Burn wrote:robofreak doesn't joke. He's all about the serious business of the internet.
ItIsHim wrote:My closet is filled to the brim with plastic children's toys. For myself
Why does US distribution suck?
robofreak wrote:Unicron Trilogy years had WAYYYY better distribution than what we currently have. I remember a time when I could go into the store and the Transformers shelves were always full.
-Kanrabat- wrote:Why does US distribution suck?
Because no matter the country or region you live in, it's the same bullshit that happen everywere. Just with a different coat of paint.
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I'm guessing it has to do with the chain here:
Factory -> Hasbro Distribution Centers -> Store Warehouses -> Store Shelf
I think the problem is mainly with the stores themselves, as product won't leave or even arrive at the Distribution Centers unless ordered by the store chains themselves. I think we can all agree on that.
Within those chains though, what's the chain of command? I understand that if the higher-ups order a particular store to carry that product, it'll have to comply, but what are the store managers allowed to do on their own? Do whatever they darn well please, or at least keep an amount of product ready "as needed" according to store guidelines? And what counts towards that product, for instance does Dark of the Moon overstock count towards total "as needed" stock?
thedistinctroom wrote:But then, how many copies of a toy are actually made these days? 10,000? 100,000? For example, how many copies of Generations Skids or Waspinator (2 toys with distribution problems right now) were pressed? Did Hasbro press up enough copies of these 2 characters for everyone?
Drift082111 wrote:Back to the point of constantly seeing OP, MT, BB, and SS. I work at a physical therapy clinic where recently we began treating and working with a young boy around the age of 10. In between his exercises we made small talk and I came to find out that he "LOVED!" Transformers. My first question: 'Who's your favorite?' His reply, 'BB and OP.' We all know kids love those 2 and I think that Hasbro wants to get the lesser known characters out there but in order to secure sales with their targeted demographic (kids) they go with the tried and true formula of the big 2-4 first before distributing the other characters which won't sell to a kids and their parents market. Sorry, much of this may not make sense. It's been a long few weeks.
Drift082111 wrote:Back to the point of constantly seeing OP, MT, BB, and SS. I work at a physical therapy clinic where recently we began treating and working with a young boy around the age of 10. In between his exercises we made small talk and I came to find out that he "LOVED!" Transformers. My first question: 'Who's your favorite?' His reply, 'BB and OP.' We all know kids love those 2 and I think that Hasbro wants to get the lesser known characters out there but in order to secure sales with their targeted demographic (kids) they go with the tried and true formula of the big 2-4 first before distributing the other characters which won't sell to a kids and their parents market. Sorry, much of this may not make sense. It's been a long few weeks.
Seibertron wrote:I'd love to see toys handled just like multimedia products such as Video Games, Magazines, Books, Blu-Rays, etc. Set dates. All stores get certain quantities. Problem solved!
Noideaforaname wrote:No denying OP, BB, Megs, and Screamer are popular and justify all sorts of toys, but I'd like for them to not start off with the same four again and again, especially when Transformers keeps expanding into new toy territories. Legends look great, but do I need the Big 4 again? Customizer Kreons are fun, but there's those 4 guys again. Same with Construct-Bots, and those new minifigures (who's name I can't recall) have them yet again in 3 flavors, BLAGH!
Even worse is that subsequent waves get really awesome characters but little to no release.
I'd love to know what's going on with distribution lately. I can understand last waves suffering, but all these sudden delays, cancellations, Voyager Breakdown fiasco (how does that even happen?!), "now only at TRU/other exclusive", shortages, and just plain not ordering waves is getting real tiring. And don't even get me started on how the Kre-O line has been going...
On the flipside, all this craziness has forced me to reevaluate what I really want out of Transformers.
Seibertron wrote:I'd love to see toys handled just like multimedia products such as Video Games, Magazines, Books, Blu-Rays, etc. Set dates. All stores get certain quantities. Problem solved!
SJ21 wrote:Ultimately it comes down to what sells at the stores. The stores track the sales. Distribution looks what is selling and send new stuff to replace it. If Transformers are shelf-warming, the store doesn't get new Transformers until the old stuff is sold. When Tracks and Waspinator were distributed a lot of stores around me had tons of old stuff still on the shelves. I haven't seen either figure in any store around here.
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:SJ21 wrote:Ultimately it comes down to what sells at the stores. The stores track the sales. Distribution looks what is selling and send new stuff to replace it. If Transformers are shelf-warming, the store doesn't get new Transformers until the old stuff is sold. When Tracks and Waspinator were distributed a lot of stores around me had tons of old stuff still on the shelves. I haven't seen either figure in any store around here.
That actually raises a question: do stores "exchange stock"? As in, when one store has no TF stock, and another store has nothing but shelfwarmers. Can a store ask another to send some of its stock over?
Drift082111 wrote:JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:SJ21 wrote:Ultimately it comes down to what sells at the stores. The stores track the sales. Distribution looks what is selling and send new stuff to replace it. If Transformers are shelf-warming, the store doesn't get new Transformers until the old stuff is sold. When Tracks and Waspinator were distributed a lot of stores around me had tons of old stuff still on the shelves. I haven't seen either figure in any store around here.
That actually raises a question: do stores "exchange stock"? As in, when one store has no TF stock, and another store has nothing but shelfwarmers. Can a store ask another to send some of its stock over?
I worked retail for quite a while and eventually became management at Dick's Sporting Good's. I remember we would receive directions from corporate to reallocate stock on various items, ex: Nike basketball socks. Based on the practice I observed, I think this might be common among other retail chains.
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:That actually raises a question: do stores "exchange stock"? As in, when one store has no TF stock, and another store has nothing but shelfwarmers. Can a store ask another to send some of its stock over?
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