World’s hottest holiday gift has SA origins

VANESSA VALKIN

Not only is it out of stock locally but globally too, and retailers say these interactive little hatchlings sell out within days. According to media reports, one eBay seller was asking £48 000 (R858 418) for a Hatchimal, way above the original retail price of R868. 

Barry Berman, one of the owners of Hamley’s toy store at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town, is very disappointed that they cannot keep up with demand. “We are waiting for more,” he says.

The toy is manufactured by Toronto-based Spin Master Corp, one of the largest toy companies in North America. It has produced much-loved toy sensations like the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, the Build-a-Bear workshop and the Zoomer brand of robotic animals.

The founders of Spin Master actually have South African Jewish roots. Speaking to Jewish Report, the pair, Anton Rabie and Ronnen Harary, had a special message for South Africans frantically waiting for more: “Everyone in South Africa should know there are more Hatchimals coming and we will have a new batch to hatch in early 2017 for everyone who doesn’t get one this year.”

Rabie and Harary were both born in South Africa and immigrated with their families when they were six or seven. They founded their company in 1994 soon after graduating from the University of Western Ontario.

“We actually met at summer camp when we were eight years old and continued our close friendship throughout high school and university,” says Rabie. “While having South African roots was something we shared, it was our entrepreneurial spirit and competitive desire to build something truly innovative that formed our business partnership in the early years.”

Anton’s mom, Hilary, taught at Herzlia School in Cape Town before having a family. She says Anton was different right from the start. “All those people who knew Anton, knew that he would be a success story. Not because he was good at school, but because he had a drive to do what he wanted to do with a discipline most people dream about.”

At the age of 10, he started a paper round around the Bayview area townhouses where the family lived in Toronto.

“He would get up at the crack of dawn even in the snow. I would be so worried,” recalls Hilary.

“At 13 he wanted to go to South Africa in the holidays. He was only there for two weeks but he got himself a job at the café that was above Fourth Beach Clifton in the mornings…and you could probably not see him over the counter.”

Both Harary and Rabie are very philanthropic today.

“Anton just renovated a whole floor of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. He didn’t want any big accolades or signs with his name. He eventually settled a for a small sign with his name and he didn’t want any of the koved (honour),” says his mother proudly.

“They do a lot for children’s charities all over the world,” she adds. “They built a village in Malawi; they help Hebrew University in Jerusalem… the charity is endless.”

Says Anton: “A few years ago, our team at Spin Master started The Toy Movement. This is a Spin Master lead initiative to provide toys to children living in troubled parts of the world, bringing them inspiration, imagination and joy through play. We’ve conducted missions to Israel, Gaza, Jordan, and Mexico, with more to come.”

And as for the Hatchimal that parents are searching for high and low-what is the reason for its popularity?

Experts say it’s such a hit because it fulfils children’s need to nurture and love. This interactive toy makes sounds like a baby and needs bonding and attention to grow through its three life stages and can even revert to the baby stage. 

“The consumer response to Hatchimals has been extraordinary, exceeding all expectations,” says Anton. “We did believe we had something special and ground breaking… We could never have predicted this level of demand.”