WotC Hasbro slapped by bank of america for destroying customer goodwill

[Minigiant]

BofA is just reiterating what they've previously said in a report to a different audience. So it's not a further downgrade just a reiteration of their previous one with some new data added. Like this little quote:

"We remain especially cautious on Hasbro's Wizards segment given its over-monetization of Magic. Wizards recently tried a similar tactic with D&D-proposing changes to its licensing agreement which led to substantial pushback from the community including calls to boycott the D&D movie," BofA explained.

I think this is actually a shot at Hasbro investors and their board. A "Hey dummies - this company isn't worth what you all think it is. Stop trying to make fetch happen" sort of thing. Their irrational belief that Hasbro stock should be worth triple digits is fueling these dumb moves and BofA is warning them that in their opinion it's stupid. But I may be reading it with my own biases on

I think it's "Hey dummies. What works for one company doesn't work for another because the consumers aren't the same. Stop losing us all money or potential money"

It isn't take WOTC or even Hasbro isn't worth a lot more. It's more that Hasbro is going the stupid route to get there and anyone on the outside can see it.

 

[darjr]

The downgrading of the Hasbro stock price does make it vulnerable to hostile takeover by asset strippers - and it does have a lot of assets to sell off to the highest bidder.

Which would probably lead to D&D being acquired by a major media company (e.g. Disney), especially if the movie is successful. I suspect it's worth more as a media brand than as a game.

When did the alta fox thing first happen?

Didn't Kyle say this has been in the works since before he got there two years ago? How much longer I wonder. Did Kyle say?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Given the way that Hasbro is driving its own leg into the ground, I'm not certain of that

Legally and commercially, they are one. I'm not commenting on their apparent corporate culture or how internal communications work or don't work.

 

[ClusterFluster]

To be fair, you don't really have to, the results speak for themselves

Too bad there's no way out on that...

 

[Parmandur]

When did the alta fox thing first happen?

Didn't Kyle say this has been in the works since before he got there two years ago? How much longer I wonder. Did Kyle say?

Round about a year ago. Hard to believe that Hasbro's big proxy fight didn't play into the fears about a bigger fish coming along and stealing their lunch.

I really struggle to understand how anybody can think that venture capitalists would somehow be healthy for the hobby. It would be like OGL-gate, but all the time, and fuelled by cocaine.

 

[darjr]

Round about a year ago. Hard to believe that Hasbro's big proxy fight didn't play into the fears about a bigger fish coming along and stealing their lunch.

I really struggle to understand how anybody can think that venture capitalists would somehow be healthy for the hobby. It would be like OGL-gate, but all the time, and fuelled by cocaine.

People with lots of money thought it was a good idea to give themselves more power to make more money by just having more money. That's who.

 

[Burt Baccara]

“Within its Wizards segment, Hasbro continues to destroy customer goodwill by trying to over-monetize its brands.” — Bank of America

Never thought I would see a company slapped by an investor, analyst, or investor for trying to increase profits. You are seriously doing it wrong for this to happen.

 

[Parmandur]

People with lots of money thought it was a good idea to give themselves more power to make more money by just having more money. That's who.

Oh, sure, investors looking to make a buck fall for the VC line. All the time. I just don't understand why some fans think that would work out for the final product.

 

[Fanaelialae]

What changed with that guy? Yeesh...

I don't know if anything changed per se.

Admittedly this is all second hand, but my understanding is that he came in when MTG Arena was already underway, and basically got credited with its success. Right place, right time.

 

[fettpett]

Alta Fox's stated goals were to monetize D&D even more than Hasbro was "letting" Wizards.

They were not doing it for the benefit of the player based.

Monetization isn't a bad thing...it's just a matter of creating things that customers actually want instead of over saturating the market with dumb stuff that nobdy does.