"Bois" in French is "wood"- and "Kido" is of course "kids" so in free translation you could call it " Wood for kids". "Boi-Kido".
“I believe that we are at the dawning of a new era in the toy market where people want to see their children play with toys from natural substances through self driven play to balance the computer driven and electronic games and toys ” states Jonathan Segal, General Manager of the Boikido® line.
“ We have witnessed a long period where plastic toys dominated the market for price reasons, but more and more parents are looking for high quality , creative ,artistically designed toys and seek the added value of premium wooden toys with unique and innovative designs that stimulate children’s imagination.” says Jonathan.
Boikido® is a brand owned by French company L’ets Go S.A., a subsidiary of Challenger International. S.A.- the leading nursery and toy distributor in France. L’ets Go, and the Boikido® brand were created in 2004 by Mr. Frank Cohen-Aloro, CEO of the Challenger group, as he identified an increasing demand by parents and buyers for updated well designed wooden toys. Frank himself has been in the nursery business for over 10 years, distributing brands in France such as Graco, Sassy, Tiny Love , Safety First and Babysun. His experience has enabled him to develop a highly developed sense enabling him to identify market needs and future directions. He quickly gathered a team of international design and marketing experts who combined forces to adopt a new approach to traditional wooden toys with a unique look and brand image that is more suitable to the modern parent and what they are looking for. Heading the team, is Mr Jonathan Segal , who Frank recruited from a leading international toy company where he headed the sales and marketing worldwide for 5 years.
“ We found that parents today are looking to counter act the strong influence of electronic games and toys that dominate children’s lives and often leave the child as a passive participant.” Says Jonathan. “This is the reason that wooden toys are making a come back as there is no substitute to a child sitting down to actively play developing their imagination and cognition amongst a long list of other benefits of learning through self driven play” adds Jonathan.
The Boikido® team create colorful and imaginative toys that are educational and at the same time fun for children to play with and are an exciting toy to buy. The colors and small hints of characters and themes stimulate the child to flow with his or her imagination to wherever it may take them. As adults, we often learn to limit our imagination but children can create a world full of exciting , colorful and wonderful experiences. This stage of child development is extremely important .
“ When we sit down to design, we first of all look through the eyes of the child. We create a magical world of colors and friendly characters that often only children themselves can experience” adds Jonathan. “Then we give them to children and observe how the react and play with the toys.”
The Boikido® line is indeed very unique and lovable in its look and design bringing back to life nostalgic toys with great play value in wood , a soft and natural substance that last for generations.
While Boikido® is incorporated in France, the company was established as an international Brand from day one. Although quite young, the company has already established a growing number of exclusive distributors in leading markets worldwide such as Japan, Korea, Belgium ,Canada, Germany, Spain, Australia and more.
“Since the creation of the global village, brands have to be and act global” says Mr.Cohen- Aloro,” The brand must be adapted to children and markets worldwide, regardless of where your home office is based” he adds.
Boikido® is a refreshing newcomer to the market place for children’s toys aged 1-4 years and will continue to bring new and imaginative toys as well as expand distribution to more countries during the course of 2007.
