Robert Tchertoff
The only son of Alexandre Tchertoff, Robert Tchertoff was born on 12 February 1929 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
During the Second World War, he lived with his mother and relatives in Cornwall, England, where he continued his education at Truro College.
He joined Établissements Vera as a sales representative in 1947.
In 1955, Robert Tchertoff married Barbara Mary Scott (1924 – 18 March 2014), a British citizen. They had three sons—Francis, Louis, and Roland—and several grandchildren, including Alexandre, Maroussia, Aliénor, Nicolas, and Laurent.
Barbara Mary-Rose Scott Tchertoff maintained an active intellectual life and had close connections with the English-speaking cultural world, reflecting the cultivated background of this Franco-British couple.
The family first lived at 7 Rue Paul Saunière, then at 112 Boulevard Malesherbes in Paris's 16th arrondissement, before settling in Dinard (Brittany), where Barbara Tchertoff is buried.
Robert Tchertoff took over the management of the company during the 1960s.
In 1960, he founded the company Fair Play to obtain the exclusive French import rights for toys and games manufactured by major international companies such as Fisher-Price, Corgi, and Jumbo Games, significantly transforming Vera's business model. However, the loss of the Fisher-Price distribution agreement in 1975 seriously weakened the company, as Vera's profitability had become heavily dependent on Fair Play's import business.
As none of his three sons wished to take over the family business, Robert Tchertoff eventually sold Vera to the British toy company Mettoy.
Robert Tchertoff passed away on 11 May 2009 in Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine, France).
He donated a substantial collection of Vera archives to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where they are now preserved for historical research.
Sources: Pastellists, Ouest-France, Le Figaro, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.