Simply Sci-fi
Jedi Knight
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2014
- Messages
- 428
It is not just a well-known Jedi Knight who had a long-forgotten sister. In 1971 Bradgate was created as a separate "sister" division by Palitoy in order to import readymade and packaged toys into Great Britain from companies around the world. The toys would not be sold to retail outlets directly, which was the remit of Palitoy Ltd, but would instead be supplied exclusively to wholesale companies. The packaging was branded by the originating manufacturer as either "Bradgate, a division of Palitoy Ltd" or with a variation of the famous Palitoy logo which incorporated the two company's livery.
Palitoy had a reputation for selling products of an extremely high quality and obtaining stock from overseas probably seemed a safer option using the cover of Bradgate. Action Man at the very least had been tested to destruction at Palitoy before being approved but the longevity of imported toys could not be guaranteed. Another consideration may have been the acquisition of conflicting brands. Although Palitoy was producing Action Man under licence from its parent company General Mills' rival Hasbro (under a deal struck before GM bought Palitoy), it was probably far easier to have Bradgate secure deals with companies which were outside of the General Mills stable.
It might have seemed to be poor business sense to sell to the "middle man" so to speak rather than toy retailers directly but a great deal on transport costs would have been saved in supplying a fairly small number of wholesale outfits, to which toy buyers travelled to looking for stock. There would also have been less risk in choosing new toy lines, for it would have been the responsibility of the individual wholesale stock warehouses to decide the amount of each item to purchase and it was they who would be stuck with any unsold stock. Bradgate may well have received commitments from major wholesalers before the final deals were struck to bring in an overseas product.
Italian company Madelman arranged for Bradgate to distribute its range of dressed military figures as Little Big Man. The new line was launched with great fanfare by Bragate and television advertising was developed. Bradgate had the clout to arrange for specific pieces for the British market such as the Little Big Man Motorway Patrol, which was a "jam sandwich" Range Rover complete with British Bobby. The Little Big Man range was eventually elevated to a fully fledged Palitoy product, with the packaging logo altered to read Palitoy solely.
American toy giant Mego Corp released a number of its toy lines via Bradgate. There must be many people in Britain who recall buying toys from The World's Greatest Superheroes, Planet of the Apes, Starsky and Hutch and the Star Trek television series with Palitoy Bradgate branding. A range of Space 1999 figures was developed for Bradgate after Mego had been beaten to the punch by Mattel for the American copyright and quickly bought the British rights instead. Of course a close inspection of the individual toys revealed the Mego maker's mark. Mego had experience with exporting British exclusive lines previously, with Dr Who and New Avengers lines produced for Denys Fisher and a Zorro doll for Palitoy. Starsky and Hutch and The Worlds Greatest Superheroes were among the products from Mego which went on to be released under the Palitoy brand.
There is a link with Star Wars in this piece, in that the toys could could have presumably been released by Bragate if the film had not become the phenomenon that it did. Palitoy on this occasion opted to cut wholesalers out of the deal and to sell the Star Wars range to retail outlets directly, which was a wise financial decision if nothing else. A Bradgate Star Wars release however remains a significant "what if" and could provide an opportunity for customizers to produce another packaging variation.
Bradgate may well be long forgotten but without Palitoy's sister the British toy market would have been a great deal less vibrant. I remember the toys released by Bradgate fondly and I am sure that I cannot be the only one.
Craig.
Palitoy had a reputation for selling products of an extremely high quality and obtaining stock from overseas probably seemed a safer option using the cover of Bradgate. Action Man at the very least had been tested to destruction at Palitoy before being approved but the longevity of imported toys could not be guaranteed. Another consideration may have been the acquisition of conflicting brands. Although Palitoy was producing Action Man under licence from its parent company General Mills' rival Hasbro (under a deal struck before GM bought Palitoy), it was probably far easier to have Bradgate secure deals with companies which were outside of the General Mills stable.
It might have seemed to be poor business sense to sell to the "middle man" so to speak rather than toy retailers directly but a great deal on transport costs would have been saved in supplying a fairly small number of wholesale outfits, to which toy buyers travelled to looking for stock. There would also have been less risk in choosing new toy lines, for it would have been the responsibility of the individual wholesale stock warehouses to decide the amount of each item to purchase and it was they who would be stuck with any unsold stock. Bradgate may well have received commitments from major wholesalers before the final deals were struck to bring in an overseas product.
Italian company Madelman arranged for Bradgate to distribute its range of dressed military figures as Little Big Man. The new line was launched with great fanfare by Bragate and television advertising was developed. Bradgate had the clout to arrange for specific pieces for the British market such as the Little Big Man Motorway Patrol, which was a "jam sandwich" Range Rover complete with British Bobby. The Little Big Man range was eventually elevated to a fully fledged Palitoy product, with the packaging logo altered to read Palitoy solely.
American toy giant Mego Corp released a number of its toy lines via Bradgate. There must be many people in Britain who recall buying toys from The World's Greatest Superheroes, Planet of the Apes, Starsky and Hutch and the Star Trek television series with Palitoy Bradgate branding. A range of Space 1999 figures was developed for Bradgate after Mego had been beaten to the punch by Mattel for the American copyright and quickly bought the British rights instead. Of course a close inspection of the individual toys revealed the Mego maker's mark. Mego had experience with exporting British exclusive lines previously, with Dr Who and New Avengers lines produced for Denys Fisher and a Zorro doll for Palitoy. Starsky and Hutch and The Worlds Greatest Superheroes were among the products from Mego which went on to be released under the Palitoy brand.
There is a link with Star Wars in this piece, in that the toys could could have presumably been released by Bragate if the film had not become the phenomenon that it did. Palitoy on this occasion opted to cut wholesalers out of the deal and to sell the Star Wars range to retail outlets directly, which was a wise financial decision if nothing else. A Bradgate Star Wars release however remains a significant "what if" and could provide an opportunity for customizers to produce another packaging variation.
Bradgate may well be long forgotten but without Palitoy's sister the British toy market would have been a great deal less vibrant. I remember the toys released by Bradgate fondly and I am sure that I cannot be the only one.
Craig.
