Several outlets including the Providence Journal and WPRI are reporting that Hasbro may be in a tough position. According to a press release from Hasbro’s Julie Duffy, Hasbro is engaged in an ongoing process of transformation involving “meaningful organisational changes”, some of which are said to be “difficult” and may have an affect on a single digit percentage of Hasbro’s 5,000 employees (i.e. between 50 and 499 individuals).
This news has led to many speculating that “difficult changes” affecting this proportion of employees means layoffs, although even this small proportion of layoffs would likely trigger a requirement to file a WARN notice, which the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training reports has not taken place. This seems to almost certainly be in the wind, though, because there are not many other ways this could be taken.
To some, the difficulty faced by Hasbro might be laid at the feet of the underperformance of Transformers The Last Knight – the fact the movie did not perform to expectations coupled with toys being slow to sell through and many assortments being poorly stocked. This is certainly a factor, but Hasbro sells more than Transformers, and so other elements of Hasbro’s business also underperforming – such as Star Wars – will also play a major role. Moreover, Hasbro’s business has almost certainly been hurt by the collapse of Toys R Us, which will have left them with unpaid invoices, and these funds will need to be recouped somewhere. Plus, toys overall do not sell to the same degree that they did even ten years ago due to the ubiquity of smart devices competing for the attention of Hasbro’s customers.
To add to Hasbro’s woes, both Providence Journal and Go Local Prov News report that, separately, Pomerantz Law Firm and also Rosen Law is launching an investigation of Hasbro, focusing on whether Hasbro engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. Marketwatch suggests that the particular issues in the Rosen suit are that Hasbro intentionally underreported the issues facing Toys R Us in the months leading up to its bankruptcy and closure, and also that adverse sales in the UK and Brazil were also not disclosed. Hasbro have denied that their “difficult changes” are related to these investigations.
RKillian
HFTD was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it affair here.
LigerPrime
Totally agree with your analysis with the line. Back then SW collectors would wait with excitement on Hasbro’s yearly release with the big vehicles.
However, it’s not just the drop of quality of the 3 3/4 line that has led to the demise of SW sales in my country but the new movies aren’t appealing.
A lot of the collectors I know are also angered by the “new direction” by one of the heads – who says she doesn’t need to cater to the old fanbase (or something like that).
Yeah sure but it’s the old fanbase that spends hours or days to purchase movie tickets, buy the merchandise etc.
Offend these older fans and the support of the franchise dies. In the end it’s merchandise sales that’s the real money spinner.
Diversity in SW? My buddies and I are asian and we don’t need of that. I just want the older characters to be treated properly and story-writing to be consistent.
There’s too much to comment on your post but I agree with:
1. Disney competing with Hasbro…what the heck?!
2. Diseased mind…don’t know to laugh or cry but it’s also applicable to me. And it’s one of the reasons, I’m trying to cut from toy collecting.
TFXProtector
That's odd. GameStop.com says it's in stock and ready to ship. (To home, not to store and no store pickup.)
GizmoTron
True, it's always regional, but the point is that there were figures in most (and in some cases all) areas that didn't hit regular retail.
Hoffman
EE distro doesn't really give timeframes apart from what's on the website.
Maybe BBTS got invoiced by Hasbro in which case they know it's on the way. Maybe EE just hasn't yet
Also, EE distro often gets stuff in batches and can't guarantee when your order will be filled. Sometimes it doesn't at all…
G.B. Blackrock
For what it's worth, the e-mail I received just in the past hour (unsolicited) from BBTS, where I placed my own order, has a rather different tone:
G1 Cassette Hunter
There may be yet another casualty to the Hasbro stock "non-fulfillment": Received this from EE on the Bumblebee Retro Highway V2 Exclusive:
Hello,
Thank you for your order and the e-mail. At this time we are simply waiting for Hasbro, the manufacturer, to stock us with the merchandise. Manufacturers are not able to provide exact dates due to all of the variables involved in the overseas production of these items, and their subsequent delivery to us here in the US. They are listing the merchandise as "as soon as possible", the most up to date delivery information set for sometime during the month of Novemeber. We hope that we will be able to ship the merchandise out as soon as it is available, however this is up to the speed of Hasbro 's delivery process. Please be aware, all delivery timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the manufacturer.
This information is available via the website, as well as through your personal online client account. Any changes announced by the manufacturer will be updated to our website within 15-30 minutes, and to your account portal within 6-12 hours.
This item is not an Entertainment Earth Exclusive. Hasbro offered the item to a couple of other retailers in addition to ourselves.
Thank you for giving us the chance to serve your needs. Please let us know if you have any further questions, or if there’s anything else we can do to help you.
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So the stock fulfillment boulder continues to roll downhill into Christmas for them it appears…
stad
Ahh, I see. Yes, the Ep 1 stuff DID clog shelves, but that really wasn't until well into 2000 – it initially sold like hotcakes, but there was SO much made that eventually supply met demand. That was also the first film in 16 years, so there was a lot of pent-up demand and anticipation.
Similarly, the relaunch in 1995 of toys also had a bit of demand due to it's absence from the toy aisles for nearly a decade coupled with a resurgence of interest in Star Wars due to the Zahn trilogy of books. In those pre-internet days (not completely pre-internet, but info wasn't nearly as obtainable back then) there was still not a ton of product coming out, and collectors were going crazy over every little running change on the figures – incredibly minor things like mold being adjusted so that a 3 3/4" figure's hand didn't appear to be "closed" or the change of a word in the figure description, or the changeover of the cardbacks from orange to green (with the figures being released on both being another "variant.") This was just a much larger, more rabid fandom that had been starved, so they pounced on any little thing to make a bid deal out of.
Now it's all been redone numerous times, and better. That 90s and Ep 1 stuff is all nearly worthless, but it was a crazy time back then. This resurgence of Star Wars had already lasted far longer than the original run back in the 70s and 80s, before they had even announced the new sequel trilogy.
WishfulThinking
You have the other's scripts and ideas – but the director is the funnel in which it all gets processed through. He has the authority to change the script and reimagine scenes. IIRC, Bay was basically walked though a Hasbro room full of Transformers ideas and history – and he picked out the most alien looking ones for his movie. So, yes, Hasbro allowed Bay to run the movie franchise – because they didn't know how. A lot has changed in the past decade, though.
batfan007
I agree with most of your ideas/comments here.
However, whenever I see "bay did this and that" in ref to the film(s) I get genuinely confused. Sure he was the director, but did he actually do any of those things?
did the writers not write the story and the character designers and animators not do what they did?
People talk as if Bay wrote all the films, if that is so, why is his name not also listed under writer in the credits?
I mean IF HE DID (and credited under producer or something) then please say so, as it confuses me to no end???
batfan007
Me say new scapegoat needed. Whatever that mean.
Man, sounds like the 70's really sucked.
At least in the 80s when you were bored you could go over to your friends house and throw that golf video game he got for christmas in a bonfire. That's like at least ten minutes of entertainment. Then you could play a proper game like mario, or play outside in actual dirt which was still considered safe and un-contaminated by nuclear fallout or super-mutants.
batfan007
Something not mentioned here so far (unless I missed it)
is that Solo was just "another bloody star wars movie" from my point of view.
If it had been out like a year or two after the last one, (rather than six months or whatever it was) then I probably would have watched it.
As it is, I pick my fav 5-6 movies of the year and see them at the cinema, anything else can wait till home release as I just can't afford to go to the movies that often. It's not just ticket prices, it's quite far from where I live so costs fuel as well. And most weekends I'm too damn tired to go unless it's like spiderman or predator or avengers or something I actually care about to start with.
batfan007
I'm not a star wars fan so please excuse my ignorance on that topic.
I was referring to all those unsold episode one toys that shelf warmed in stores, many many months (and years) after the film was gone. I remember seeing them in bargain bins. It was released in 1999 – end of the decade so I was thinking of those ones.
Also, retro blasting channel did a bit on those "power of the force" toys – which had crazy numbers of variants from circa 1995-2000.
I don't know what else happened with the toys before that, never bought them, never been a fan so have no idea.
If you care to elaborate – please do I'm all ears.
batfan007
So hasbro should sell on "hasbro shop"?
What about the entire rest of the world?
They don't ship international.
This does not help me buy toys.
Sad Face.
Same way it has "suvived" recent decades. As a multimedia brand. Like star wars and batman.
Even if one arm "died off", it's still got like six other arms……..
Someone here said earlier it would be better if hasbro focused on fewer products and toy lines, at a higher quality.
Yeah that would be great….. for fans. Or if they were a niche one man business.
But it's commercial suicide for a big company with big IP in multiple media.
Historically they have lost mega dollars in various decades since they began by doing exactly that (focusing too narrow, instead of too wide).
Basically it only takes one big line or product to tank, to put them in the red for a couple years (look at what happened with ET and Atari in the 80's for a generic famous example – of ANOTHER company over-producing something they were sure would sell in the millions).
Toys sales are ultimately a form of gambling, and some years they are lucky to break even at best.