Ernő Rubik’s legendary puzzle Cube turns 50 this year and its take over by Spin Master in 2021 must be one of its shrewdest acquisitions. The cube claims 42% market share in the brain teaser category, and sales are still growing. In 2022, global retail sales of the Rubik’s Cube reached $75.3 million.
The Hungarian professor invented the Cube in 1974 when he was just 29. Rubik, now 79 years old, always had an interest in puzzles. This was helped by his academic background in art and sculpting that helped create the first prototype of the Cube we know today.
Ernő Rubik made the original wooden prototypes of his cube by hand, cutting the wood, boring the holes and using elastic bands to hold the contraption together.
Rubik said of his invention: “Space always intrigued me, with its incredibly rich possibilities, space alteration by (architectural) objects, [their] transformation in space (sculpture, design), movement in space and in time, their correlation, their repercussion on mankind.”
Spin Master’s Rubik’s Cube 2021 purchase marked its 22nd acquisition since the company was founded in 1994. At the time, Elizabeth LoVecchio, Spin Master’s Vice President Marketing, Games, said “The Rubik’s Cube is an iconic puzzle that has permeated pop culture and captivated fans for more than 40 years.”
Rubik himself said of the purchase: “It is really exciting that Spin Master will continue the legacy of theCube and fulfil my vision of nurturing smarter, future generations through play.”
An interesting footnote to the Rubik’s Cube birthday is that the world record time for solving the original 3x3x3 puzzle is now just 3.13 seconds.
