Twincast / Podcast Episode #316 "2022 Year in Review"

He was the BOMB in Phantoms!

Do you think Haslabs are also market research that they can show Walmart, Amazon, and Target when they're approached about exclusives and what not as well as the regular line? Especially since we've lost two major retailers since Combiner Wars came out, they're probably working more closely with the big 3 when making decisions.

kurthy wrote:Do you think Haslabs are also market research that they can show Walmart, Amazon, and Target when they're approached about exclusives and what not as well as the regular line? Especially since we've lost two major retailers since Combiner Wars came out, they're probably working more closely with the big 3 when making decisions.

I don't think HasLab will ever be *relevant* market research for the big retailers, because one of the main thrusts of HasLab is to pursue big projects that would be too risky for retailers to stock their shelves with.

The prepaid, made-to-order aspects of a HasLab are designed to combat the tendency of big ticket items to clearance out at retailers. Whatever the success of a HasLab, the model simply isn't compatible with the way big box companies do business.

megatronus wrote:I don't think HasLab will ever be *relevant* market research for the big retailers, because one of the main thrusts of HasLab is to pursue big projects that would be too risky for retailers to stock their shelves with.

The prepaid, made-to-order aspects of a HasLab are designed to combat the tendency of big ticket items to clearance out at retailers. Whatever the success of a HasLab, the model simply isn't compatible with the way big box companies do business.

I don't mean as far as the price point, but for character selection in lines. To be able to say we shipped 27k of this character from a Japanese continuity and this is why we're including this other Japanese character in this line. Or why we're including more decepticons in this line rather than just a few.

kurthy wrote:

megatronus wrote:I don't think HasLab will ever be *relevant* market research for the big retailers, because one of the main thrusts of HasLab is to pursue big projects that would be too risky for retailers to stock their shelves with.

The prepaid, made-to-order aspects of a HasLab are designed to combat the tendency of big ticket items to clearance out at retailers. Whatever the success of a HasLab, the model simply isn't compatible with the way big box companies do business.

I don't mean as far as the price point, but for character selection in lines. To be able to say we shipped 27k of this character from a Japanese continuity and this is why we're including this other Japanese character in this line. Or why we're including more decepticons in this line rather than just a few.

I see what you're saying - I don't think that comes into play when you talk to retailers. The way buyers at these companies asses product lines, it's much less about individual characters in the mainline, and more what exclusive sub-lines Hasbro can offer to draw people into the store. Keep in mind, these toy buyers are not Transformers experts. I can almost guarantee that no buyer challenged the Hasbro seller about the inclusion of Leo Convoy in the Legacy: Evolution lineup. Walmart was much more interested in what the Velocitron subline would include, or whether they should continue with their Beast Wars reissue exclusives based on their performance the last 12 months.

megatronus wrote:

kurthy wrote:

megatronus wrote:I don't think HasLab will ever be *relevant* market research for the big retailers, because one of the main thrusts of HasLab is to pursue big projects that would be too risky for retailers to stock their shelves with.

The prepaid, made-to-order aspects of a HasLab are designed to combat the tendency of big ticket items to clearance out at retailers. Whatever the success of a HasLab, the model simply isn't compatible with the way big box companies do business.

I don't mean as far as the price point, but for character selection in lines. To be able to say we shipped 27k of this character from a Japanese continuity and this is why we're including this other Japanese character in this line. Or why we're including more decepticons in this line rather than just a few.

I see what you're saying - I don't think that comes into play when you talk to retailers. The way buyers at these companies asses product lines, it's much less about individual characters in the mainline, and more what exclusive sub-lines Hasbro can offer to draw people into the store. Keep in mind, these toy buyers are not Transformers experts. I can almost guarantee that no buyer challenged the Hasbro seller about the inclusion of Leo Convoy in the Legacy: Evolution lineup. Walmart was much more interested in what the Velocitron subline would include, or whether they should continue with their Beast Wars reissue exclusives based on their performance the last 12 months.

Thanks, interesting. So who decides case counts because of the scuttlebutt around Cosmos was that Walmart decided to shortpack him, not Hasbro and that the TF team didn't even know? Is that correct, or did I misunderstand something?

kurthy wrote:

megatronus wrote:

kurthy wrote:

megatronus wrote:I don't think HasLab will ever be *relevant* market research for the big retailers, because one of the main thrusts of HasLab is to pursue big projects that would be too risky for retailers to stock their shelves with.

The prepaid, made-to-order aspects of a HasLab are designed to combat the tendency of big ticket items to clearance out at retailers. Whatever the success of a HasLab, the model simply isn't compatible with the way big box companies do business.

I don't mean as far as the price point, but for character selection in lines. To be able to say we shipped 27k of this character from a Japanese continuity and this is why we're including this other Japanese character in this line. Or why we're including more decepticons in this line rather than just a few.

I see what you're saying - I don't think that comes into play when you talk to retailers. The way buyers at these companies asses product lines, it's much less about individual characters in the mainline, and more what exclusive sub-lines Hasbro can offer to draw people into the store. Keep in mind, these toy buyers are not Transformers experts. I can almost guarantee that no buyer challenged the Hasbro seller about the inclusion of Leo Convoy in the Legacy: Evolution lineup. Walmart was much more interested in what the Velocitron subline would include, or whether they should continue with their Beast Wars reissue exclusives based on their performance the last 12 months.

Thanks, interesting. So who decides case counts because of the scuttlebutt around Cosmos was that Walmart decided to shortpack him, not Hasbro and that the TF team didn't even know? Is that correct, or did I misunderstand something?

I feel like the buyers really do not have much worry in the case breakdown for what they would consider "filler" characters. I think that Leo Prime made it into the mix more because retailers are wanting the Optimus Prime presence on the shelf and that figure fills that void.

I feel like the glut of Bumblebees is a permanent knee jerk reaction to the 2007 movie. I can remember seeing moms drastically looking bumblebee and not seeing either the 1977 nor the "brand new" at the time Camero Bee in stores. Since then they have made it a point to keep Bee and Prime in circulation.

For Cosmos- I think it was just an oversite. Perhaps the Walmart buyer just figured a strange UFO would not sell well against the racing vehicles- not knowing the collector side. I could even see this being the rational for the the short packing of the sideswipe repaint (sorry I cant remember name) thinking that the mold has already been so plentiful. I think Hasbro now has more collectors in mind as opposed to previous years, however the store buyers are still in command for major portions of case breakdowns- but this is all from the outside lookin in, and just personal assumption.

Everyone else: has a thoughtful conversation.

Me: hehe -

megatronus wrote:The way buyers at these companies asses product lines, it's much less about individual characters in the mainline, and more what exclusive sub-lines Hasbro can offer to draw people into the store.

He said "asses" product lines

Wow--- definitely forget the extra s- one of those times where spell check cant save one of your assessments!

megatronus wrote:

kurthy wrote:

megatronus wrote:I don't think HasLab will ever be *relevant* market research for the big retailers, because one of the main thrusts of HasLab is to pursue big projects that would be too risky for retailers to stock their shelves with.

The prepaid, made-to-order aspects of a HasLab are designed to combat the tendency of big ticket items to clearance out at retailers. Whatever the success of a HasLab, the model simply isn't compatible with the way big box companies do business.

I don't mean as far as the price point, but for character selection in lines. To be able to say we shipped 27k of this character from a Japanese continuity and this is why we're including this other Japanese character in this line. Or why we're including more decepticons in this line rather than just a few.

I see what you're saying - I don't think that comes into play when you talk to retailers. The way buyers at these companies asses product lines, it's much less about individual characters in the mainline, and more what exclusive sub-lines Hasbro can offer to draw people into the store. Keep in mind, these toy buyers are not Transformers experts. I can almost guarantee that no buyer challenged the Hasbro seller about the inclusion of Leo Convoy in the Legacy: Evolution lineup. Walmart was much more interested in what the Velocitron subline would include, or whether they should continue with their Beast Wars reissue exclusives based on their performance the last 12 months.

I just want to point out that Hasbro pays attention to what figures perform well and how they might be able to cash in on that success. I don't think figure with a name as generic as "Galaxy Shuttle" would have been greenlit if they didn't have tangible proof from Victory Saber that English fans are interested in Victory. Likewise back at Pulse Con when they were announcing the winners for the Transformers fan vote it was pointed out that Motormaster beat Jhiaxus by less than 150 votes, which caused Evan from the marketing team to visibly recoil and say "yeah, G2 comic book lore stuff. Yeah, OK, interesting, we'll have to do some more." Of course there's no telling if that'll actually happen, but if we see Rook and/or Mindset or a giant monstrous Liege Maximo in a future line we'll know why.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Likewise back at Pulse Con when they were announcing the winners for the Transformers fan vote it was pointed out that Motormaster beat Jhiaxus by less than 150 votes, which caused Evan from the marketing team to visibly recoil and say "yeah, G2 comic book lore stuff. Yeah, OK, interesting, we'll have to do some more."

The dangerous thing here is that's the totally wrong lesson to learn from Jhiaxus' success, in my opinion. He's iconic for that era (at least for those of us around back then) and never had a proper toy, but is probably about as deep as things need to go for the G2 comic in the main line. I think what Jhiaxus shows is that even 1) only somewhat recognizable characters for the fanbase at-large with 2) significant roles in fiction that 3) never had toys representing that appearance well are ripe for success in the current market environment.

Jhiaxus is, for me, the counterpoint to the sometimes unnecessary repaints based on repaints that never were/were only once/etc (thinking of stuff like Nightprowler here.) A toy deco that never was or barely was without any actual character behind it is generally kinda bleh, assuming it's not on the originally intended toy. A character that existed without a toy behind it? That's money.

ScottyP wrote:The dangerous thing here is that's the totally wrong lesson to learn from Jhiaxus' success, in my opinion. He's iconic for that era (at least for those of us around back then) and never had a proper toy, but is probably about as deep as things need to go for the G2 comic in the main line. I think what Jhiaxus shows is that even 1) only somewhat recognizable characters for the fanbase at-large with 2) significant roles in fiction that 3) never had toys representing that appearance well are ripe for success in the current market environment.

Jhiaxus is, for me, the counterpoint to the sometimes unnecessary repaints based on repaints that never were/were only once/etc (thinking of stuff like Nightprowler here.) A toy deco that never was or barely was without any actual character behind it is generally kinda bleh, assuming it's not on the originally intended toy. A character that existed without a toy behind it? That's money.

Ok, but can we still get some European g1/G2 repaints like m*** thunderclash, clench, and stalker?

I sure hope so, but outside of Skyquake I'm not getting my hopes up ><

Whoever said Laser Prime (still trying to get the new guys names to voices straight) was a weak ass mold, amen brother. I only got Scourge from the mold, and it was so disappointing to have. I just don't like him that much.

And as for Knockout, I agree, he is pretty lame too. He just does not capture the Knockout vibe at all, the alt mode is the only part that says Knockout.

I totally feel Scotty on IDW2019. there were a couple moments I liked, such as the annual with Computron and the Devastator story, but outside that, it was sadly forgettable.

Retrax's preorder selling out was hilarious. I was one of those that preordered and got him too. I adore that weird little bug.

The peg on my Star Saber that allows his Saber jet hood to actually function was filled, so I cannot transform the little saber properly. It was one of the wider spread QC issues too. That was one of the reasons that ultimately soured me on it, i just don't really like my Star Saber much. I like Victory Leo, but Star Saber has kinda just faded for me.

Scotty, how dare you chop down my question! unacceptable, unfollowed, never listening again.

Kidding, top 2 works, that question probably should have been saved, but I glad to hear the discussion that did happen.

That Crazybolt/Obi-wan tidbit was awesome to learn, learn something new every day.