ABSTRACT
In 1947 two ex-servicemen John W. Odell and Leslie C. Smith, put their war gratuities together and started to produce pressure die castings for industry in an old pub in Tottenham, North London. By the early 1950s they were producing die-cast toys. Their success in selling over one million miniature Royal Coaches in Coronation Year, 1952, was followed by the introduction of their cheap ‘Matchbox’ miniature vehicles. These did so well that the company had to move to larger premises in 1955 and again in 1957. In 1960 Lesney Products became a public company. Further plant was built in 1962 and again in 1968. By 1970 Lesney employed nearly 7,000 people and had the capacity to produce about 5½ million ‘Matchbox’ models per week. About 80 per cent of the products were exported and the company had received the Queen's Award for Industry for Exports in four separate years. Annual sales in 1970 were over £19 million, pre-tax profits about £5½ million. The company's stock market valuation was then an astounding £120 million, its price-earnings ratio over 50:1. Lesney had grown much faster than any of its direct United Kingdom competitors. However, by the early 1970s the firm was experiencing tougher competition from overseas companies, particularly from Mattel Incorporated of America (producers of the famous ‘Barbie doll’) with their die-cast model cars. By then, too, the United Kingdom toy industry was going through major upheavals and takeovers.
