OAK BROOK, Ill. -- New Year's Eve will be the last day of production for Beanie Babies, the maker of the popular stuffed critters says.
Ty Inc. broke the news with a cryptic announcement on its Web site Thursday, saying only that production will stop Dec. 31 and warehouses will be cleared of surplus.The company hinted at the move with a similar Web site announcement last August that said it would "retire" all current Beanie Babies at the end of the year, but at that time it was unclear whether Ty would entirely stop production of the plush dolls.
Many collectors and fans had been expecting a new line of the toys from the company.
Ty Inc. spokeswoman Anne Nickels said she "had no idea (why)" the cuddly toys will be discontinued, adding that the decision to stop production was made by the firm's owner Ty Warner.
"We're just as much in the dark here as everybody else," she said.
One factor for the decision could be the growing interest in Pokemon merchandise, said Leonard Tannenbaum, president of Beanienation.com, an Internet auction site for the Beanies.
"Our Pokemon sales have flown, but Beanie sales haven't," Tannenbaum said.
Since Ty began selling the toys in 1993, the privately owned company has distributed more than 100 characters, from dinosaurs and teddy bears to birds and zoo animals.
Beanies initially became popular because their price of $4 to $5 was affordable for most children. Later, they became valuable collectibles for adults who could sell a single toy for as much as $1,000.
Sales at Ty have skyrocketed -- the company had estimated revenue of $674 million in 1998, compared to just $1.7 million in 1995, according to the NPD Group Inc., based in Port Washington, N.Y.