The Energon Pub

The fact that the major stores and Hasbro have, street date breaking aside, managed to co-ordinate an actual launch date for AoE products just made me wonder why Hasbro can't be better about this at other times.

To give a comparison Takara has specific launch dates for every product, and only once in the five years I was there did I see a example of a distribution flub (something went wrong with the launch of NEST Brawn, Mindwipe and Skystalker). The figures appeared on shelves on that set date, and in reasonable numbers.

Admittedly Japan is far smaller than the US so physical distribution is a far simpler prospect but I have no idea why Hasbro can't at least get CLOSE to that level of efficiency. Why is there no real indication on when figures will show up? Why do some waves almost slip under the radar only to show up later at discount while others turn up in bulk.

I understand that part of it is the idea here in the US that stores have a lot more control over what shows on shelves. But surely it doesn't do the stores any good to still have 20 Beast Hunters Huffer clogging up shelves.

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?

Distribution got weird once the prices started going up.

Deluxes used to be $9.99. Now they are $16.99

Voyager went from $19.99 to $22.99 and up

Leader used to be $39.99. Now $44.99

the increased prices also make it harder for kids to convince mommy and daddy to buy them up.

Add to this, 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. Now we are lucky to see 2 deluxes dangling from the pegs.

Yeah something just ain't right!

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.

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.

That brought back the memory of when I bought my 1st brand new TF figure since the 80s: RiD Scourge in November 2001. I was 19 years old, feeling like I was 5. I haven't felt like that in a long time, certainly not with the movie toys, RoTF Leader Optimus being the exception.

-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.

As I mentioned in my first post, it doesn't happen in Japan. Maybe Takara can give Hasbro some pointers.

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?

Here's the even trickier part - every retailer's decisions and processes for making those decisions is different. In my time in retail, we were allowed to spot order certain items if and only if they passed a formula based on prior sales and other open orders, and even then the quantity was limited or the DC would cancel the order. I'm simplifying the process a bit, but our hands were often tied even if we thought we "knew better".

There's only one "fix" for distribution - sales. Buy more Transformers and more will come in the future and be easier to obtain. The culture of "waiting for clearance" that some subscribe to absolutely hurts the brand down the road.

Maybe God is punishing the US for its wicked ways.

Or maybe it's that US distributions is an enormous - and enormously complex - system involving a multitude of companies operating across a vast geographic area, and that in such an environment, it's logistically impossible to stock every toy in every store, so there are ALWAYS going to be people who can't find Toy A at Store X.

I see two problems here.

Problem 1 is that North American retailers care only that there's stock on the shelf. It doesn't seem to bother them that the stock is stale. Perhaps it's cheaper to buy a large amount of wave 1 and 2 than to buy a smaller amount and subsequently re-order as new waves become available? I don't know, but I'd love to know the answer. I don't think there's any large store managers who post here.

The problem, is Hasbro. Can you name a recent TF toyline/scale that wasn't taken up by an Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee (and maybe a Starscream?) Surprise surprise those are the first figures out in a wave, and thus they tend to clog up shelves because most kids (you know - Hasbro's "target market") already have an Optimus, Megatron and Bumblebee and aren't interested in another. IMO this is what caused the whole Generations Legends panic a couple months back. Hasbro's sales team is probably also to blame for the failing of subsequent TF Lines during Movie years. They push the Movie crap so hard (and yes, I do believe much of it *is* crap) that there's just no room for the other figures.

One can blame distribution until they turn blue, and I agree there are legitimate concerns. However the two most important entities are the supplier (Hasbro) and the buyer (stores). That's were the problems lie.

I've noticed (and this may, or may not apply to this thread) that, around where I live, there are less and less TF's on the shelves of most (if not all) toy stores. Even niche toy shops that once specialized in selling TF's, are now bleak, with very slim-pickings.

As I would rather hunt than purchase online, it gives me a bad feeling when I see the waning popularity (and subsequent quality) of TF's selling in the shops. In fact, this current period of time kinda' sorta' reminds me of back when the G1 Action Masters first hit the market (I'm 37). Not many kids seemed to really want them (At least not like previous lines, like Headmasters and such). And thus, the distribution of the later G1 toys generally ended up being pretty bad, as far as I can remember.

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?

There are so many variables that would lead to desolate distribution. I'm certainly no expert. But, if I had to pin down to the main cause for it, I'd say it all comes down to simple 'supply and demand'.

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?

The Skids wave is a perfect example. It seems to have vanished off shelves at lightspeed compared to how long the Orion Pax waves stuck around. I think part of it is that it was a wave that had no "safe" characters, marketing-wise (ie no seekers, faction leaders, Soundwave) except for a Bumblebee repaint that came too soon after the Bumblebee it was a repaint of.

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!

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.

I think I understand what you're getting at. However there is a phrase as too much of a good thing.

I had started to count how many Bumblebee figures had been released between 2011 and now, but I stopped when I reached over 30 (not including kreos and other mini lines), and that was even before 2012 was over.

The world has so many Bumblebees at this point that adding more pretty much guarentees they won't sell as much as HasTak is hoping for. Kids have a Bumblebee, and an Optimus, and a Megatron. Sure they're probably from past movie lines of from TF: Prime, but to most kids, that shouldn't matter.

I'm not arguing that Hasbro ceas all BBs immediately, but should proceed at a more leisurely pace with them to allow for more diversity within the lines, which should move toys at a slightly better rate.

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.

I would certainly agree that the power 4 are popular (though whether they're now popular because they are actually that popular, or if it's because they were a little popular to start with and then were forced down our throats is a different conversation) but they are also clogging shelves and are the first to show at discount stores.

Are stores blindly asking for them regardless of the shelfwarming? Is the information on what is shelfwarming not making it back to decision makers? Is changing up the numbers just more trouble than it is worth?

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!

I would utterly love to see this. Maybe Takara just spoilt me but being able to just think "Hey, today is the day that Wingblade Optimus gets released. Time to hit up the shop and, unless it sold out bafflingly fast, purchase it." is so much better than "Hey, some people on the other side of the country said that maybe this is showing up in stores so I should head to 5 stores, harrass some employees, and pull some chicanery with DPCI numbers; and hope I get incredibly lucky."

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.

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.

It absolutely has done the same for me. 3 years ago I would have planned on purchasing the entire movie cast and now I am only enticed by a handful as I've had to reevaluate what I want for my collection.

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!

I like the idea. Of course, keep in mind with a lot of media products that the shipping is handled through distributors that send out movies for multiple studios, games for multiple platforms/companies/etc., and they get their cut, so that could lead to a rise in prices.

Wonder if there's a company like that for toy distribution. If not, wonder how much startup capital that would take

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.

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?

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.

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.

I'm sure like anything, it varies. In my 8 years of Sears-doom it was extremely uncommon for stores to get stock from other stores. Usually, it'd be a very minor inventory transfer due to something moving like hot cakes in one location that sat collecting dust at another, but again that was extremely rare and had to get authorization from both Store GMs . Or, it'd be due to a Kmart closing down and we'd get a shipment of thousands of tools that we didn't need. Did have a neat thing though where we could sell other store's stock, which would reserve it for them, and then send the customer to pick it up there, that was kinda neat.

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?

I have personally witnessed this when I worked retail long (damn I'm old)ago. If there was a way both stores could mutually benefit from a merchandise swap then it was done...often. I'm just sayin'.

yep, it's definitely only US distribution that sucks. Not anywhere else.