Latest news with #Jazwares
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
McDonald's Squishmallow Happy Meal toys are back for a limited time
McDonald's Squishmallow Happy Meal toys are back for a limited time Show Caption Hide Caption McDonald's adult Happy Meals spark collector frenzy McDonald's recently started selling "Collector's Meals," also known as adult Happy Meals. Benzinga - News Squishmallows are back on the menu at McDonald's. Happy Meals with those popular squishy stuffed toys inside have returned and are available at the fast-food restaurant chain for a limited time, McDonald's said on Tuesday, May 13. Meals will include one of a dozen different toys including a new character named Halley, a previously unseen Squishmallow of the salamander-shaped axolotl type. Each Squishmallow toy comes with a character hang tag, which details its name and its story – in the case of Halley, for instance, it would mention its intergalactic travel ability. Each toy also includes a code you can scan to play an interactive game. Rite Aid: Drug store chain closing an additional 68 locations across 7 states: See the full list Popularity of Squishmallows The Squishmallows Happy Meals were a big hit when they last were available in December 2023. The toy brand has a huge following as toy maker Jazwares has sold more than 400 million of the Squishmallows plush toys worldwide. Complete sets of the toys are already being hawked on eBay, starting at about $50. McDonald's says the toys will be available while supplies last. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trucker hats, squishy toys, and copious candy: Weird and wonderful finds at Warren Buffett's 'Bazaar of Bargains'
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway hosted a shareholder shopping day as part of its annual meeting. See's Candies, Squishmallows-owner Jazwares, and truck-stop chain Pilot were among the brands there. One shopper was carting two dozen plush toys, while another two had a massive haul. Warren Buffett's shareholders have traveled from far and wide to hear him speak this weekend — and to scoop up their own deals at Berkshire Hathaway's "Bazaar of Bargains." Around two dozen of Buffett's businesses — including See's Candies, Squishmallows-owner Jazwares, and truck-stop chain Pilot Flying J — set up shop on Friday and Saturday in the CHI Health Center, the venue for his annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Business Insider scoured the wares on offer and interviewed shoppers about their hauls. Scroll down for a photographic tour of the event. Shoppers arrived early to skip the lines. Friday's shareholder shopping day only began at 12 p.m., but people were already lining up to collect their entry passes and waiting for the doors to open before 8 a.m. Once attendees were allowed inside, there was a huge rush to buy golf-themed Squishmallows in the likeness of Buffett, his late business partner Charlie Munger, and a caddy character named Omaha. Within moments of the event's start, people were lugging around huge Squishmallows bags filled with the trio, as well as Pikachu and other cuddly critters. They couldn't resist the photo ops. Shareholders waited patiently to have their photo taken with various cardboard cutouts of Buffett around the room. They also posed for pictures under the welcome sign and took selfies with giant mascots for Geico, Oriental Trading, and Squishmallows. Squishmallows were hot commodities. "We bring the fun," Bret Ingraham, a senior director of public relations at Jazwares, told BI during a tour of the company's booth. Squishmallows is best known for its plush toys — Ingraham said they sell 1,000 an hour at the busiest times. But more recently, they've struck licensing deals to roll out building kits, cosmetics, electric toothbrushes, and more. The maker of plush toys has expanded into bedding. Squishmallows has also ventured into the bedding business by making its own pillows and pillowcases. Ingraham said the company makes Buffett more accessible to the masses, adding that it's "introducing a new generation to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway in a fun, cuddly, cute way." Bill Hughes was bringing home the Buffetts. Bill Hughes, 40, told BI he works at a financial advisory firm in Oklahoma. He was lining up to ship multiple massive bags of Squishmallows back home when BI caught up with him. Hughes told BI he'd purchased about 24 of the plush toys to bring to people he knows back home. He also scooped up a Buffett hat, a pair of gloves from Wells Lamont, and household goods from Pampered Chef. He estimated that he'd spent $1,200 in total that day. See's Candies' theme this year focused on the outdoors. See's Candies' booth had a camping theme and featured Buffett and cofounder Mary See across cardboard cutouts, box sleeves, and other displays. There was an exclusive "Berkshire Box" on sale that was filled with Toasted Marshmallow Scotchmallows. Other popular flavors, including Chocolate Walnut Fudge, were also on hand. See's brought close to 25,000 pounds of product to satisfy hungry shareholders. Leslie Horenstein, senior vice president and marketing chief for See's, told BI that the company had brought close to 25,000 pounds of product, or more than 41,000 units, to the meeting. Echoing Buffett's love of the brand for building an emotional connection with customers, she said that virtually every person she meets has some "association" with the brand, despite it not being nationwide. Oriental Trading had all sorts of Buffett and Munger knickknacks. Oriental Trading's booth had the widest variety of Buffett and Munger-themed items. They included rubber ducks, chocolate coins and bars, bobbleheads, plushes, T-shirts, socks, mugs, pins, figurines, and playing cards. One shopper said the experience was good value for time and money. Claudia and her daughter Miranda were surrounded by their shopping when they told BI they were visiting from Miami and came to the meeting every couple of years. Claudia said the prices, quality, and staff were "amazing." She'd purchased shoes from Brooks Running, clothes from Fruit of the Loom, candy from See's Candies, kitchenware from Pampered Chef, and bits and pieces from Oriental Trading. Miranda told BI that she loved spending time with her parents and had bought clothes, shoes, board games, and slime. Pilot also went big on Buffett-branded swag. Pilot's booth featured meeting-exclusive trucker hats, "Berkshire Blend" coffee, T-shirts emblazoned with Buffett quotes, co-branded boxes of See's, and Buffett-inspired fortune cookies and Yeti tumblers. A giant, red, Pilot-branded truck was also parked next to the stand with a cardboard cutout of Buffett in the driver's seat. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trucker hats, squishy toys, and copious candy: Weird and wonderful finds at Warren Buffett's 'Bazaar of Bargains'
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway hosted a shareholder shopping day as part of its annual meeting. See's Candies, Squishmallows-owner Jazwares, and truck-stop chain Pilot were among the brands there. One shopper was carting two dozen plush toys, while another two had a massive haul. Warren Buffett's shareholders have traveled from far and wide to hear him speak this weekend — and to scoop up their own deals at Berkshire Hathaway's "Bazaar of Bargains." Around two dozen of Buffett's businesses — including See's Candies, Squishmallows-owner Jazwares, and truck-stop chain Pilot Flying J — set up shop on Friday and Saturday in the CHI Health Center, the venue for his annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Business Insider scoured the wares on offer and interviewed shoppers about their hauls. Scroll down for a photographic tour of the event. Shoppers arrived early to skip the lines. Friday's shareholder shopping day only began at 12 p.m., but people were already lining up to collect their entry passes and waiting for the doors to open before 8 a.m. Once attendees were allowed inside, there was a huge rush to buy golf-themed Squishmallows in the likeness of Buffett, his late business partner Charlie Munger, and a caddy character named Omaha. Within moments of the event's start, people were lugging around huge Squishmallows bags filled with the trio, as well as Pikachu and other cuddly critters. They couldn't resist the photo ops. Shareholders waited patiently to have their photo taken with various cardboard cutouts of Buffett around the room. They also posed for pictures under the welcome sign and took selfies with giant mascots for Geico, Oriental Trading, and Squishmallows. Squishmallows were hot commodities. "We bring the fun," Bret Ingraham, a senior director of public relations at Jazwares, told BI during a tour of the company's booth. Squishmallows is best known for its plush toys — Ingraham said they sell 1,000 an hour at the busiest times. But more recently, they've struck licensing deals to roll out building kits, cosmetics, electric toothbrushes, and more. The maker of plush toys has expanded into bedding. Squishmallows has also ventured into the bedding business by making its own pillows and pillowcases. Ingraham said the company makes Buffett more accessible to the masses, adding that it's "introducing a new generation to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway in a fun, cuddly, cute way." Bill Hughes was bringing home the Buffetts. Bill Hughes, 40, told BI he works at a financial advisory firm in Oklahoma. He was lining up to ship multiple massive bags of Squishmallows back home when BI caught up with him. Hughes told BI he'd purchased about 24 of the plush toys to bring to people he knows back home. He also scooped up a Buffett hat, a pair of gloves from Wells Lamont, and household goods from Pampered Chef. He estimated that he'd spent $1,200 in total that day. See's Candies' theme this year focused on the outdoors. See's Candies' booth had a camping theme and featured Buffett and cofounder Mary See across cardboard cutouts, box sleeves, and other displays. There was an exclusive "Berkshire Box" on sale that was filled with Toasted Marshmallow Scotchmallows. Other popular flavors, including Chocolate Walnut Fudge, were also on hand. See's brought close to 25,000 pounds of product to satisfy hungry shareholders. Leslie Horenstein, senior vice president and marketing chief for See's, told BI that the company had brought close to 25,000 pounds of product, or more than 41,000 units, to the meeting. Echoing Buffett's love of the brand for building an emotional connection with customers, she said that virtually every person she meets has some "association" with the brand, despite it not being nationwide. Oriental Trading had all sorts of Buffett and Munger knickknacks. Oriental Trading's booth had the widest variety of Buffett and Munger-themed items. They included rubber ducks, chocolate coins and bars, bobbleheads, plushes, T-shirts, socks, mugs, pins, figurines, and playing cards. One shopper said the experience was good value for time and money. Claudia and her daughter Miranda were surrounded by their shopping when they told BI they were visiting from Miami and came to the meeting every couple of years. Claudia said the prices, quality, and staff were "amazing." She'd purchased shoes from Brooks Running, clothes from Fruit of the Loom, candy from See's Candies, kitchenware from Pampered Chef, and bits and pieces from Oriental Trading. Miranda told BI that she loved spending time with her parents and had bought clothes, shoes, board games, and slime. Pilot also went big on Buffett-branded swag. Pilot's booth featured meeting-exclusive trucker hats, "Berkshire Blend" coffee, T-shirts emblazoned with Buffett quotes, co-branded boxes of See's, and Buffett-inspired fortune cookies and Yeti tumblers. A giant, red, Pilot-branded truck was also parked next to the stand with a cardboard cutout of Buffett in the driver's seat. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
03-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Trucker hats, squishy toys, and copious candy: Weird and wonderful finds at Warren Buffett's 'Bazaar of Bargains'
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway hosted a shareholder shopping day as part of its annual meeting. See's Candies, Squishmallows-owner Jazwares, and truck-stop chain Pilot were among the brands there. One shopper was carting two dozen plush toys, while another two had a massive haul. Warren Buffett's shareholders have traveled from far and wide to hear him speak this weekend — and to scoop up their own deals at Berkshire Hathaway's " Bazaar of Bargains." Around two dozen of Buffett's businesses — including See's Candies, Squishmallows-owner Jazwares, and truck-stop chain Pilot Flying J — set up shop on Friday and Saturday in the CHI Health Center, the venue for his annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Business Insider scoured the wares on offer and interviewed shoppers about their hauls. Scroll down for a photographic tour of the event. Shoppers arrived early to skip the lines. Friday's shareholder shopping day only began at 12 p.m., but people were already lining up to collect their entry passes and waiting for the doors to open before 8 a.m. Once attendees were allowed inside, there was a huge rush to buy golf-themed Squishmallows in the likeness of Buffett, his late business partner Charlie Munger, and a caddy character named Omaha. Within moments of the event's start, people were lugging around huge Squishmallows bags filled with the trio, as well as Pikachu and other cuddly critters. They couldn't resist the photo ops. Shareholders waited patiently to have their photo taken with various cardboard cutouts of Buffett around the room. They also posed for pictures under the welcome sign and took selfies with giant mascots for Geico, Oriental Trading, and Squishmallows. Squishmallows were hot commodities. "We bring the fun," Bret Ingraham, a senior director of public relations at Jazwares, told BI during a tour of the company's booth. Squishmallows is best known for its plush toys — Ingraham said they sell 1,000 an hour at the busiest times. But more recently, they've struck licensing deals to roll out building kits, cosmetics, electric toothbrushes, and more. The maker of plush toys has expanded into bedding. Squishmallows has also ventured into the bedding business by making its own pillows and pillowcases. Ingraham said the company makes Buffett more accessible to the masses, adding that it's "introducing a new generation to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway in a fun, cuddly, cute way." Bill Hughes was bringing home the Buffetts. Bill Hughes, 40, told BI he works at a financial advisory firm in Oklahoma. He was lining up to ship multiple massive bags of Squishmallows back home when BI caught up with him. Hughes told BI he'd purchased about 24 of the plush toys to bring to people he knows back home. He also scooped up a Buffett hat, a pair of gloves from Wells Lamont, and household goods from Pampered Chef. He estimated that he'd spent $1,200 in total that day. See's Candies' theme this year focused on the outdoors. See's Candies' booth had a camping theme and featured Buffett and cofounder Mary See across cardboard cutouts, box sleeves, and other displays. There was an exclusive "Berkshire Box" on sale that was filled with Toasted Marshmallow Scotchmallows. Other popular flavors, including Chocolate Walnut Fudge, were also on hand. See's brought close to 25,000 pounds of product to satisfy hungry shareholders. Leslie Horenstein, senior vice president and marketing chief for See's, told BI that the company had brought close to 25,000 pounds of product, or more than 41,000 units, to the meeting. Echoing Buffett's love of the brand for building an emotional connection with customers, she said that virtually every person she meets has some "association" with the brand, despite it not being nationwide. Oriental Trading had all sorts of Buffett and Munger knickknacks. Oriental Trading's booth had the widest variety of Buffett and Munger-themed items. They included rubber ducks, chocolate coins and bars, bobbleheads, plushes, T-shirts, socks, mugs, pins, figurines, and playing cards. One shopper said the experience was good value for time and money. Claudia and her daughter Miranda were surrounded by their shopping when they told BI they were visiting from Miami and came to the meeting every couple of years. Claudia said the prices, quality, and staff were "amazing." She'd purchased shoes from Brooks Running, clothes from Fruit of the Loom, candy from See's Candies, kitchenware from Pampered Chef, and bits and pieces from Oriental Trading. Miranda told BI that she loved spending time with her parents and had bought clothes, shoes, board games, and slime. Pilot also went big on Buffett-branded swag. Pilot's booth featured meeting-exclusive trucker hats, "Berkshire Blend" coffee, T-shirts emblazoned with Buffett quotes, co-branded boxes of See's, and Buffett-inspired fortune cookies and Yeti tumblers. A giant, red, Pilot-branded truck was also parked next to the stand with a cardboard cutout of Buffett in the driver's seat.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A.'s office market takes a hit amid trade wars, fires and economic uncertainty
Tenants hunting for office space in the Los Angeles area are in the driver's seat as vacancies plague many landlords trying to fill their buildings with people. The greater Los Angeles office rental market started the year with a turbulent first quarter and historically high vacancies as tenant demand was persistently soft in spite of more robust return-to-office policies coming from managers. A notable exception was Century City, which is experiencing tight occupancy and some of the highest rents in the West. Countywide, though, overall office vacancy reached a new high of 24.2%, real estate brokerage CBRE said. When "shadow" office space that is leased but not occupied is considered, overall availability is more than 29% — about triple what is considered a healthy market balance between landlord and tenant interests. Real estate experts hoped for better at the end of 2024 as the leasing market that had been lagging since the COVID-19 pandemic began showed signs of recovery, including more companies calling for workers to return to their desks. Then came the devastating wildfires and economic uncertainty caused by President Trump's global tariffs. "We were more optimistic heading into 2025," CBRE property broker John Zanetos said, as the county office market saw year-end leases signed by some good-sized tenants including toy makers Mattel and Jazwares. Read more: Mattel is revamping its work spaces as employees return to the office The January wildfires that knocked the city back on its heels put many business decisions on pause. Later in the quarter, confusion about tariffs and potential trade wars introduced another element of uncertainty, said Michael Soto, vice president of research in the western region for real state brokerage Savills. Real estate analysts are watching "very closely" to see whether there is new hesitation in decision-making among business leaders that could slow down initial public offerings of stocks, mergers and other ventures that would typically lead to acquisitions of office space, Soto said. "Anxiety is back in the market," he said. Some tenants "are probably slowing down their decision-making until there is a little more clarity in the macroeconomic environment." The downtown Los Angeles office market, one of the region's largest, continued to struggle in the first quarter, with vacancy hitting nearly 34% and overall availability at 37%, slightly up from a year earlier, CBRE reported. Downtown has struggled with vacancy for decades, but companies' cutbacks in their office space since the start of the pandemic have helped drive down the values of office buildings and pushed some landlords into such financial stress that they're having a hard time coming up with the money to attract tenants, Zanetos said. Among the upfront costs for landlords is paying for office space to be prepared for new tenants as part of their lease agreements. Landlords also are expected to maintain their properties at a level that tenants will find acceptable, which becomes a challenge when landlords are in a shaky financial position. "There are very few buildings that can actually transact" leases, he said, because they can give tenants the financial concessions they need to move in. Those buildings "are doing extremely well," he said, and some are more than 90% leased. There are still some potential tenants looking for large amounts of space to rent in Los Angeles County, Zanetos said, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The DWP is planning to renovate its historic landmark headquarters on Bunker Hill and needs about 300,000 square feet to move into while the work gets done, he said. "That would be a huge shot of positive absorption" in the office market, he said. He declined to identify other large potential tenants in the market because their searches are confidential, he said. The DWP's mid-century-style John Ferraro Building on Hope Street was completed in 1965 and houses about 3,300 employees. Renovations and an accompanying temporary move of employees are still in planning stages, DWP representative Joe Ramallo said. The DWP also may consider buying a building, Ramallo said. Last year, the County of Los Angeles bought the 55-story Gas Company tower for $200 million, far less than its appraised value of $632 million in 2020. One neighborhood that is actually thriving in the overall soft leasing market is Century City, where vacancies are few and rents are high because demand is strong, especially among attorneys and entertainment firms including Creative Artists Agency. "Century City is an outlier, and has been for years in terms of performance on rent and occupancy," real estate broker Gary Weiss of LA Realty Partners said. The neighborhood created in the 1960s on land west of Beverly Hills that was formerly the backlot of 20th Century Studios (now Fox Studio Lot) has long been a favorite of law firms, a trend that has accelerated since the pandemic began, Weiss said. Some of them are choosing to expand in Century City instead of downtown, where they have had presences for years, he said. Among them are Latham & Watkins and Sidley Austin. "Much of this is a reflection on what's happening downtown with the homelessness, with the increased vacancy, with the safety factor," Weiss said. "And so a lot of these firms are uprooting from downtown." The neighborhood "has high-quality buildings with first-rate security," he said. "It's safe, it's clean." Century City also has a rarity in L.A.'s office market — a flashy new high-rise under construction. The 37-story Century City Center is being built by Chicago landlord JMB Realty, one of Century City's largest property owners. Creative Artists Agency, one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, has agreed to be the anchor tenant in the building on Avenue of the Stars. Other signed tenants include Sidley Austin and investment firm Clearlake Capital, real estate data provider CoStar said. Read more: Creative Artists Agency signs lease for new Century City headquarters Century City Center is nearly fully leased even though it isn't slated to open until early next year, Weiss said. Overall vacancy in Century City is 13%, according to CBRE. Landlords are asking for nearly $7 per square foot per month, compared with the county average of $4.29 per foot for good-quality office space. Sales of office buildings have slowed, in part because large institutional investors are skeptical that property values will appreciate enough to resell them at a profit after five years, as is common practice. Private buyers or public entities such as Los Angeles County have picked up some downtown office towers at "huge discounts" compared with what it would cost to erect similar new buildings, Zanetos said. Other private buyers are investing in fairly new buildings filled with tenants, which are considered low-risk investments. This month, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Las Vegas firm that caters to private investors, paid $105 million for Vine Street Tower in Hollywood that is fully leased by Skims Body Inc., a shapewear and clothing brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian. The building was completed in 2017 and extensively renovated last year, real estate brokerage Newmark said. Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
