Lesney Products and Co: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Im1958VVM-Lesney.jpg|thumb| 1958. ]] | [[Image:Im1958VVM-Lesney.jpg|thumb| 1958. ]] | ||
[[Image:Im1960Ry-Lesney.jpg|thumb| 1960.]] | [[Image:Im1960Ry-Lesney.jpg|thumb| 1960.]] | ||
'''Lesney Products and Co''' of Eastway, Hackney Wick, London. | |||
Lesney | '''Lesney''' was a British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of die-cast toys under the "Matchbox" name. | ||
1947 Founded as an industrial die-casting company by [[Leslie Smith]] (March 6, 1918 - May 26, 2005) and [[Rodney Smith]] (August 26, 1917 - July 20, 2013). The two men were not related by blood; they had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II. Shortly after they founded the company. | 1947 Founded as an industrial die-casting company by [[Leslie Smith]] (March 6, 1918 - May 26, 2005) and [[Rodney Smith]] (August 26, 1917 - July 20, 2013). The two men were not related by blood; they had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II. Shortly after they founded the company. | ||
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1953 Production of a replica of the Royal State Coach. Two versions were created, the first in a larger scale, followed by a smaller-scale model. | 1953 Production of a replica of the Royal State Coach. Two versions were created, the first in a larger scale, followed by a smaller-scale model. | ||
Mr. Odell designed a toy for his daughter - a scaled-down version of the Lesney green and red road roller that could fit inside a matchbox. Based on the aforementioned size restriction, the idea was born to sell the model in a replica matchbox – thus also yielding the name of the series which would propel Lesney to worldwide, mass-market success. The road roller ultimately became the first of the Matchbox 1 | Mr. Odell designed a toy for his daughter - a scaled-down version of the Lesney green and red road roller that could fit inside a matchbox. Based on the aforementioned size restriction, the idea was born to sell the model in a replica matchbox – thus also yielding the name of the series which would propel Lesney to worldwide, mass-market success. The road roller ultimately became the first of the [[Matchbox]] 1/75 scale miniature range; a dump truck and a cement mixer completed the original three-model release. | ||
Lesney used a partner company, '''Moko''' (itself also named after its founder, Moses Kohnstam), to market/distribute its toys. | Lesney used a partner company, '''Moko''' (itself also named after its founder, Moses Kohnstam), to market/distribute its toys. | ||
1966 Lesney received their first (of several) Queen's Awards for Industry. | |||
1969 Introduced ''Superfast'' toy cars with friction-free wheels, initially for export to USA<ref>The Times, July 14, 1969</ref> | |||
1980 The group lost £17.6 million, suffered a drop in sales and cut its workforce from 9213 to 5470.<ref>The Engineer 1981/06/04</ref> | 1980 The group lost £17.6 million, suffered a drop in sales and cut its workforce from 9213 to 5470.<ref>The Engineer 1981/06/04</ref> | ||
Revision as of 09:47, 29 November 2019
Lesney Products and Co of Eastway, Hackney Wick, London.
Lesney was a British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of die-cast toys under the "Matchbox" name.
1947 Founded as an industrial die-casting company by Leslie Smith (March 6, 1918 - May 26, 2005) and Rodney Smith (August 26, 1917 - July 20, 2013). The two men were not related by blood; they had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II. Shortly after they founded the company.
1948 They produced their first model toy – a die-cast road roller based clearly on a Dinky model (the industry leader in die-cast toy cars at that time) – in hindsight proves to be the first of perhaps three major milestones on the path to their eventual destiny.
1953 Production of a replica of the Royal State Coach. Two versions were created, the first in a larger scale, followed by a smaller-scale model.
Mr. Odell designed a toy for his daughter - a scaled-down version of the Lesney green and red road roller that could fit inside a matchbox. Based on the aforementioned size restriction, the idea was born to sell the model in a replica matchbox – thus also yielding the name of the series which would propel Lesney to worldwide, mass-market success. The road roller ultimately became the first of the Matchbox 1/75 scale miniature range; a dump truck and a cement mixer completed the original three-model release.
Lesney used a partner company, Moko (itself also named after its founder, Moses Kohnstam), to market/distribute its toys.
1966 Lesney received their first (of several) Queen's Awards for Industry.
1969 Introduced Superfast toy cars with friction-free wheels, initially for export to USA[1]
1980 The group lost £17.6 million, suffered a drop in sales and cut its workforce from 9213 to 5470.[2]