This year’s Hess Toy Truck and Dragster continue more than 50 years of holiday tradition
Holiday Tradition Continues With Hess | NACS Online – November 15, 2016
MISSION, Kan. – Even though Hess-branded gas stations are a thing of the past, the Hess-branded holiday truck continues.
"Giving a Hess Toy Truck has been a holiday tradition for generations of families for more than 50 years," said Justin Mayer, Hess Toy Truck general manager. "The fun and innovative Hess Toy Trucks are for the child in all of us."
The Hess Toy Truck, one of the longest running toy brands on the market, has been a holiday tradition for more than 50 years. In 1933, New Jersey entrepreneur Leon Hess first purchased a second-hand truck and started delivering fuel oil to homes. Then in 1964, shortly after opening the first Hess-branded gas station, Hess decided as a thank you to loyal customers to offer families a fun, high-quality toy called the Hess Toy Truck, which would become a hallmark of the holiday season.
For decades, parents used to line up at Hess gas stations up and down the East Coast to buy the Hess Toy Truck on Thanksgiving Day before it sold out. As the demand grew, it started going on sale earlier in the month and eventually was made available online, creating one of the best-selling toys in the country that still sells out every year before Christmas.
This year’s Hess Toy Truck and Dragster are on sale now exclusively at hesstoytruck.com.