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transcript july 21, 2008 hsbro earnings conference call and business overview
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<blockquote data-quote="CharlesRyan" data-source="post: 4406075" data-attributes="member: 5265"><p>Wow. I can't believe the rumormongering that is spinning out of this routine quarterly financial conference call.</p><p></p><p>Guys, take a deep breath and think through the math just a bit.</p><p></p><p>Hasbro is one of the Big Two in the toy industry, an industry that is absolutely huge. It makes billions of dollars every year. Even if D&D generates tens of millions of dollars a year (and it does), that's really just a percent or two of Hasbro's income.</p><p></p><p>Guess what? Hasbro doesn't make billions from one or two brands or products; it has a portfolio of scores of brands and thousands of products. D&D is, frankly, about an "average" sized brand in the Hasbro portfolio.</p><p></p><p>The conference call isn't about giving a shout-out to your favorite Hasbro game. It's a conversation with financial analysts and journalists interested in the <em>most important</em> factors driving <em>changes</em> (good or bad) in Hasbro's financial performance. Thus, the only brands, products, initiatives, management decisions, etc. that get mentioned are those that A. Rank among the most important, and B. Drive substantial change in the current or future financial performance of the company. That's all the recipients of the conference call are interested in, and that's all they get. Many other issues might be cool or interesting or fun or noteworthy or whatever, but they aren't important to the content of the conference call.</p><p></p><p>Here's the upshot of all this:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">D&D is not a big enough driver of changes in Hasbro's fortunes to warrant a mention. That simply means it's performing within expectations.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">D&D isn't a monster brand within Hasbro's portfolio. Big deal. That doesn't mean (or even imply) that it's insignificant, either, or that Hasbro is going to cancel it. In fact, if a brand its size really was in trouble, you probably <em>would</em> hear it mentioned in the call.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">For those of you constantly invoking the spector of Hasbro "suits" or "beancounters" forcing this or that decision on D&D: As a company with scores of brands, Hasbro can only function by effectively delegating brand authority. D&D decisions are made by D&D experts (just like Tonka decisions are made by Tonka experts), not by uncaring corporate suits in some distant glass tower.</li> </ul><p></p><p>If you really must believe that D&D is on the rocks, or if your sense of self-worth hinges upon amateur internet prognostication, whatever. But don't try to claim that this conference call somehow backs up your dire predictions. It doesn't.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CharlesRyan, post: 4406075, member: 5265"] Wow. I can't believe the rumormongering that is spinning out of this routine quarterly financial conference call. Guys, take a deep breath and think through the math just a bit. Hasbro is one of the Big Two in the toy industry, an industry that is absolutely huge. It makes billions of dollars every year. Even if D&D generates tens of millions of dollars a year (and it does), that's really just a percent or two of Hasbro's income. Guess what? Hasbro doesn't make billions from one or two brands or products; it has a portfolio of scores of brands and thousands of products. D&D is, frankly, about an "average" sized brand in the Hasbro portfolio. The conference call isn't about giving a shout-out to your favorite Hasbro game. It's a conversation with financial analysts and journalists interested in the [I]most important[/I] factors driving [I]changes[/I] (good or bad) in Hasbro's financial performance. Thus, the only brands, products, initiatives, management decisions, etc. that get mentioned are those that A. Rank among the most important, and B. Drive substantial change in the current or future financial performance of the company. That's all the recipients of the conference call are interested in, and that's all they get. Many other issues might be cool or interesting or fun or noteworthy or whatever, but they aren't important to the content of the conference call. Here's the upshot of all this: [LIST] [*]D&D is not a big enough driver of changes in Hasbro's fortunes to warrant a mention. That simply means it's performing within expectations. [*]D&D isn't a monster brand within Hasbro's portfolio. Big deal. That doesn't mean (or even imply) that it's insignificant, either, or that Hasbro is going to cancel it. In fact, if a brand its size really was in trouble, you probably [I]would[/I] hear it mentioned in the call. [*]For those of you constantly invoking the spector of Hasbro "suits" or "beancounters" forcing this or that decision on D&D: As a company with scores of brands, Hasbro can only function by effectively delegating brand authority. D&D decisions are made by D&D experts (just like Tonka decisions are made by Tonka experts), not by uncaring corporate suits in some distant glass tower. [/LIST] If you really must believe that D&D is on the rocks, or if your sense of self-worth hinges upon amateur internet prognostication, whatever. But don't try to claim that this conference call somehow backs up your dire predictions. It doesn't. [/QUOTE]
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