used since 2005 . trading name learning express toys 2005 present learning express 1987 2005 type private industry retail founded acton ma u.s. 1987 1987 as learning express founder sharon diminico headquarters devens massachusetts united states number of locations 125 area served united states key people sharon diminico ceo kathy troknya president products toys games books website learningexpress.com learning express toys incorporated in 1987 as learning express inc. is a specialty toy game and book retailer and franchisor headquartered in devens massachusetts united states . 1 the company franchises over 125 specialty toy stores in the united states each locally owned and operated . 2 3 4 it also operates online at learningexpress.com . contents 1 history 2 stores 3 convention 4 catalog 5 references 6 external links history edit sharon diminico chair of the board of directors and parent of two children at groton community school proposed a business plan in 1987 for the school to open a specialty toy store in order to prevent tuition increases . 5 6 later that spring the school opened the first learning express in acton massachusetts 7 and six months later sharon opened the first store owned by learning express inc. in needham massachusetts . 8 inspired by an article about franchising in inc. magazine 9 sharon licensed the company s first franchise location in andover massachusetts in 1990 . 10 stores edit typical learning express toys storefront most learning express toys locations are in strip centers regional malls lifestyle centers and town centers . they range in size from around 1 200 square feet to 4 000 square feet though 2 500 square feet is a typical size . 11 12 13 convention edit since 1999 learning express toys has produced an annual convention for its store owners vendors and other members of the toy industry . the event is held in various locations in the united states . the final evening is generally reserved for an awards banquet where members of the community give and receive honors for their contributions to the learning express toys community . notable vendor awards include vendor of the year and toy of the year . 14 15 16 17 18 catalog edit learning express toys produces several print catalogs each year and two during the critical toy industry holiday season during november and december . the holiday catalog is distributed to customers nationwide . individual store owners use the catalog as a guide for toy purchases throughout the year . 19 references edit hoover s learning express inc. company information our story learning express toys website control scan case study learning express helps franchisees brace for increasingly aggressive hackers 2011 learning express toys franchise information international franchise organization ifa chain store age product mix gives edge to learning express april 13 2011 norman jan. 28 communication is king . what no one ever tells you about franchising real life franchising advice from 101 successful franchisors and franchisees . chicago il kaplan pub . 2006 . 49 50 . print . groton community school website worcester business journal online learning express thrives alongside big box stores november 14 2012 retail merchandiser learning express 2011 learning express franchise entrepreneur learning express moves to bigger brighter store the columbia county news times retailers making learning fun for more san antonio kids san antonio business journal learning express reopens in northern kentucky cincinnati business courier rea road toy store owner recognized at company s national convention south charlotte weekly page 8 july 16 22 2010 learning express recognizes toy vendors at annual convention berkshire partners melissa & doug in the news toysmith named vendor of the year and receives five other prestigious awards toysmith the orb factory receives the industry leader award from learning express prweb awards about us curiosity kits toy directory monthly learning express ceo knows specialty retail february 2006 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to learning express inc. official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title learning express toys & oldid 706188726 categories companies based in middlesex county massachusettsretail companies of the united statestoy companies of the united statesretail companies established in 1987toy retailershidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscommons category without a link on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export 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