Hasbro just concluded its 2022 Investor Day with lots of announcements for existing brands and upcoming ones.
Following an introduction by Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, the event kicked off with an electrifying start. An intro video featured never-before-seen clips from various Hasbro brands including Transformers.
Announcements:
- Hasbro-Paramount Live Action Movie Contract renewed only for Transformers & G.I. Joe properties.
- Transformers: EarthSpark Season 2 greenlit.
- Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts trailer is shown to the in-room audience.
- The first official look at ROTB Optimus Prime robot mode.
- Untitled Transformers Animated Theatrical Movie.
- First look at Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Retail Product Standee.
You can read about the above and more, after the jump. Event screencaps are attached to this new post.
Hasbro has now introduced Brand Blueprint 2.0 which contains plans until 2027. Late Brian Goldner introduced the original Band Blueprint following the success of Transformers 2007.
Hasbro Brand Blueprint 2.0
- Fewer. Bigger, Better Brands
- End-To-End Execution
- Supply Chain Transformation
Panel 2: Entertainment
Hasbro will be continuing with the contract with Paramount Pictures for Live Action Entertainment. But only for Transformers and G.I. Joe properties. Other brands will fall under eOne‘s control at the end of the current 5-Year contract with Paramount. eOne is a Hasbro-owned subsidiary.
Transformers: EarthSpark
- Wrapping up production of Transformers: EarthSpark season 1.
- Season 2 is greenlit.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts
- In post-production.
- Highly-anticipated introduction of Transformers beasts into the entertainment universe.
- Huge merchandise opportunity for the business.
- The trailer was showcased to the in-room audience.
- The first official look at ROTB Optimus Prime robot mode.
Untitled Transformers Animated Theatrical Movie
- Untitled as of yet.
- Targeting a level of hype akin to Spiderverse
Panel 3: Consumer Products
Vector Oracle
No. The only thing we know for certain is that IDW will lose the G.I. Joe license along with TF.
Confirmed: IDW to Lose Transformers & GI Joe License at End of 2022
Yobuster
Did they ever mention what they were going to do with other brands like mask & visionaries?
RodimusRex
You know what would be funny? If Hasbro self-published the comic in-house through eOne?
kmc
Either this is top secret level as a nuke button, or it's completely not worth mentioning (though forecasted). I'll go for the latter.
ZapRowsdower
Exactly right.
It was criminal to jack up prices so high because of "increased costs" while making record profit. It's all BS. Like all the insurers after 9/11: you have a major event that disproportionally affects some companies (i.e. those insuring NYC), and you get ALL the insurers raising rates because of "costs".
Hasbro is taking advantage of the situation, raising prices as much as 10% per year for some products (i.e. TF deluxes since CW). Despite the previous price hikes, Covid comes along and suddenly Hasbro needs to further raise prices? Yeah, that only works if you believe the previous hikes were modest and breaking even – spoiler, they weren't! Hasbro was well insulated to absorb the additional shipping/material costs, but never at the expense of exec raises and golden parachutes.
Now they're claiming 50% increases in profitability in the next 3 yrs? Bad scenario, they achieve it by further exploiting their employees and customers. Worse scenario, they fall flat on their face and we see the stock price DIVE to $20-30.
As a stockholder, Im very concerned.
RodimusRex
I just want to add: This year, corporate profits rose 25%. That was, however, the biggest increase in 50 years. Most analysts think it's unsustainable.
It was driven in large parts by price hikes above the rate of inflation, technologically driven productivity increases, financial engineering, and wage suppression.
Interest rates are going up in an attempt to chill demand.
If interest rates continue to rise and Hasbro does achieve 50% profit increase over three years, I can't imagine that being good for consumers or employees or vendors or retail partners. It's essentially coming out of other people's pockets if it exceeds market growth rates by such a large amount.
RodimusRex
I've been to Prague and Hungary and studied their markets many moons ago.
What exactly would make them particularly lucrative?
Last I paid attention, the Eastern European countries not on the Euro had weak purchasing power, which made them GREAT places to go as a foreigner to spend money and great tourism markets and relatively nice places to hire people from for things like art — but not places with a lot of buying power to import goods.
Lord Kaukazus
Perhaps focus more on Eastern Europe market? Like Lego does
RodimusRex
I just want to say that I am absolutely concerned about the idea of growing profits 50% over 3 years.
I'm not an alarmist who thinks that ALL has to come from price hikes. Certainly, less licensing, leveraging your own IP, selling more through Pulse and Fan Channels (eliminating sale and clearance expenses owed to big box retailers), smart selection of products, growing successful lines while taking fewer risks on others, reaching more customers, and selling more digital goods with less manufacturing overhead can all contribute to a healthier bottom line. Mix in even modest and selective product budget cuts and price increases on even some items and you can certainly grow profits.
No problem there.
The problem is with the 50% target. This is a mature market segment that is highly competitive. On top of that, the overall rate of economic growth isn't going to be anywhere near that. Add to that that a majority of Hasbro's sales are ostensibly to children and in addition to kids moving away from toys as a longterm trend, Hasbro's lucrative markets are in the developed world where birthrates are at or below replacement rate.
To be clear, what I learned in my MBA was largely built on efficient market theory and that says essentially that you can't — for a sustained period — outperform the market rate of growth without essentially insider trading, crime, government corruption, or dealing in highly inelastic demand goods — examples of which would be addictive narcotics or lifesaving essentials like insulin.
The market rate of growth per year is something like 2%. So 6% over 3 years would be doing well. 10% growth over 3 years would be fantastic.
I don't see how you hit 50% in 3 years without being exploitative in some way.
Happy Miracle
“Targeting a level of hype akin to spiderverse” I love the language these guys use it’s so human and organic
SaberZ
that was the exact clip that popped up in my recommended lmfao
ProfessionalIcee
SaberZ
OMG bruh I fucking hate my youtube for recommending me fake leaks for this movie lol. I mean as fan animations they look good, but bruh
RosemaryCherish
I could use some of those shelfwarmers. Way too many collectors in my area, some stores have had 0 TF stock for weeks. I have to check frequently to get anything. It's normally just the TFs that are wiped out too, so it's definitely not just me out here. Haha.
madex
I will say with the price hikes things are shelfwarming heavily in my area especially legacy wave 1
LZSchneider
Lol I round up when out shopping too.
Wild Eevee
I wish we\'d get a season 2 of Botbots too.
ProfessionalIcee
SS cost 2 bucks more, good thing I never buy them.
Mechman42
lol i bought a deluxe elita and a coffee half an hour ago in texas for $27. also in case anyone is curious: those coca cola coffees are weird. Do not recommend