Nostalgia (and Frisbees) in the air at Wham-O
March 9th, 2010

Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle - Blake Wong, chief financial officer of Wham-O, tosses a Frisbee at the company's headquarters in Emeryville. The firm hopes to see a resurgence
You never know when a Frisbee or Hacky Sack might come sailing overhead at Wham-O Inc., the company that launched those iconic brands, along with the Slip ‘N Slide, the Hula Hoop and the SuperBall. Cubicle dwellers at Emeryville’s Wham-O get used to ducking when exuberant colleagues start doing some hands-on product testing.
These days, the action is coming fast and furious at the venerable toymaker, with a new owner, a push into preschool playthings, an eco-friendly toy material and a sense of overall renaissance.
“Wham-O is a nostalgic brand of America,” said Kyle Aguilar, who bought the company this summer with a group of private investors and now serves as its CEO. “It’s one of the top historic brands, like Coca-Cola and Levi’s. That’s what attracted me to it. But it’s been dormant for a long time; it hasn’t brought any new, jaw-dropping, incredible products to market in the past 10 years.”
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