Playmates Toys to Move Offices to O.C.
Playmates Toys Inc., which helped popularize the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the 1980s, is moving its corporate headquarters from La Mirada to Costa Mesa, the company said Monday.
Playmates Toys and Playmates Interactive Entertainment Inc., a sister company that makes video games, have signed a seven-year lease for 27,000 square feet of space in the Comerica Bank Tower Building on Anton Boulevard. About 50 employees are making the move. The company will continue a warehouse operation in La Mirada.
The two companies are subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based Playmates Toys Holdings Ltd. Executives linked the move to Orange County to “easier access to nearby business contacts in the interactive entertainment industry and proximity to John Wayne Airport.”
Playmates Toys was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 and gained international prominence in 1988 when it began marketing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which eventually generated $2 billion in international sales. The Playmates Interactive subsidiary, founded in 1994, is developing games for Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC CD-ROM applications.
The company also announced the hiring of several new executives. Joining Playmates Toys are Tim Wills, vice president, boys’ toys; and Bill Beebe, senior vice president. Joining Playmates Interactive are Gary Rosenfeld, vice president, business affairs, and Chris Archer, producer.
