off the main business. "We continue to push customer satisfaction as our number one goal," says Waldmier. "We understand the importance of worldwide distribution to build our brand." Aurora is also staying ahead of production technologies and emerging markets.
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