The conveyors whir in the massive warehouse, boxes gliding at fast clip, filling up with toys ready to be shipped out for holiday gifts across the country. They make their way to shipping trucks, nearly full with hundreds of boxes by the afternoon of a recent Thursday.
The 364,000 sq ft warehouse in the suburbs outside Chicago is just one of Learning Resources’ investments in the US. The company and its affiliated brands employ more than 500 people. They make about 2,000 different products, mostly educational toys such as children’s binoculars, cash registers and learning games.
And they’re suing the Trump administration in one of the biggest legal challenges the president faces to date: the company says that the tariffs he unilaterally imposed, citing authority in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), are illegal.
As the US supreme court weighs the case against one of Trump’s signature policy goals, the family-owned company is trucking ahead, waiting on a ruling with many millions of dollars on the line which likely won’t come until the new year.
The company, which manufactured most of its products in China, spent about $2m on tariffs in 2024; this year, just from the new IEEPA tariffs added by Trump, the company projects it will pay about $14m, said Stephen Woldenberg, senior vice-president of sales at Learning Resources. The numbers for 2026 could be higher, if nothing changes.
View image in fullscreen Learning Resources’ senior vic
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