Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik’s cube, holds one of the cubes at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, January 29, 2020.
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It took a month of rotation for the first person to solve the Rubik’s cube. That person was Erno Rubik, now 79, the creator of the iconic puzzle game.
Designed as a mathematical tool to help his students understand three-dimensional motion, the magic cube, as it was originally called, was first combined with cubes made of wood and paper held together with rubber bands, glue and staples.
It was only after the Hungarian sculptor and architecture professor shuffled his completed cube and tried to realign the colored blocks that he realized he had created a puzzle.
“I thought, if I can’t do it, no one else can, or very few can,” Rubik told CNBC. “That was the proof that it was possible to bring it to market, to show it to the public.”
A source of pride, envy and frustration, the Rubik’s Cube turns 50 this year and, under Spin Master ownership, shows no signs of retiring.
“Rubik is not just a game,” said Sam Susz, senior director of global marketing at Spin Master. “It’s art. It’s sport. It’s science. It’s math.”
Since its inception in 1974, the Rubik’s Cube has spread across the pop culture landscape, appearing in movies and TV shows, music videos, comic books, video games, and museums. The iconic 3-by-3 grid has graced t-shirts, turned into keychains, inspired architecture, and sparked an entire subgenre of art.
Enthusiasts have raced to shrink the cube maker’s monthly solving time, with the current world record standing at just 3.13 seconds.
Rami Sbahi auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” in 2014 by quickly solving a Rubik’s Cube with both his feet and hands.
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“I would put the Rubik in the category of toys and toy brands that have crossed over and become lifestyle brands,” said James Zahn, editor-in-chief of “The Toy Book” and senior editor of “The Toy Insider.”
A no brainer acquisition
Toronto-based Spin Master, known for brands like Hatchimals, Tech Deck and Kinetic Sand, acquired the Rubik’s Cube brand in 2021, five years after acquiring the iconic Etch-a-Sketch.
“I mean, in the toy and toy industry it’s not often you come across an opportunity to own an evergreen, iconic brand,” Susz said. “And this brand is something that has such incredible staying power.”
Adding tried and true evergreen products to its portfolio allows Spin Master to take risks with new brands, knowing it has a set of products that will always have space on retail shelves.
“Rubik’s is just a brand that shows no signs of ever going away,” Zahn said. “It will forever be considered a classic.”
Currently, the cube has a 42% market share in the brain teaser category, according to Susz. And sales are still growing.
In 2022, global retail sales of the Rubik’s Cube grew nearly 4% year-on-year to reach $75.3 million, the result of nearly 6 million units sold. That number doesn’t include tens of millions of dollars in sales of related Rubik’s-inspired cubes, Susz said. As of November 2023, year-to-date sales are up 14% over 2022.
Spin Masters generated revenue of just over $2 billion in 2022, making Rubik’s Cube sales just under 4% of the company’s total profits that year.
“One important element of its longevity is the fact that new people keep discovering it every year,” Zahn said.
Much of the Rubik’s Cube’s staying power is tied to its complex nature—43 million combinations, Rubik advertises—and the human drive to solve problems.
Terence Wilson, 14, from Deepdale near Preston, with his Rubik’s Cube and Rubik’s Snake, 28 August 1981.
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Parents and educators have been drawn to the cube as a way to engage children outside of the digital world and help develop dexterity and critical thinking skills.
Spin Master is also in the process of launching Rubik’s Academyan educational program that provides teachers with lesson plans that incorporate puzzle play into the classroom.
“It’s absolutely wonderful for kids with learning disabilities,” said Amanda Gummer, a child development expert and founder of the toy review site The Good Play Guide. “It helps them with confidence and when they’ve mastered it, it’s a really nice playground brag.”
The next 50 years
While the traditional Rubik’s Cube remains popular, Spin Master has been quick to develop new versions of the cube.
This includes the Rubik’s Phantom, the familiar 3-by-3 cube printed with thermochromic ink that appears all black until the heat from your hands activates the colors, and the Rubik’s Impossible, a cube with iridescent tiles that change color when viewed from different angles. corners.
“There’s probably no more difficult challenge than trying to innovate something that’s been around for 50 years and everybody’s done everything under the sun with it,” Susz said.
Spin Master also wants to make solving the cube more accessible. Alongside online tutorials and a Rubik’s Cube mobile app, the company has developed the Rubik’s Coach Cube, covered in numbered stickers that correspond to each step required to solve the cube.
The aim, after 50 years, is to maintain the momentum.
Spin Master works closely with brands such as Mattel’s Barbie, Hello Kitty, Levi and Mercedes to launch new products, from toys to clothing and even a Formula 1 racing car. There is even hope that the company will develop a feature film about Rubik’s life, similar to films like “Air,” “Blackberry” or “Barbie,” Susz said.
Spin Master expects sales growth to continue in 2024 as it unveils new iterations of the cube.
“One of the beauties of Spin Master having full control and ownership of Rubik’s worldwide is that we can now invest heavily,” Susz said.