1970–1999
By the early 1970s, 30% of the company's sales were games such as Mouse Trap and Hands Down.
Popular Ideal toys in the 1970s included a full line of Evel Knievel toys, Snoopy toys, and the Tuesday Taylor and Wake-up Thumbelina dolls.
By 1970, Ideal had outgrown its manufacturing complex in Hollis, Queens. The company wanted to build a new plant in College Point, Queens, but was unable to strike a deal with the Lindsay administration. The company opened a new facility in Newark, New Jersey, in the early 1970s, while continuing to operate its factory in Hollis.[16][17][18]
In late 1971, Ideal joined the New York Stock Exchange. Valued at $71 million, it was one of the U.S.'s top three toy companies.[19][3]
In 1979, a Hungarian inventor, Erno Rubik, pitched his Magic Cube to Ideal Toy Company. Ideal renamed it the Rubik's cube.[20][21][22] The toy was sold in stores beginning in 1980.[20] In May 1981, trying to maximize profits on the Rubik's Cube craze, Ideal filed civil suits against dozens of distributors and retailers selling knockoff cubes.[23][24][25]
Ideal had earnings of $3.7 million in fiscal year 1979–1980, but lost $15.5 million in fiscal year 1980–1981. Sales both years averaged around $150 million.[13]
In May 1981, Joseph Winkler was named Ideal's president, succeeding Lionel Weintraub, who remained chairman and CEO.[13]
In 1982, the company moved its headquarters from Hollis, Queens, to Harmon Meadow, New Jersey. It was sold to CBS Toys later that year for around $58 million.[16][28]
In 1984, CBS sold Ideal to Viewmaster International, which renamed itself "View-Master Ideal" in the process.[29]
In 1989, View-Master Ideal was bought by Tyco Toys of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, for $43.9 million.[30] The Ideal line remained part of Tyco until Tyco's merger with Mattel, Inc., in 1997.[31][32][33][34]
Ideal's United Kingdom assets were sold to Hasbro, which has since released Mouse Trap, Buck-a-roo!, and KerPlunk under its MB Games brand. Other toys that originated with Ideal continue to be marketed and sold by other companies, including Rubik's Cube by Hasbro and Magic 8 Ball by Mattel.[35]
