Owner of the LOL dolls, MGA Entertainment and apparently Pedophile Programmer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Larian
(Iranian born Jew, hate to say it, but every fucking time)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/parenting/lol-surprise-doll-isaac-larian.html
This story was originally published on Dec. 17, 2019 in NYT Parenting.
Isaac Larian, the founder and C.E.O. of MGA Entertainment, the American toy giant, was tossing and turning one night in 2015.
M.G.A.E. had racked up hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees to take on Mattel, the iconic brand behind Barbie, and Larian was also worried that Bratz had fallen out of popularity. The crop-top and platform shoe-wearing dolls were huge in the early aughts but had left the spotlight due to changing consumer tastes, as well as a particularly bruising report from the American Psychological Association that accused Bratz of sexualizing young girls.
The M.G.A.E. creative team’s response, L.O.L. Surprise! dolls, are pint sized, candy colored and have impossibly huge eyes, which makes them look like something out of an acid trip. They come with stylish hairdos, as well as varying accessories, like a handbag, coffee cup or headband.
But the toy’s cuteness isn’t its only wow factor. L.O.L. Surprise! dolls come inside opaque packaging, so kids don’t know what they’re getting until the toy is fully unwrapped. Each accessory — which typically number seven to nine, but can go into the dozens — is also hidden in its own layer of packaging, making the unwrapping an experience. The dolls, which target the 4 to 14 age range, also have different functions like squirting water or secret skin designs that are — surprise! — revealed after being placed under water.
Larian’s late-night inspiration spawned a sensation — one of the most popular toys of the last decade.
Last year, M.G.A.E. reports, the company made more than $4 billion from L.O.L. Surprise! doll retail sales. It’s expecting to rake in $5 billion in 2019, not including revenue from licensing deals.
According to the NPD Group, a market research firm, L.O.L. dolls are outpacing the sales of Barbie, Pokémon, Nerf and Marvel action figures. Its products are even more popular than Star Wars toys.
“I’ve been in this business 29 years and I have never seen a doll line take off so fast,” said Christine Osborne, the founder of Wonder Works, a chain of toy stores in South Carolina. “We’ve had crazes like Beanie Babies, Webkinz, and there’s usually a lifespan. But L.O.L. isn’t going anywhere.”
L.O.L. Surprise! dolls seem to be everywhere: On the shelves at Walmart and Duane Reade; gracing Amazon’s best-selling toy list; and in private Facebook groups, where rabid fans buy, sell and trade them. On the Christmas wishlist of a 10-year-old girl that recently went viral on Twitter, L.O.L. dolls sat comfortably next to the new iPhone and Gucci slides. They usually sell for about $10 — cheap enough for kids to buy them using birthday or allowance money — although some L.O.L. editions can cost as much as $249.99.
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Larian, 65, is just as infamous in the toy industry as his Bratz dolls are.
An Iranian Jewish entrepreneur who moved to America when he was 17 to study engineering, Larian sold hand-held electronic games before going on to build M.G.A.E. Witty, blunt and a self-professed “kid at heart,” Larian is a legend for his enterprising spirit, as well as his chutzpah. He’s notorious for pulling stunts like sending out emoji-filled press releases that tease the toy industry for falling behind.
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Moms like Jackie Kotler say they love L.O.L. dolls because they’re a more wholesome toy than some of the souped-up offerings on store shelves.
“The girls are utterly entertained and it’s the rare toy out there that isn’t electronic, so it allows them to use their imagination,” said Kotler, whose two daughters, 5 and 8, own about 50 of the dolls. “With L.O.L. dolls, they get creative and make up storylines. It feels like going back to old-school play. It’s the Barbie for now.”