Hong Kong's Real-Life Toy Story: Plastic Playthings Go High-Tech
- Early Light to diversify into electronics and medical products
- Company supplies major toy brands Mattel, Hasbro and Disney
Billionaire Francis Choi built a toy-making empire from stuffing Snoopy dolls in a small Hong Kong warehouse four decades ago. Now, his son Karson Choi is seeking to rejuvenate the family business -- one of the world’s largest toy manufacturers -- by going high-tech.
By remote-controlling toys through smartphone apps, you may fly a drone or make your soldiers battle each other at your fingertips, said the 30-year-old vice chairman of Early Light International Holdings Ltd., which supplies more than 30 toy brands for companies including Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and Walt Disney Co. The high-tech toys are part of Choi’s plans to diversify the family’s toy and luxury watch businesses into high-margin areas such as electronics and medical products.