At Yomega Corp., the company’s in-house team of engineers
is focused on creating the next wave of yo-yos to satisfy enthusiasts worldwide.
John Marcantonio, marketing director at Yomega, started
with the company “during the yo-yo boom in 1998,” when these timeless toys
(They’ve actually been around since the 1930s.) were the No 1 sellers in
the industry—with Yomega’s products leading the pack. The company has had
high-profile licensing deals in the past with brand giants McDonald’s and
Kool Aid, and this month Yomega will extend its Skill Toys line with the
release of a new bat and ball game endorsed by Cal Ripken, Ripken
Quickball.
Yomega Celebrates 20 Years
Brain™, Fireball™ and Raider™ yo-yos
Yomega has been around since 1983 and will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary.
The company was founded by President and CEO Alan Amaral and is the leader
in high performance Yo-Yos and Skill Toys, with distribution in all the
major world marketplaces. The corporate philosophy is focused on reinventing
and improving traditional toys through innovation. With this focus, Yomega
has created some of the world’s best selling toys – especially our Brain™,
Fireball™ and Raider™ yo-yos. These
popular products incorporate special mechanics that give these yo-yos
the ability to outperform the more traditional version of the toy.
Ripken Quickball
High Performance Fun
Of all of its skill toys, Yomega is most known for its line of high performance
Yo-Yos, [which] have been some of the best selling toys in the world because
of their special abilities and innovative engineering. Our Brain™ yo-yo
contains a centrifugal clutch that allows the yo-yo to return automatically.
Additionally, our Fireball™ yo-yo contains a patented Transaxle system
that allows for low friction and long spin times, and our Raider™ model
yo-yo uses a roller bearing system to improve spin time and performance
to levels never before thought possible.
Reaching the Retail Market
Yomega focuses its distribution in the specialty toy, hobby, and gift
retail markets. We do not specifically target or market to the mass-market
retailers. As for the end users, our products appeal to children between
the ages of 8 and 15 years old, as well as some adults. The retail market
is reached primarily through industry trade shows, sales reps, and other
direct marketing programs. Yomega also reaches the target audience by
involving itself in large partnered promotions, world and national competitions,
timely advertising campaigns, and use of the Internet.
Yomega Outlook
The industry is currently strained by world economics, distribution disparity
between the Mass and Specialty markets, and cost factors associated with
materials, transport, and exhibiting in industry related trade shows such
as Toy Fair. Our greatest concerns are the continued disparities between
the Mass and Specialty Markets - especially factors such as costs, marketing
reach and consumer preferences. Additional industry concerns primarily
rest with continued ROI factors related to the cost of industry Toy Shows.
