Dec 20, 2010

Aurora Announces Plush Animal Lines to Debut at Toy Fair

Pico Rivera, CA – Aurora World Inc., known worldwide for its high quality and affordable plush toys and gifts, announced its newest plush line releases debuting at New York International Toy Fair in February, 2011 (Booth #747, Javits Center). Highlights include “dress-up” outfits for its best selling line, YooHoo & Friends™; tween and teen friendly Mood Monkeys; toys for boys such as Luche Libre! Extremo! dolls, based on the Mexican wrestling phenomena; and two exclusive plush licenses including Hush Puppies? and National Wildlife Federation. In light of the company’s 30th anniversary, Aurora will host an invite-only VIP gala to kick off Toy Fair and release a limited edition teddy bear line to be unveiled at the show.

“Aurora enters its 30th year with the finest collection of plush animal lines the company has yet to offer,” says Michael Kessler, Aurora’s SVP of sales and marketing. “We expect our best year in history, especially with the wide release of the brand new animated cartoon series based on our best selling line, YooHoo & Friends.” Aurora expects the animated series, produced by ToonZone Studios and starring Flavor Flav, to debut on broadcast television in spring 2011. At Toy Fair, Aurora will debut its limited edition 30th Anniversary bear in addition to its other plush releases including:

YooHoo & Friends Dress Up: From flower girl to firefighter, Aurora has released nine new “dress up” outfits that fit all of Aurora’s five inch YooHoo & Friends. Perfect for ages three and up, each dress up set comes in clear packaging that includes two accessories. Retailers can combine the dress up packaging (perfect for slatwalls) with existing YooHoo & Friends displays. The “Blast to the Past” set includes three YooHoo & Friends “hippies”; the “Go Green” set includes two flower girls and a princess butterfly; and the third set includes doctor, firefighter and police officer. Each set retails for approximately $5 while each five inch YooHoo & Friends animal (w/ sound) retails for $6.

Mood Monkeys: “Today’s tween is all about individuality, self-expression and sharing,” says Kessler. He says, “Aurora’s 14 all-new sassy Mood Monkeys (12.5″, MSRP: $10) allow tweens and teens to express who they really are.” The 14 styles include Catty, Soo Silly, Bad Hair Day, Chatterbox, Boy Crazy, Sweet Tooth, Ray of Sunshine, Oops Clumsy, I Love Shopping, Giggly, Sleepyhead, Party Girl, Book Worm and Spa Girl.

Lucha Libre! Extremo!™: Making up Aurora’s first series of exclusive soft figurines based on the Luche Libre phenomenon are the “top” six contenders wrestling to become champion including The Eagle, Star Man, Bug-Man, The Skull, Burnie and The Dragon. Kids will be entertained and inspired by the comic book “hangtag” attached to each plush toy. Each character is eight inches and has an approximate retail value of $9. Kessler says Aurora expects to release “Series 2” featuring even more Luche Libre characters later in the year.

Hush Puppies: In its licensing deal with Wolverine World Wide, Inc., the company behind Hush Puppies® and other innovative footwear, apparel and accessory brands, Aurora will launch and distribute worldwide the Hush Puppies plush animal line featuring a small (5″), medium (10″) and large (18″) Hush Puppies basset hound; at retail for $7, $15 and $32 respectively. The portable ‘clip-ons’ (3.5″, $5) are perfect versions for those who want to take their Hush Puppies® pup on the go. “Fasten them on totes, backpacks, purses or other accessories,” says Kessler.

National Wildlife Federation: In the two-year deal, Aurora is producing plush characters based on National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) new animated television series, Wild Animal Baby Explorers and will be the chief plush supplier to all specialty retail channels in North and South America. Wild Animal Baby Explorers, distributed by American Public Television, is based on the multi-award-winning preschool magazine, “Wild Animal Baby.” At a suggested retail price of approximately $14 each, “the plush animals based on the furry animated stars of Wild Animal Baby Explorers, will include Sammy the Skunk, Miss Sally the Salamander, Benita the Beaver, Skip the Rabbit and Izzy the Owl,” says Kessler.

For more information, please visit http://www.auroragift.com, email info@auroragift.com or call 888-287-6722. Shop Aurora online at http://shop.auroragift.com or more than 25,000 retail outlets worldwide. Find Aurora on Facebook: www.facebook.com/auroraworld.

About Aurora World Inc.
Aurora World, Inc. (www.auroragift.com), celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2011, is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high quality, competitively priced plush toys and gifts. Aurora’s name reflects its extensive product lines and growing influence in the worldwide marketplace, as well as its international manufacturing, R&D and distribution resources. Founded in 1981, the Korean company with headquarters in the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Germany, has ascended quickly to become a respected leader in the world’s toy and gift character and contents industry. Aurora created the international plush toy phenomenon – YooHoo & Friends™ – and its corresponding free, interactive web site (www.yoohoofriends.com), appealing to young children and tweens alike. The company sells its products via a wide variety of retailers including major zoos, high-end toy stores such as Learning Express, top gift chains such as Hallmark and Claire’s as well as hospital gift shops, fine florists, candy stores and gift/stationery stores worldwide.