Collectors of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic toyline were surprised to findout that their toys now carries “Made In India” instead of the usual “Made In China” or “Made In Vietnam”. Following a tip from Steevy Maximus of our sister site HISSTANK, the staff of TFW2005 dug into this new development to find out more.
Sure enough in an article published on The Wall Street Journal dating January 6th, Hasbro is indeed moving some of its toy manufacturing to India; including our beloved franchise Transformers.
“John Leung, chairman of GFT Group Ltd., a manufacturer of Transformers, “Star Wars” and other toys for Hasbro that is based in China’s Guangdong province, said he plans to start producing soon from a rented factory in Chennai.
Eight years ago, GFT shifted much of its production from China to Vietnam, where today the company’s workers earn around $215 a month, less than Chinese counterparts’ salaries. But Vietnam is quickly becoming saturated with factories, Mr. Leung said.
“In the next eight to 10 years, Vietnam will be finished,” he said. He said Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, R.I., had urged him to set up shop in India.”
On our coverage of Hasbro’s Press & Investor Day 2015 Hasbro stated that they will be expanding into the Indian market and it seems as though the expansion is not just market penetration but manufacturing as well.
Since the very beginning of Transformers and G. I. Joe franchises, India exported the toys to the South-East Asian region under the brand name “Funskool” on behalf of Hasbro and even included Funskool Variants (sought after by many Joe collectors for their rarity). This new move may even benefit the collectors of the said region by having low production costs to decrease toy prices.
Hasbro’s Transformers toys are currently manufactured in Vietnam and China.
Hoffman
A void of official TFs would just offer that much more incentive for 3rd parties. It's not like the modern TF branding is what is driving 3rd party sales.
AutobotAlvaron
I wonder, if Hasbro collapsed and the Transformers brand actually died, and like G1 Megatron would say "went into oblivion", how long could the secondary market and 3Ps continue to keep the hobby alive?
Could we be content with what is already in our Collections if there would never again be new, cool, things to add to their ranks? Would we have to live with never completing sets of teams we always wanted?
It may end up happening eventually anyway sooner or later. Just like no person, no company lives forever, right?
How would we cope?
Ooh, I know- DIY TF figures, and so…3D printers for everyone!! (Said in Oprah Winfrey's voice.)
MartyFeeb
"These are just toys" is such garbage, guys!!!! Yes, they are toys! WOO! YOU GUYS ARE GENIUSES!!!!
But remember: these "toys" are an economy of their own. They provide jobs, welfare, food, etc. to many communities who manufacture, sell, and support them. Stop acting like spoiled kids and start remembering that ANYTHING YOU SELL is important, economically. These could be tri-colored, mega-vibration DILDOS (arguably less important than toys? ), and they'd STILL BE IMPORTANT. Because they provide jobs and livelihoods.
So yes, by all means, STOP BUYING SILLY TOYS! Maybe you can save that money for "more important things in life", while the people who bring you those toys can go to the unemployment line and hope for job opportunities that don't involve a pole or illegal trafficking!
Toys are a legitimate business, and there's no shame in buying or supporting that business. As of yet, they have not been labeled a "vice", so rest easy knowing that buying toys does not make you a pervert or drug addict. (Although, it does make you a borderline pedo, so definitely don't make eye contact with any kids in the toy aisle! )
MartyFeeb
No, no – MSRP does NOT go down. EVER. It goes up up up up UP.
This is supposed to be BEHIND THE SCENES. Hasbro doesn't publicly announce this to consumers (it's shareholder PR).
To you, the consumer, it's the same toys, at the same (or higher) prices. You will never know that the toys cost less to produce because Hasbro doesn't WANT you to know. They don't want you to see the cost reduction because then you will expect to see a price drop, which they will NEVER do. At most, they may shrink the toys and drop the price a couple of bucks (see recent movie toys, such as Guardians of the Galaxy), but you're essentially paying more for less plastic (despite the slightly lower sticker cost).
This is pure bullsh*t from a consumer's point of view, but it's also "business as usual". The problem I have, personally speaking, is that this is still that same self-declared "MOST ETHICAL COMPANY IN AMERICA!"
My wife asked me if they'll be using child labor, too! I told her, "No, not child labor – just child-labor wages! " But hey, hopefully the low wages are still locally relevant enough to prevent the rampant infanticides in some parts of India. If Hasbro hires enough women (as depicted in that Elmo shot), maybe families can start raising girls in the poor areas, rather than just murder them.
jestermon
A deluxe would be over $30, Hasbro would be out of business in no time.
Also, I'm not sure what quality American products I have seen anytime lately, most things that are labeled made in America are only assemble here but they can legally put made in America labeling on it.
bellpeppers
So?
The figures we get are more important than where they are made.
Exodus
Yup, and them coming to the States as well for jobs…
T-Hybrid
It's alike all over. The more countries that are slowly climbing out of poverty and into a more stable/wealthier system the more competition the US is going to have for goods/services and manufacturing.
SPLIT LIP
Also, everything's getting more expensive. Food, utilities. The price hike in toys is less of an issue to me than the price hikes in everything else.
Was scratching my head until I remembered what blue text means.
NeilJam
Yojoe.com has a list here.
Exodus
Dang that's crazy on how much TF's cost over there, but are those prices the brick stores? If so then is it cheaper to buy them online then I would imagine or no? Also consider the population factor, China has so many people it's only obvious that it would be a gangbuster in theaters…
Goaliebot
Definitely stick to 3p then, as all 3p toys are made by well-paid craftsmen working in comfortable, luxurious conditions and paid top wages.
Lord Black Cat
This is fascinating to me. What India exclusive variants have there been? I hadn't heard about any of this, thank you very much for sharing the info!
Rodimus Prime
No, that's a specific type of Capitalism, namely Unrestrained or Radical Capitalism. The reason companies flee to these areas isn't solely because of cheaper labor, but little (or no) regulations or protections. While labor costs are certainly a major factor, even if they paid their employees as much as a European employee, it would still probably be significantly cheaper in these countries because of a lack of safety regulations and requirements.
Raiju
Thanks for chiming in with all that info! I honestly had no idea what the TF fandom (if it existed at all) was like in India or Vietnam, much less Sri Lanka.
You know, I have read some things off-handedly regarding Funskool (as it pertains to GI Joe as I had recently gotten back into collecting the 3.75" scale anniversary/modern era figures) and completely forgot that they made Joe figures (and were based in India). So I stand corrected.
Wow, those prices are just insane. Hopefully TF costs get reduced to a more affordable level over there then.
Hoffman
India currently has the world's 10th largest economy. I'm sure they'll do fine with our toys.
SilverOptimus
I'll fill you in on this one.
Transformers did great in India. It was so popular that India had to officially dub it to the Hindi and Tamil speaking community. I live in Sri Lanka. We are the neighboring country of India. The ticket sale record set by AOE in our country was only broken by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Pretty sure Transformers is popular in India as well.
If you read my News Post, I left a tidbit on how India connected to the Transformers franchise. Since G1, India's Funskool company is the main distributor of Transformers toys (on behalf of Hasbro) to the South-East Asian Region. They even have variants of their own.
Over the last year, things turned ugly for the collectors of the region. Deluxe are now priced $52, Voyagers are $86 and Leader Class is well over $120. Not exactly sure what caused it but I gave up collecting. I only bought just one deluxe class figure for the whole year.
If India starts manufacturing, we (of the South-East Asian region) can hope to buy at least for the price you guys have in US. Because it eliminates at least two nodes from the following supply chain:
Manufacturer China>Hasbro UK>Funskool India>Importer Sri Lanka>Retailer Sri Lanka.
This could impact both ways. Only time will tell.
Raiju
I dunno about that. I'm of the mindset that manufacturing base need not have anything to do with marketing base as those are two completely different things as far as Hasbro's concerned. I mean, to use it as a gauge, how popular were the Bay movies in Vietnam and India, especially when compared with China (and we know for a fact that AOE did gangbusters in China by all accounts)? (I personally don't know so that's why I'm asking.)
Also, most of the third party scene was started and is supported by 3P companies based in China, which is an outgrowth of interest in the Transformers brand even if they're not officially licensed/vetted by HasTak. Can't really say the same thing with Vietnam and India, methinks, since neither of those countries really have had a history associated with a children's franchise revolving around transforming robot figures locked in a civil war. I could be wrong, and of course, the future isn't set in stone so things can change.
Ragnar
India is a huge population area and likely a strategic growth market for Hasbro. Moving toy production there may have more business advantages than merely the hypothesized materials and labor costs. Some advantages could be transportation and shipping routes (especially East/West port access), setting up shop there before competitors move in, more English-language workers, etc.
neospark1
Oh you better believe this will be ANOTHER drop in quality in the toy construction. Just look at what hapened when production moved to Vietnam. Worse quality plastic. Even more hollowed out spaces. And the introduction of outside clip on wheels. Look at the 2 pack Sideswipe. Back wheels are normal cheap clip on wheels but to save 2 cents on 2 front pins and 5 cents in labor they just extrude plastic from the shoulders and slap non matching wheels around them.Elimination of every screw possible. Hell even all heads are glued together. I know because one of my Aerialbots head just snapped in half. And elbow joints are friction joints now which become more and more loose as time goes on.
Even packaging is starting to suffer.
Beyond cheap flimsy small paper instructions. Crap holding trays. And flimsy boxes.
I guarantee you things will get worse.