The Energon Pub

I went to Target and Walmart in my area and they completely cleared any Transformers sections they used to have! What's the deal? Are they just doing that cuz of the holiday sell-outs or is Hasbro just stopping the movie line? I see all these All-Spark powered toys coming out soon and don't get why stores would be eliminating these spots for TFs.

Not cool. I want my new TFs!!!

Anyone else notice this in the past few days?

Perhaps your store is just rearranging things. Heck, who knows?

No store is going to leave space empty for long, they will always fill shelves with whatever they have in stock.
The Tf sections will return when when they can be filled.

I have good news for everyone!

I just got back from Wal-Mart (which was a mad house, even at 6:10 in the morning...nothing short of insane...) and I had a brief talk with the Toy Department Manager, and the news is as follows:

1.) TF stock is in the stores, or at least most of them. (How much and what is unknown. It's all being held in the back.)

2.) The shelves are being cleared for a mod reset. (Whatever figures are due to be put out, plus those that couldn't be put out before, will now be on shelves. This might (keyword: MIGHT) be where all the MP Starscreams have been.

3.) I had this reset confirmed by the toy associate. (He, his boss and her crew along with the store's assistant manager were putting everything that didn't sell, into clearance, which is a lot of items already on the shelves. Along the way, they were scanning inventory and confirming the new mod reset, with papers in hand.)

So don't panic people! TFs will hit the shelves again! Oh and the mod reset is due for the second week of January, which fits with the time frame that the Hasbro associate had for the Allspark Power figures to debut. (This was mentioned in a MP Starscream thread months ago)

I cannot speak for Target's plan or their stock levels, so ymmv.

Well that's reassuring. Thank you so much for the update on that. I was a bit clueles as to why one of the best selling toys the stores are carrying are just going away, yet that da%n Pirates Of The Caribbean crap toys are staying up, hahh! The movies were great, but sorry those toys are not cool at all except the more premium ones put out by McFarlane toys I think it is.

Yeah been waiting for MP Starscream and haven't been able to find him so that must be why!

I have noticed the same thing all over the place. Lousy Pirates figures overflowing into the TF section.

I have not been to the toy sections of the local store in 12 days so I do not know how big or little the TF section is. Of course, mine were never too large because I do not live in a large city.

Not sure how much it will affect stock levels on Transformers, but both Walmart and Target end their fiscal years at the end of the month. Most public companies lower inventory levels during this period for accounting numbers, so this may have a bit of an affect on their stock levels for the month. On the bright side, we may see some deals as the stores try to clear out some of the old inventory by the end of their fiscal year.

My guess would have been because the friggin' shelves are always empty anyhow...why waste all that space 98% of the time?

My Walmart was always really good about stocking TFs. They'd have zillions of deluxes, lots of MP Starscream, 20th Prime, Devastator, etc. Lately the only TF-related item is a potato head. That's IT. Christmas killed my TF section. Star Wars is crowding into it, and hopefully if they have ANYTHING TF in the back, they'll bring it out soon.

At 2 local toys r us in Va.......the shelfs are empty

but....

At 2 Walmart i went 2 they had the Transformers Brander on the shelf but instead of transformers under it, it was Power Rangers toys with a jungle theme i see.

At a Target store, they just had a very small section 4 the role playing TF but that about it

Every Wal-Mart in my area has completely removed the Transformer section, tags, pegs, everything. There's some leftover TF toys (DVD Prime, Primus, Real Gear and some FAB) in the clearance aisle, but nothing at all in the toy section. Where the TF's were is now Star Wars for 8 feet, and Power Rangers and Some kind of knock-off super hero figs. I checked every aisle in the toy section, and there are no pegs for TF's, or G.I. Joe.

The two Targets near me have condensed the TF section down to one row of pegs, filled with Robot Replicas. No tags for Deluxe, or anything else.

I think the retailers have gotten tired of empty sections week after week.

I can see it now:

"Bill, we got some cases of Transformers in, you need to put the TF section back up."

"The hell I will, the whole section will be empty again for the next six weeks, just send that crap back, or put it on the top shelf somewhere in the backroom."