Toy2R will close its USA Division

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This morning we received some unfortunate news in our inbox – the USA division of Toy2R is closing it doors, though the parent company based in Hong Kong will continue developing and  producing vinyl toys. Here’s the introductory and main portion of the official statement:

‘Thank you for your support from the past few years. While the Qeevolution continues, it is with deep regret that Toy2R USA will not continue its voyage with the Hong Kong company and will be ending operations in August 2012. The decision for closure has been a logistical and unavoidable reasons. Toy2R USA will be will no longer provide further support (sales, marketing, etc) for the Hong Kong office.

Toy2R (Hong Kong) Limited will continue to provide services to all its clients while evolving the Qee brand and launching several new and exciting projects direct from its base of operations in Hong Kong.

Several amazing artist projects are planned for release in 2012/2013 as well as other new licensing programs taking Toy2R to the next stage in its ever growing profile of designer art toy collaborations.’

What this means to collectors is a bit uncertain.  The former USA division headed by Kevin Winnik serviced retailers in terms of sales/support and also marketed and promoted new product.  One possible side-effect of this move might be a reduced retail presence of Toy2R in stateside stores.  The closure might also gradually affect the parent company’s interaction with US artist to some degree.   Perhaps the most important question remains unanswered – will the move affect Toy2R’s product direction  in the long-term?

On the upside, the short-term release schedule for Toy2R sounds good to go.  Also,  it appears that  Kevin Winnik  will be launching a new artist-focused endeavor in the near future. Finally, in a related news item, Toy2R USA is holding an office cleaning sale featuring reduced prices on a wide variety of toys on eBay.

3 Replies to “Toy2R will close its USA Division”

  1. I posted this on your facebook but I was saying that a lot of peoples views of Toy2r changed right after Qeester closed. People were selling off their complete collections on Ebay.
    I looked at the Ebay sell. They have some oldies but goodies. A lot of great pieces that I haven’t seen in year.

  2. They have some cool items available on eBay right now but the shipping costs are ridiculous! $6 economy shipping for a qee? I can ship that First Class anywhere in the country for under $2!..(?) Is that their way of making a little more money on the back end? The same item on the Toy2r website only costs ~$3 to ship! Disappointing.

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