Title: Chief Executive Officer
Company: Toy Tokyo
Location: 91 Second Avenue, New York , New York 10003
Israel “Lev” Levarek, Founder & President of Toy Tokyo, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for his dedication, achievements, and leadership in the collectible toy industry.
Mr. Levarek founded Toy Tokyo in 2000, establishing the East Village, New York City emporium featuring rare and collectible toys as a premier location to find merchandise from famed toy designers such as Kaws, Ron English, Funko & countless others. Toy Tokyo also specializes in rare and collectible Godzilla merchandise ranging from full-body Godzillas to rare build-it-yourself models. In addition, many unique vintage toys, model kits, dolls and stuffed toys are available in his store. Toy Tokyo has been recognized numerous times over the years by both peers and media as a cornerstone of the collectible toy world.
Mr. Levarek, a lifelong toy afficionado, sold his extensive Batman collection to initially fund his enterprise, with which he remains deeply involved in on a daily basis. He is constantly on watch for new artists & unique toys, aquiring limited items that are only sold at their store and website.
A graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mr. Levarek has long been a world traveler. He has spent a year in India, travelled to Katmandu, trekked in the Himalayas, visited Iran and Afghanistan, lived in Israel for six years and travelled extensively to Japan. His love of antique shows drew him to the toy business, noticing that vintage & unique toys were few & far between at these events. Mr. Levarek recognized a niche that he wanted to explore, prompting him to collect vintage robots, which were among his early purchases.
Before opening Toy Tokyo, Mr. Levarek operated a mail-order toy business entitled “It’s a Small World” which, he states, produced the first four-color catalog exclusively devoted to toy sales. In the coming years, he intends to continue to expand Toy Tokyo, as the collectible world continues to grow exponentially worldwide. In addition, Mr. Levarek hopes to open a museum for his extensive personal collection for all to see.
Before opening Toy Tokyo, Mr. Levarek operated a mail-order toy business entitled “It’s a Small World” which, he says, produced the first 4-color catalog exclusively devoted to toy sales. On its first day of release, he realized $85,000 in sales. In the coming years, he intends to expand, opening stores in Bellevue, Washington and Xinjiang, China in its Future City shopping mall. In addition, Mr. Levarek hopes to open a museum for his artifacts, toys, and collectibles in either Manhattan or New Jersey.
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