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HISTORYGUND: A Family Tradition Since 1898.
In 1907, a young Russian immigrant, Jacob Swedlin, took a modest job at GUND. When Adolph Gund retired in 1925 with no children of his own, he sold the business to Swedlin for a token sum with the understanding the name would always remain GUND. Jacob Swedlin passed down control of the company to his daughter Rita Raiffe and her husband Herbert Raiffe in 1969.
Herbert Raiffe continued Gund’s tradition of producing high quality plush and the company prospered under his leadership. Also, under the direction of Herbert and Rita Raiffe, the company began using its now trademarked under-stuffing technique, the heart of the world’s most huggable plush. Bruce Raiffe, the third generation to run the company, joined GUND in 1977, became President in 1993, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in July 2004.
In July 2004, Jim Madonna was appointed President of GUND, marking the first time in the Company’s 106 year history that a non-founding family member took the reins. Prior to his appointment to President of GUND, Jim Madonna enjoyed a long, professional affiliation with GUND, having spent the last 3 years as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and 5 years as senior advisor to Bruce Raiffe, GUND’s former President.
GUND was responsible for pioneering many innovations, safety standards and manufacturing processes for the toy industry. Jacob Swedlin introduced the concept of industry licensing with well-known cartoon characters such as Felix™ the Cat, Mickey Mouse™, Donald Duck™, Popeye™ and others. GUND was also the first company to produce a musical toy that was affordably-priced for the average American family. GUND has always been committed to product safety, and the company set an important industry standard by devising a way to attach eyes securely to plush animals, preventing them from being pulled out by small children.
Today, the company manufactures an extensive collection of unique characters and licensed plush under the GUND and babyGUND brands.
GUND is known worldwide for its top quality, soft and huggable plush designs. Award-winning GUND products appeal to all ages, from infants up, and are perfect for both play and collecting. The 111 year old company is based in Edison, New Jersey, and distributes throughout the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.
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For more than a century, GUND has been creating
unique teddy bears and other soft toys recognized the world over for their quality and innovation.
The leading soft toy manufacturer in the U.S., and also the oldest, GUND was founded by German immigrant
Adolph Gund in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1898. GUND was one of the first companies to design and produce teddy
bears in the early 1900's.
The famous GOTTA GETTA GUND advertising campaign in the early 1980's led
to the company’s recognition as a leading consumer brand. Snuffles® the bear and Muttsy®
the dog are two of the company’s most famous characters. Beginning in late 2002, GUND launched
a new consumer ad campaign with two adorable creations, Manni™ and Dreyfus™. The world
is once again saying, “Gotta Getta GUND”.