Earlier this morning, Hasbro held their 2017 4th Quarter and Full Year Financial Results conference call to investors and press. TFW2005 staff attended live online to learn how the Transformers brand did last year and what lies ahead in the future.
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner was more than happy with how Transformers brand performed throughout the year; especially in November where other toy brand sales declined. Sales have been impacted by Brexit and the bankruptcy of Toys’R’Us last year. Hasbro is currently making contingency plans for a business without TRU.
Based on the comments, it was clear that Star Wars toy sales under-performed with Hasbro looking forward to better sales with Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, Transformers: The Last Knight toys did well for the company.
Speaking of which, a question was thrown at Brian Goldner regarding the release date of Bumblebee: The Movie (December 21st). A concern was raised regarding the fact that the movie is sandwiched between Marvel’s Spiderverse Animated Movie (December 14th) and DC’s Aquaman Live Action Movie (December 21st). Mr. Goldner stated that Bumblebee movie can hold on its own and is not concerned much about the competition (especially considering the fact that Hasbro will gain benefits from the Spiderverse movie toys).
Bumblebee Movie and Cyberverse Animated Series reveals are confirmed to take place at this year’s New York Toy Fair. Brian stated that Transformers Live Action Movie Series Storytelling Capabilities will be showcased during Toy Fair as well.
Hasbro is also looking forward to an unspecified Brand Blueprint initiative for the Transformers brand towards the end of this year. We are looking forward to hear more about the matter.
Transformers brand is growing rapidly in China and Russia. India and South Africa are noted as growing regions as well.
With that, we wrap-up our report of the financial call. You can check out an infographic of the summary, after the jump. Tune into TFW2005’s coverage of New York Toy Fair 2018 next weekend (17th February) for tons of fun. Plans are underway to bring you the best coverage as always.
RKillian
That's intellectually lazy, don't you think? It really has nothing to do with sustainability of physical retail as an abstract concept. What's actually unsustainable is inept management using money stockpiled from days when smarter people ran the company to cover up their ineptitude. We're seeing that now with TRU, albeit accelerated by the parasites at Bain Capital and friends.
If physical retail ever goes away, it'll be because the country has fallen into severe poverty, and even then private barter will have to replace it unless we're all content to emigrate or starve.
SilverOptimus
Some of the questions are answered here:
Bumblebee: The Movie To Become The Focal Point Of Transformers Brand Blueprint – Transformers News – TFW2005
SimbaTron
View attachment 27912756 @SilverOptimus Could you answer my questions please boss?
SilverOptimus
Rumor until proven correct or not. This list came out after the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2018.
AndySupreme99
So…the main cast of Cyberverse Chapter 1 will have 7 characters?of course if those listings are true,but…those ''rumours'' were revealed during previous toy fairs of this year,right?or from other places perhaps
Shin Densetsu
Initial casepacks didn't help at all either. Many stores in my area have yet to get any wave 3 deluxes on shelf. Cogman who? I think it's also a very telling thing that Walmart has yet to put their deluxe Hot Rod out in stores. Grimlock, Slash and other Dinobots look better than their Tf4 versions but really ought to have been placed in either the later waves or offered as a retailer exclusive box set. New molds should've comprised the initial waves with repaints in the last waves. It's almost like a self fulfilling prophecy like "oh toys catered to older fans don't sell OH WAIT LETS PACK THE ONES THEY WANT IN LATER WAVES THAT MIGHT NOT EVEN REACH SHELVES BECAUSE THESE REPAINTS HERE WILL HAVE SHELVES WARMING AND RETAILERS SKIDDISH ON ORDERING MORE OH AND WE KNOW THEY WILL OVERORDER MORE EARLY WAVES ANYWAYS SO HAHA COLLECTORS".
Terradives
Retail missed demand estimates for tlk. They grossly ordered more than they could sell. This is why shelves are clogged. A distribution problem would be characterized by empty shelves like during the dock worker stock. Retail can’t get wave 1 out of the way to put out wave 3.
WishfulThinking
Wave 2 deluxes and voyagers were pallet dropped so it should have had wave 2 for awhile. If not, it's because they were bought for the holidays.
Negativedark
Well My Wal-Mart did sometimes get wave two. Course my Wal-Mart sucks, and the only reason the regional corprate office hasn't beheaded all of the managment is because someone tips them off whenever there's an inspection.
LegoTFGuy
Kinda surprised that TLK did as well as implied, but whatever.
Happy to hear we'll see more of Cyberverse at ToyFair.
Haywired
About as clever as the post I was responding to.
Because it gets really old to read the same "It works at my area so it can't be flawed anywhere else" again and again especially as response to posts that weren't even questioning the shareholder report.
Though… At this point I believe it's more problem with retailers.
This works to an extent. How much an impulse buy can be a $20+, $30+ or $40+ toy, for an example, especially if it's not always a well-known character. But I suppose this is where the new Authentics line will fit in with cheaper toys of better known characters.
I don't expect specialised shops for things like toys or collectibles lasting for too long, though.
T-Hybrid
That must have sounded way more clever in your head.
WishfulThinking
I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you. There are definitely distribution problems at the retail level. Hasbro has local representatives that should be helping store managers out by notifying them about product and organizing store-level clearance sales to move languishing product.
But this shareholder meeting doesn't have anything really to do with that. So, I'm not sure why you are raging about that here…
Haywired
Neither are you, so?
Probe
So no, you're not okay.
Haywired
What's your point?
Claim that Hasbro distribution is flawless and thing are distributed evenly everywhere?
It isn't.
But there's already whiteknighting in this thread trying to brush away any problems with Hasbro flawed distribution as if they were absolutely non-existent…
…even if said distribution problems are mentioned by people who DO NOT question that the toyline was successful BUT that the distribution still needs to be improved.
Personally, I don't really care if distribution breaks on Hasbro's, wholesaler or retailer end. I only care about what I can find…
Probe
"We have actual numbers here, this is the first real evaluation of the line we have, as the vast majority of the claims that the line is a failure are anecdotal"
"No they aren't! I never saw anything past wave one!"
"That IS anecdotal, on the other end of the spectrum, my wal mart got all the waves. Doesn't mean anything in the wide picture"
"Way to use an anecdote to say that the line was successful!"
Like, are you okay dude?
WishfulThinking
As long as there is necessity shopping, there will be impulse purchase opportunities. Why did WalMart add a grocery section 25 years ago to its stores? Because they knew a person going in for groceries would also stop to buy a DVD, a couple shirts and some lawn supplies. The grocery section is a zero-balance side of the store…but they know by offering low prices on groceries, you will purchase other stuff from the side that DOES make money.
Online shopping is forcing physical retail to streamline. But that's as far as it'll go. There's a threshold that is impassable when it comes to the demise of physical retail.
Haywired
Necessities will be always purchased in physical stores. But for anything else it's just a dead end.
WishfulThinking
That's nonsense. People will still prefer to destination shop for clothing they can try on before buying and groceries. The world revolves around more than just toys.