GUND is a family
company that has been making
plush toys for over 100 years which have been recognized for their design, quality, and innovation.
The oldest soft toy manufacturer in the United States, GUND was founded in 1898 in Norwalk, Connecticut by Adolph Gund. Gund was a German immigrant and even so the company's name is pronounced in the American "Guhnd", not the German "Goond". Gund is known for being one of the first companies to produce teddy bears in the early twentieth century. In 1925 when Gund retired, he sold his business to a Russian immigrant named Jacob Swedlin who had been working for him since 1907.
Ever since Swedlin took over, GUND has been owned and run by the Swedlin family. When Jacob stepped down, his daughter Rita and her husband, Herbert Raiffer, ran the company from 1969 until 1993. Even since their son Bruce has been leading the company, after joining in 1977.
GUND prides itself on being a leader for innovation in the toy manufacturing business. Before licensing movie characters for toys became popular, GUND produced toys of characters like Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat. They're also known for under stuffing their toys so they are softer and more "huggable". What led it to being known as a leading consumer brand is the "Gotta Getta GUND" campaign. Originally their slogan was "Everybody Get A GUND", but their popularity soared with the new slogan and it hasn't changed since.
Today, GUND is based in Edison, New Jersey and distributes its products in the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America. Their most famous characters are Snuffles the bear and Muttsy the dog and GUND toys can be found in a number of toy, book, museum, and department stores including the very popular FAO Schwartz.
Sources:
http://www.gund.com/about/history.html