The Energon Pub

US Toy Manufacturer saw a boost in their Q3 profits in part from sales of Transformers and GI Joe figures in support of the movies. See the following article from the Associated Press for more details:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hasbro Inc, the nation's second biggest toymaker, said Monday its profit rose 8.8 percent in the third quarter, helped by lower costs and slightly higher sales of Transformers and G.I. Joe toys.

Hasbro said its earnings rose to $150.4 million, or 99 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 27, up from $138.2 million, or 89 cents a share, a year ago.

The latest results top the average analyst estimate of 93 cents a share, as measured by a survey by Thomson Reuters.

The Pawtucket, R.I.-based company said its joint venture with Discovery Communications hurt earnings per share by 3 cents.

Revenue fell 1.7 percent to $1.28 billion from $1.20 billion a year ago and missing analysts' estimates of $1.32 billion.

Hasbro said North American sales reflect stronger sales of toys for boys, but revenue was weighed down by weakness in girls, preschool and the games and puzzles categories.

Last week, the nation's biggest toymaker, Mattel Inc., reported a profit decline of 3.5 percent as sales fell 8 percent. Mattel makes Hot Wheels and American Girl dolls.

To see the online article, click: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hasbro-3Q ... et=&ccode=

well when youre asking 45$ for a leader and 13$ for a deluxe then charge the same for figures that DONT TRANSFORM!! of course youll make a profit.

not to mention a gestalt that doesnt have indivual bot modes and yet you charge 100 bucks.
heres a tip hastak get rid of the lights and sounds and focus on the details,look at the masterpiece, binaltech, and alternity lines no electronics,no lights and yet stunning detail.

dont mean to sound angry but im more about quality and detail than gimmicks and yes i know these toys are mainly marketed for kids but theres a reason the stores in my area haveabout 20 of each and every figure.

I'm curious, what was the venture with Discovery Communications?

That wasn't the new TF series was it?

rpetras wrote:I'm curious, what was the venture with Discovery Communications?

It's the new TV channel they're partnering to develop.

Well done, Hasbro; at this rate you'll swipe the smug smile from Mattel in no time.

In the meanwhile, how about using those profits to create new and better designed Transformers? (Instead of the countless repaints/remoulds)

Here's an idea for a starter; stop designating certain products to certain countries (like 'Buster' Prime and the EZ Devastator). Whatever happened to equality?

Swiftknife24 wrote:Well done, Hasbro; at this rate you'll swipe the smug smile from Mattel in no time.

In the meanwhile, how about using those profits to create new and better designed Transformers? (Instead of the countless repaints/remoulds)

Here's an idea for a starter; stop designating certain products to certain countries (like 'Buster' Prime and the EZ Devastator). Whatever happened to equality?

1: They do try to create new moulds. There is a set BUDGET for each line, so the amount of new moulds are finite. That's why Energon's -Maximus toys have 2 Basic moulds and a Delux torso mould.

2: Buster Prime is entirely Takara's thing. Hasbro are merely business partners with Takara (While still controling the overall direction of the franchise).

And before you call BS on me: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Misconceptions_and_urban_legends_about_Transformers

Im gonna keep it simple...The more you give to the public, the more it pays in return. Japanese companies take notes and learn the recipie for success.

alternator77 wrote:not to mention a gestalt that doesnt have indivual bot modes and yet you charge 100 bucks.
heres a tip hastak get rid of the lights and sounds and focus on the details,look at the masterpiece, binaltech, and alternity lines no electronics,no lights and yet stunning detail.

dont mean to sound angry but im more about quality and detail than gimmicks and yes i know these toys are mainly marketed for kids but theres a reason the stores in my area haveabout 20 of each and every figure.

The problem there is most kids don't give a rats ass about quality or details...they just want to play. They WANT the gimmicks. And honestly most don't care that the gestalt has no individual robot mode- it's really only the collectors who are making a major fuss about that. Look at the most popular toys now- they are the ones with gimmicks. In a way you can blame Transformers for that because they really were the first toys to have a gimmick with their shapeshifting. It's all built from there. The weird thing is that TF's have actually lagged behind when it comes to electronics...in my opinion this is largely to do with the space requirements for such devices and the lack of space in TFs due to the moving parts.

And the reason your stores have 20 of each figure is because that's what is available at the warehouse. Think about how the stores buy their figures (by the case...in some cases, by the hundreds of cases). They just put out what they happen to have at the time and most of the time it's duplicates. They really don't care about selection. They want the shelves full. So really it's Wal-Mart and Target we can blame for the duplicate figs because that's what they bought.

You, me, and the common mature Transformers fan is not Hasbro's target audience. Obviously their target is kids, and Hasbro doesn't really gives a rat ass about Quality Control.

Hard Hacker wrote:

Swiftknife24 wrote:Well done, Hasbro; at this rate you'll swipe the smug smile from Mattel in no time.

In the meanwhile, how about using those profits to create new and better designed Transformers? (Instead of the countless repaints/remoulds)

Here's an idea for a starter; stop designating certain products to certain countries (like 'Buster' Prime and the EZ Devastator). Whatever happened to equality?

1: They do try to create new moulds. There is a set BUDGET for each line, so the amount of new moulds are finite. That's why Energon's -Maximus toys have 2 Basic moulds and a Delux torso mould.

2: Buster Prime is entirely Takara's thing. Hasbro are merely business partners with Takara (While still controling the overall direction of the franchise).

And before you call BS on me: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Misconceptions_and_urban_legends_about_Transformers

1: I imagine there would be...I'm just saying they could use the money for the re-issues for new molds. (Yes, I know it's cheaper to re-issue)

2: They still have exactly the same products and means of producing them...There's absolutely no reason why that Prime can't be released in the West.

Swiftknife24 wrote:2: They still have exactly the same products and means of producing them...There's absolutely no reason why that Prime can't be released in the West.

Who says there isn't? There's an Optimus Prime repaint coming up, which may very well be Buster. And Hasbro does plan on getting EZ Devastator over here. It's just that the mod and figures are (probably) done outside of Hasbro. Remember, TakaraTomy owns the brand proper and handles the figure production, while Hasbro (the licensee) does the design work for the US.

That aside, the budget is dependent not just on how much is available, but also on how much the expected profit is, thus how much they're willing to risk. The risk here is overproducing to the point the production costs are greater than the earnings, thus making a loss, which Hasbro wants to avoid.

Besides, the total budget is split in two years per line, the total netto profit per line would go over to other toy lines, including Transformers.

And now, hopefully, prices will drop soon.