| Founded | 1956 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 2008  |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | movie prop replicas collectibles |
| Divisions | Master Replicas Corgi PopCo Cards Inc. |
| Website | http://www.corgi-international.com/ |
Corgi International Limited (formerly known as Zindart International Limited) (Nasdaq: CRGI) is a company with three distinct brands that manufacture movie prop replicas, die-cast collectibles, and gift and toy products. Corgi International also distributes trading cards and movie memorabilia through a separate brand.
In July 1977, Zindart International Limited was incorporated in Hong Kong as a limited company under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance initially to operate a manufacturing facility. In February 1997, the company’s ADSs were listed on the NASDAQ Global Market.
In July 1999, the company acquired Corgi Classics Limited, who made the classic diecast cars. Corgi was originally founded in 1956 in England as Mettoy. It is one of the oldest marketers of collectible die-cast models of trucks, buses, cars and airplanes in the world, with its principal markets of its products in the United Kingdom and Northern Europe.
After renaming the company to Corgi International Limited, in December 2006 the company sold their Zindart Manufacturing division. Corgi also operated a book and paper division, Hua Yang, which Corgi acquired in February 1998 and had sold in May 2004. In December 2006, Corgi acquired Cards Inc. and merged with Master Replicas.
After acquisitions, Corgi began the process of reclassifying product categories and channels of distribution to be more closely aligned with our strategic direction and organization structure of the company. Products are now grouped into three primary product categories: movie prop replicas are handled by the Master Replicas brand, die-cast collectibles are produced by Corgi, and gift and toy products are produced by PopCo. Corgi also distributes trading cards and movie memorabilia through the Cards Inc. brand.
In April 2008, Corgi International sold the Corgi Classics brand, tooling and intellectual property rights to rival Hornby.[1]
The Master Replicas brand (also known as MR) produce movie prop replicas and high end collectibles.[2] Based in Walnut Creek, CA, the company was founded in 2003 by Michael Cookson.[3] Cookson has served as Chairman of Master Replicas since it was founded and chief executive officer since August 2004. Historically, Master Replicas has sold its products principally to customers in the United States.
Master Replicas manufacture licensed product for brands and companies such Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Disney, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Chronicles of Narnia, Marvel Comics, Muppets, and Stargate. Previous to January 2008, the company manufactured and sold product under the Star Wars brand before the license had expired.[4] While many of their items are props at full-scale (particularly weapons like lightsabers, phasers, and swords), they also make many scale model items, like spaceships, and characters.
Master Replicas has also been commissioned to make items for corporations to resell on their own. For example, MR made a 1/6 scale Master Sword and Hylian Shield for Nintendo and Target Stores to coincide with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Master Replicas is known for their Force FX product line which recreates various lightsabers used in the Star Wars movies. Examples include:
Cards Inc., based in Watford, England, was founded by Darren Epstein in 1989 and is a distributor of trading cards and pop culture memorabilia principally in the United Kingdom and Europe.