Saturday, May 26, 2007

DID YOU KNOW ? # 5

Did you know in 1923 Santa Barbara California was a beautiful city but Pedro Flores was still homesick for his beloved Philippines. One day he picked up a piece of wood and began to carve a toy just like his father taught him so many years before. When he finished and started to play with his new toy, it was almost like being a kid again, almost like being back home in Negros Oriental.
As Pedro amused himself a crowd began to gather. They had never seen such an amazing toy. Soon he was flooded with request for this wonderful toy. The demand became so great he had to open a factory in 1928. By going to schools and holding tournaments his new business grew steadily. By 1929 Pedro had opened two additional factories, one in Los Angeles and one in Hollywood. He eventually employed over 600 people and produced over 300,000 toys daily.
In 1930 the American economy crashed but Pedro was still doing an unheard of volume of business. While all around him other companies were going bankrupt, his business flourished. His toys were so popular he was offered $ 300,000 for the company. Even without the depression, this was a huge amount of money in those days. Pedro sold the company.

Now for the rest of the story.

That company became Duncan Toys, one of the largest toy companies in the world. You can find Duncan Yo-Yo’s in almost every country. There are National Yo-Yo Tournaments every year in fifteen countries. Duncan Toys does billions of dollars in sales every year and it all started with a Pinoy who was homesick.

No comments: