WotC Hasbro CFO Sharpens Focus on Cost Savings As Toy Shoppers Pull Back

[Vaalingrade]

Is it just me or did toys (at least action figures) use to be way cooler than they have been? I have a daughter and she liked getting a doll here and there but she never really latched on to them like my cousins did when we were little. I mean we had Ninja Turtles, Terminator, Aliens, Predator, Jurassic Park, G.I.Joe, Power Rangers the list goes on.

There are still come cool ones, but for example Jurassic Park toys went from figures with dino trapping accessories, Dino-Damage! dino models, and vehicle playsets, and now the most dynamic dino is a Therizenosaur that roars. It's like we went back to the 80's.

 

[Starmaster]

Seems strange that Hasbro says in the piece that they are "expanding" the division that makes MTG (without saying Wizards of the Coast by name) given that the December layoffs included WotC people as well as the rest of the company. Maybe they are going to do an about-face and expand the D&D section now.

 

[Scribe]

Seems strange that Hasbro says in the piece that they are "expanding" the division that makes MTG (without saying Wizards of the Coast by name) given that the December layoffs included WotC people as well as the rest of the company. Maybe they are going to do an about-face and expand the D&D section now.

Fire the people making good wages due to being at the company many years, hire interns desperately looking to make D&D or MTG at a fraction of the wages.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

About toys there are differences between toys wanted by children, toys bought by family to gift, and toys allowed by the parents. My niece played with a doll what was by her mother, and before by her maternal grandmother. My nephews play with a lot of playmobil, a great number these were by their father, my younger brother, and me.

I suspect now parents would rather to buy no-so-expensive toys than action figures linked with some cartoon because those brand can be forgotten too soon. Hasbro could bet for the strategy of multimedia franchises, different types of products for an IP.

Other possibility is Hasbro launching "eurogames", board games with "European style".

 

[Vaalingrade]

Seems strange that Hasbro says in the piece that they are "expanding" the division that makes MTG (without saying Wizards of the Coast by name) given that the December layoffs included WotC people as well as the rest of the company. Maybe they are going to do an about-face and expand the D&D section now.

It's classic clearcutting.

Lay off the people with seniority; who have benefits and raises racked up, let the line go up for the shareholders for 'cost cutting', then hire on cheaper folks or people whose seniority and benefit continuity have been wiped out, say it's a sign of impending (infinite) growth, and make line go up on the back end.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I was in a local toy shop a couple of days ago, and I noticed they had made a huge reduction in the amount of shelf space dedicated to board games. "STEM" related products seemed to be occupying the vacated shelves. That has to hit Hasbro products hard. Judging by shelf space, the only thing that is still selling well is Lego.

 

[Zardnaar]

I was in a local toy shop a couple of days ago, and I noticed they had made a huge reduction in the amount of shelf space dedicated to board games. "STEM" related products seemed to be occupying the vacated shelves. That has to hit Hasbro products hard. Judging by shelf space, the only thing that is still selling well is Lego.

Yup there's no equivalent to Transformers or whatever now.

Minecraft maybe? Nephews into Palworld just spends his time on a tablet. Age 9.

Loves a swimming hole I found in my old haunts though at his age. There's hope.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Transformers would be the equivalent to Transformers.

But like two thirds of the Transformers toys don't transform.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Transformers would be the equivalent to Transformers.

But like two thirds of the Transformers toys don't transform.

There were a few Transformers in the toyshop, but they took up less shelf space than the single Lego Optimus Prime. I've an idea it's mostly adults buying this Lego for themselves, and mostly adults who are interested in Transformers. Transformers very outnumbered by Star Wars, Superheroes, and various dolls.

 

[ReshiIRE]

I wonder how population growth factors into it all as well as conditions.

I will not get too political here, but I think we have to acknowledge that - at-last in the West - there's been a huge housing crisis for at-least a decade in so many places; and this has lead to birthrate decline. While some of this is because people aren't choosing to have children because they don't want them. Which is fine, to be clear - people should have that choice, and it's a choice I'm making for personal reasons.

However many aren't simply because it's not economically viable for them to do so, because they can't house any child they would have, or because they're afraid of the consequences of global warming which humanity hasn't been great at dealing with. And those are much less fine reasons.

In addition, for those who do have children, economically and personally there's a few reasons to say, get some form of cheaper entertainment than what a lot of us grew up with. I grew up in such a way that i could very, very regularly get Lego sets; mobile phones were just for texting and calling besides feckin' snake; and my time playing video games or using a computer were limited (not television, but I generally grew bored of that fairly fast.) Economically that's more difficult to do these days, with less purchasing power available.

Now, with that in mind, if Hasbro expects continued growth but the market has not only shrunk because of competition from other places, but because economically it's more difficult to purchase physical goods, and there's declining birth rates... then they better adjust expectations.