GetRightRobot wrote:RiddlerJ wrote:Still, there were a lot of new molds that barely saw release anywhere. I don't know how many figures I had to Ebay just because I couldn't find them in stores or in online stores. If that carried through for all their toy lines, that had to be money invested with hardly any return.
Agreed. Certainly poor distribution, and I don't think any collector would ATTEMPT to argue that. But, considering this is Hasbro, I doubt VERY much we won't see those toys reused or re-purposed. Also, remember that DOTM hit $1.125 BILLION in box office sales. I'm certain the toys and related merch added greatly to that. One thing in Hasbro's portfolio of products that IS making money, is Transformers.
Okay, so then why were they handled so badly in 2011 and the beginning of this year? My guess is they are slowly trying to move away from toys. We've heard more about shows, movies, multimedia anything, rather than toys.
Apparently Prime is costing them a lot more to produce than they first thought.
Whoever's in charge of planning, needs their head checked and a reeducation in business. I know next to nothing about business, but I know this:
1.) Don't start down one path (First Edition), spend loads of money firing up molds, and then change lanes and go with another that's delivering less quality and less of what people want (PRID).
2.) Don't make a network for your core audience (kids) that's utilized to sell your products, when it's largely inaccessible to the core audience.
3.) Don't align yourself with people who could damage your reputation. (FunPub)
4.) Don't make products you've promised to countries, only to say "Oh, these were never meant for you." (First Edition and Movie Trilogy)
1a.) The costs of producing those molds, firing up the production line and then switching to another set of molds seems wasteful and quite frankly, STUPID. If you had no intention of going with product A, why even produce it? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have them, but why start something you never intended to finish? Ridiculous.
And before anyone says "Well, the First Editions are aimed toward catering to adult collectors and show accuracy enthusiasts", that doesn't fly for me. Why would an American company produce items for their collector base that have to be imported from a foreign country (or countries)? That seems ridiculous and senseless to me. Regardless if it's Hasbro China or Hasbro Australia, or whatever...it all ends up being the debts of, and resting on the shoulders of, Hasbro America. Simply put: Bad planning that makes not a lick of sense.
2a.) The Hub is on the most expensive tier of cable and satellite systems. Most adults, especially those with families, can't afford such an expenditure. Hell, most adults simply WON'T pay for such a thing. Kids? Impossible.
So, why make a network aimed at kids and familes...that most will never see? I'm sure some haven't even heard of it! I'd bet money that some of The Hub's audience comes from people who are on special packages that have a reduced rate for the first year, to entice you to become a consumer.
When that reduced rate ends after the first year and prices skyrocket back to their original, expensive rates...how many customers jump ship on that tier and head back to (medium) digital cable or basic? I'll bet you the number's a lot higher than we're led to believe.
The ratings for Prime sound pretty good at .5 million, especially for a premium cable channel. But they could be ridiculously better if they were on a tier that EVERYONE has access to. I mean, seriously, how much money would they lose if they put it at a lower price? I mean, Discovery's kickin' in some of the dough, so the burden isn't all on Hasbro's shoulders.
I can't figure out which is more ridiculous to me...First Edition flub up, or making a channel for kids...that most will never see. How can you sell a product that no one knows about? How can you sell kids on the idea of their favorite characters if they can't see what they're doing in their latest adventure?
3a.) FunPub's continual flub ups are widely known among the fandom, but now that we know that FunPub's inaction led to fraud and identity theft and will make waves and ripples elsewhere, which could make it to the general public...I'd imagine that could be damaging for Hasbro.
"So...let me get this straight. They had no protection for their customers and the people got ripped off and had their personal information stolen?"
Yep.
"They make special runs of your toys, aimed at collectors with premium pricing and it works out to be substandard product with no premiums given?"
Yep.
"And you advertise these people on EVERY TransFormers toy you produce??"
Yep.
"WHY?!?"
Um. It's good business? Like...man, it's worked for years? Um...they pay for a license and we like, make money off of it?
"But you tell us that collectors are rather unimportant to your bottom line numbers, that children are your main focus."
Right.
"So...you're collecting the money, throwing the fans a bone or two when you can and go on about your business not giving a damn?"
BINGO!
"Piss off."
Word of mouth is a powerful tool. Hasbro needs to remember that when things like this happen. Plus, parents have far more control on their spending than their numbers and statistics would have them believe. I can see plenty of soapbox parents standing on principle and boycotting Hasbro. Toys are made for both the movieverse and Prime, neither of which are exactly family friendly. They're more for certain ages and differently developed kids, rather than for all. Yet, parents are expected to buy these things and they're aimed at kids, when they shouldn't be, because it could expose them to questionable content.
Kids don't need to see Sam running around with a stripper girlfriend. Kids don't need to hear their heroes swear. Kids don't need to see people vaporized and broken and grieving families laying in the streets crying because their city and their loved ones died right before their eyes.
That's scary stuff. That's for a different audience. That's for US. Yet it's all marketed towards kids. That ain't right for them, or for us, and I can see parents putting their foot down and saying "No. No more."
You throw in identity theft, false credit charges, and some upright citizen's going to BITCH. And it'll hit one person's ear, then another, and so on. Is that the likely outcome? Probably not, no. They probably won't feel the effects of this. However, it is possible, and it might surprise you to see it happen.
2011 was one of Hasbro's worst years, it's affecting their 2012 year. 2012 has already had a rocky start on it's own. Because of 2011, people are losing their jobs, they're redirecting their focus, and they're making promises they aren't keeping.
If I had stock in Hasbro right now, I'd get rid of it. I'd want nothing to do with them, with all that's going on. They need to remember that there are people out there who will stand up and say "No more".
Firing people to save money because Hasbro, as a whole, screwed up...just isn't right. If you can't stay afloat after a billion dollar movie, plus toy sales, then you just aren't doing something right. And then the fiasco with FunPub and before that, toy cancellations... Yet more missteps in a really bad economy.
Toys shouldn't be costing people their jobs. Hasbro needs restructuring. It needs people with common sense, not greed. Greed will only make you so much money for so much time. Common sense goes a long way. It pays off small in the beginning, but reaps huge rewards later on.
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:31 pm
I'm not laughing at Americans (or our Canadian Cousins) losing their jobs, but that was funny! 