The first Radio Flyer website launched in 1997.
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The 1990s were marked by a spirit of innovation and change that was everywhere—and accelerating—from the rise of the World Wide Web and wireless phones, to the shift from an analog to a digital information culture, to the influx of big-box retail stores. The Mall of America opened in Minnesota and national chains like Toys “R” Us and Walmart reached their peak in popularity as consumers around the country began shopping for their toys and goods in commercial strips that were all remarkably similar.
Now, in the twenty-first century, innovation that was once unimaginable has become everyday. We carry powerful computers in our palms, and the Internet connects our homes, phones, and cars. Apps allow us to order food and get rides from anywhere. A sharing economy has changed how we work and how we travel. Everyone is talking about robots, and cars are close to driving themselves. Just as the automobile and the airplane revolutionized transportation in Antonio’s era, computers, phones, and the cloud have changed forever the ways we communicate and relate to one another.
“Every boy and girl ought to have a little red wagon that can pull along a kid brother, a kid sister, a heavy load, a dream.”
—GENERAL COLIN POWELL
This growth and expansion was not missed by Radio Flyer. The 1990s and early 2000s brought big change to the company, and Radio Flyer did its own innovating during this time. The company released its first-ever ride-on plastic wagon in 1994. By the end of the 1990s, Radio Flyer was leading the industry in plastics, topping sales at Toys “R” Us. The little red wagon had cemented its place in history as an American icon.
As in previous eras, Radio Flyer did not sit on the sidelines but embraced the innovation of the times. Today, despite vast cultural changes, the company espouses the same values, believing that business is about more than products and profits—it’s about the power of people to work toward achieving something meaningful together. Antonio’s legacy lives on: The company, under the guidance of his grandson, still places extreme importance on how it treats its workers, and strives to build a workplace culture centered around fun and meaning. For this, in 2015, Radio Flyer was named Fortune’s #1 Best Small Business Workplace and one of Inc.’s 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America.