The Hasbro Investor Presentation, which takes place before Toy Fair itself, just finished, and we took down notes about what was of interest to Transformers in the company's talk to their investors over webcast! You can find the notes below, including some of the slides - these will be updated once Hasbro sends us the material in full, so do check back!
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner- Recap from previous communication about company's growth. (More
here.)
- Reminder of Boulder Studios
acquisition to work with Allspark Studios, leading to My Little Pony movie.
- Focus on storytelling, with Bumblebee brought up as example: started as comics, brought to life in TV, seen multiple incarnations up to new solo film in 2018.
- Brief glimpse of some new Transformers merchandise in slide.
- Video shown in room of TMall and AliBaba 11-11 Singles Day spot in China, featuring Optimus Prime and Bumblebee (as example of international partnerships and licensing).
- Micronauts and MASK franchises briefly shown on slide.
Hasbro CFO Deb Thomas- Discussion on projections on costs, hedging, labor and investments, with an interesting note on what currency are used for markets (mostly USD and HKD) and what the exchange rates might be without the hedging. No speculation involved.
- Highest impact for Hasbro is in first quarter.
- A lot of money talk.
Hasbro President John Frascotti- Video shown in room about Innovation Award.
- 50% of total revenue comes from Franchise Brands, including Transformers.
- Most numerous users of Hasbro products are over 14 (TF Generations, SW Black Series, Marvel Legends).
- Hasbro was number 1 toy company in US in January.
- Focus on Inclusivity: shift from gender categories, TF as example has tripled in sales from female audiences and collectors.
- Machinima Combiner Wars 12mln views, currently working on Titans Return sequel.
- Superfans came back into the conversation, committed fans who are loyal to a specific brand.
Samantha Lomow & Brian ChapmanMy Little Pony- first look at the upcoming movie shown in room
Tom Warner- 10th anniversary of live-action movie series
- New movies: Bumblebee on June 8, 2018; next chapter 28 June 2019
- Mark Vahradian, Paramount Producer talk (in room only)
We get our first look at the giant three headed Dragon toy from The Last Knight,
which we previously saw here. This appears to be the same kind of simplified toy as the Age of Extinction giant one step Grimlock with very limited articulation and hollow plastic (as can be seen on the legs). Also, a promotional shot of the full extent of the line was shown.
We also have our fist look at the electronic All Spark tech toys. These are all spark cubes which can recognize the character they are in and if the toy is in alt mode or robot mode.
The conference then covered all the Transformers related digital gaming coming our way, and how it's part of the storytelling process.
They also discussed their expansion across China, already in action since Age of Extinction.
Here is a look at the merchandising angle the brand is taking, in terms of officially licensed merch and apparel.
We also got our first look at Robots in Disguise Combiner Force Bruticus!
And they even revealed the Combiner Force Ultra Bee's toy
The future of live events was also discussed, though not in any detail.
Then it came to Rescue Bots. It seems the show isn't done yet, but might take on a different form.
More talk of the RC Sqweeks toy, and the character's presence in the movies.
They also discuss how Transformers are all across the fashion industry, as seen with the Moschino show and collection in the past year and in catalogs:
And ended with another way of looking at the same image of Trypticon, as the winner of the fan poll from the past years.