Isaac Larian wins 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year award

Source: Exec Digital USA

Date :29/11/2007 12:12:59

Mr. Larian, president and CEO of MGA Entertainment, has been honored as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2007.

Mr. Larian worked for his father’s small textile business in Iran as a teenager. It was there he learned the art of negotiation. Those skills came in handy years later when he launched Micro Games of America, acting as a licensee of other company’s products, including Nintendo, Power Rangers and Hello Kitty.

Larian soon learned that being a licensor of products provided greater growth opportunities and he began building his company’s own brands, licensing them to others.

In 1998, Larian changed his company’s name to MGA Entertainment, transforming the business into a full consumer entertainment products company. It currently manufactures and produces more than 20 product lines of toys and games, dolls, consumer electronics, home décor, stationary and sporting goods.

MGA’s products include household names such as Bratz, Yummi-Land, Storytime Collection, Rescue Pets, Miuchiz, West Coast Choppers, Market Racers and Marvel toys.

With trends in toys changing as quickly as fashion, it’s notable that Larian’s biggest splash in the market has come from fashion conscious dolls. Since their introduction, the Bratz dolls have grown into a billion dollar franchise, and become the number one fashion doll brand in the world.

That came after unseating Barbie, whose reign as the top doll had lasted for more than 40 years. The Bratz won Family Fun magazine’s Toy of the Year Award four years in a row and the dolls have spawned a feature film, fashion magazines, apparel collections, a website, online promotions and a host of related products.

Worldwide presence

MGA currently has more than 400 global licensees, creating a range of new Bratz themed products—from Bratz Stylin’ Cosmetix to Bratz Sporty Flair Bedding.

In 2006, Larian began expanding his product lines for children under six, purchasing Little Tikes, the maker of durable plastic toys and playsets for toddlers and young children.

His eye toward growth continued in May 2007, as MGA acquired Smoby—rescuing France’s largest toy company, and Europe’s second largest, from bankruptcy.

Open Door Brings in Good Ideas

Despite the company’s growth, Larian continues to run MGA Entertainment with the same entrepreneurial focus. Brainstorming is a big part of the company’s culture and Larian maintains an open-door policy. He credits MGA’s 500 employees and product designers as the source of many of the company’s bestselling ideas.

In 2002 an intern suggested an idea for an accessory—a spa for the Bratz dolls. That became the first Bratz playset and won the Toy Industry Association People’s Choice Toy of the Year award. With all his success in the toy business, no one is having more fun than Larian himself.