Beanie Babies Hit New Zealand

MEDIA RELEASE
19 November, 2001
World's Biggest Toy Sensation
About To Hit New Zealand

The world's biggest toy sensation, bigger than Barbie and Furby, is about to hit New Zealand.

Beanie Babies are launching today, Monday, 19 November, and are sure to send Kiwi kids, and their parents, into a pre-Christmas buying frenzy.

Beanie Babies each have their own name, birth date and poem on a heart shaped tag making them valuable to collectors. There are 60 Beanie Babies in the first range being released in New Zealand, including Spunky the Dog, Congo the Monkey and Roary the Lion, and at least 30 of those are 'retired' and no longer in production, making them highly sought after by collectors.

Beanie Babies collectors crave the 'retired' Beanie Babies. While no longer in production, the 'retired' Beanie Babies go onto the secondary market, including internet auctions and collector sites. One such Beanie Baby, 'Number One Bear', sold for US$12,000 in this way.

Local collectors, and there are many, are thrilled to see Beanie Babies in New Zealand and will be among the first to buy them. Devoted Beanie Baby collector, Jeanette Donald from Palmerston North, first bought "Hope" as a present for a friend while on a student exchange in Canada. Hope is a praying bear that she saw as fun, playful symbol of her friend's Muslim faith.

Beanie Babies will be sold throughout New Zealand in Granny May's stores and other selected gift and toy shops. Recommended retail price $17.95 (incl. GST). Visit www.beaniebabies.co.nz for further information on Beanie Babies.

ENDS

For further information please contact: Morag Ingram Porter Novelli New Zealand Limited Ph: 09 303 1633

KIM KNIGHT Porter Novelli New Zealand Tel: 64 9 373 3786 Fax: 64 9 373 3790 Mob: 025 650 3494 kim@porternovelli.co.nz

© Scoop Media