Dart Flipcards' closing stemmed from non-trading card product

Sept. 26, 2003

Damaged collectible lunch box tins discovered after shipment from a Hong Kong manufacturer led to Dart Flipcards' declaration of bankruptcy, said company president Dino Frisella Wednesday.

The firm's last day of operations had been Sept. 8.   Seven office members, including graphic artists and office support staff, were laid off.

The lunch boxes numbered in the "hundreds of thousands," according to Frisella.  The tins Dart commissioned for distribution resulted from a licensing agreement between the Montreal-based group and the National Hockey League Players Association.  It had been slated as the company's largest product release to date.  Previously, Dart employed the same overseas manufacturer for similar lunch box merchandise geared toward school children.

'There is a possibility the boxes were damaged in transit, but it appeared more as a result of improper machining and tooling," Frisella said.  "There were flaws all over the place -- printing flaws, scratches on the tins, tins that would not close properly.  Our inspection service could find little that would pass muster."

In recent years, Dart diversified its product line to include stuffed plush toys.  In 2000, the firm developed and marketed a Sailor Moon collectible card game that gained acclaim in the industry.  Its last standard trading card product had been Crocodile Hunter in early 2002.  Frisella also mentioned 1,000 chase card sets of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, based on the 1960s animated television special, also appeared in the hobby.  The base card product went unreleased.