Hasbro: Dumbasses?

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 6:45 pm

I just read in the news section of TFW2005 that Hasbro ain't gonna release Alternator Prowl here 'cos UK people won't recognise his vehicle mode!
I didn't recognise Energon Prime's vehicle mode as a truck - it still got released here though.
My question is: are Hasbro purposely trying to kill off Transformers? If all the dumb mistakes recently are anything to go by, I reckon they are. Takara put out great toys and Hasbro screw them up - like MP Prime (stacks/battledamage paint). Do they even value the customers anymore, or is TF going the way mismanaged Rover did?

This may be in the wrong forum, but my main gripe is with the toy problems really.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:26 pm

I don't have a problem with MP too much: I think the battle damage looks cool, and the small stacks is because of federal regulations. That's outta Hasbro's hands.

Three things that stick out in my mind where Hasbro has completly dropped the ball recently are:

1. Shoddy, shoddy distribution.
2. TRU reissues SUCKED. Completly overpriced, poor character selection, and piss poor packaging. They aren't even in the same league as the Bookstyle reissues.
3. Supreme King Starscream. 'Nuff said.

I don't know what Hasbro's problem is. It seems sometimes they really DON'T know how to handle TF, at least TF the way it is now. And what I mean by that is the two main demographics (kids playing with TF and people like us collecting TF) seem to be declining. I've never seen a kid looking at the TF toy section, or pestering his mom to buy him a TF or anything in all the times I've ever gone shopping for TF. Of course, that's going to happen when there's no comic and the TV show is on at the crack of dawn.

Post by **Denyer** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:32 pm

Hasbro offered it to distributors. As far as I know, none of them picked Prowl up.

http://www.action-figure.com/modules.ph ... =0&thold=0

The company don't force toys onto stores, and Argos were the main company interested. They only refresh their selection two or three times a year. TRU aren't doing well—did any Alternators make it into Woolworths?

Reissues: original Prime and Hot Rod sold well. (£20 and £10 price points.) Others were overpriced and didn't have the recognition factor. Starscream and Jazz both sold well closer to £10, but I doubt others would have. PM Prime was a disaster; overpriced brick with extras people didn't want, and a recognisable version of the character sold simultaneously for less than half the price.

A problem is that Hasbro UK is now just a front for Hasbro US. The selection of Alternators offered at trade fairs was badly chosen: Swindle over Prowl, Silverstreak being offered right after Smokescreen (though that was Argos's fault as well, Hasbro need to push non-UK cars as part of the selection as the figures are going to be in toy sections rather than next to car replicas. However, licensing rights may be limited to certain countries.)

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:06 pm

I love how people always blame Hasbro for the distribution issues caused by retailers' stock ordering policies.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:52 pm

I don't know, I have to place at least some of the blame on Hasbro, at least here in the States.

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:48 pm

Brendocon wrote:I love how people always blame Hasbro for the distribution issues caused by retailers' stock ordering policies.

I was only going by what the news release said.
I saw some Alternators Smokescreens in Toymaster - but not in Woolworths. They do have half-price Energon toys though, by the way. As far as I know, Argos was also the only place to stock the mini Energon Prime/Megatron doublepack here.
I can understand that if a store doesn't want to stock TFs they can't be forced, but Hasbros does very little to change those attitudes. The toy stores have more of the kids stuff obviously, but it's only really a select few import stockists that have Alternators and Binaltech. As I get most of those on import, I don't even know how many were properly released in the UK.
What did surprise me was that, even though Armada had quite a few non-figure products out (jigsaws, plates/cups, bags, books/comics etc.), I haven't seen any more than one colouring book for Energon. If Hasbro want to invade the public consciousness like, say, TMNT, they need to put out more other stuff.

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:31 pm

In the past, I've generally leapt on Hasbro for producing inferior products in comparison to Takara. Traditionally, Hasbro's versions of TF was often made with cheaper parts, was less sturdy, and omitted many cool toys contained in the Takara catalogue. I used to post these anti-Hasbro threads, and would be appalled by all the people who rushed to Hasbro's defense just because it was the American TF manufacturer. Some fools even argued "Hasbro designed and invented the Transformers, after all!" Some people are just plain ignorant, after all.

That being said, though, I really think Hasbro has gotten better as of late. Many of their TFs have slight differences in paint scheme that make them far superior to the Japanese versions and many are sturdier too. Hasbro gave us an Energon Megatron that was an awesome giant compared to the Japanese one, and they gave us CHEAP Alternators that aren't as high in part quality, but which are far more durable and far more affordable to collect. I agree that Hasbro royally f-ed up the Commemorative Edition series, but we don't know how much of that was due to TRU input. In general, I think Hasbro is taking TF far more seriously than they did fifteen years ago. We're finally seeing all of the Japanese TFs being released in the US (even when Kicker wasn't originally supposed to be released in the US), and I can no longer justify buying the Japanese versions from Hobbylink Japan instead (unless I want them sooner, but I can wait).

I don't know. I see a lot of distributors royally screwing up TF release schedules and flooding shelves with unwanted older items, but I don't blame Hasbro for that. It's the nature of these retail giants that don't give a damn about quality and selection, so long as their price is good.

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:57 pm

shaxper wrote:I don't know. I see a lot of distributors royally screwing up TF release schedules and flooding shelves with unwanted older items, but I don't blame Hasbro for that. It's the nature of these retail giants that don't give a damn about quality and selection, so long as their price is good.

That and goddamn Star Wars taking up valuable TF shelf space. (runs for cover).

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:43 pm

shaxper wrote:I agree that Hasbro royally f-ed up the Commemorative Edition series, but we don't know how much of that was due to TRU input.

TRU set the selling prices, I believe. How high the per unit cost to stores was I dunno...

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:18 pm

Did MP Prime show up in any mainstream shops in the UK?

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:24 pm

Excellent points, shaxper. Do you think their success with E. Galvatron is what caused them to want to release King Starscream?

jboyler · Post by **jboyler** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:38 pm

Of course, that's going to happen when there's no comic and the TV show is on at the crack of dawn.

Not to mention the fact that Energon was boring and confusing. But then again, since when as quality ever been related to popularity?

Anyway, this is a good point in that Transformers don't have the same recognition that they used to. Nowadays the toys of choice are A) video games and B) whichever Japanese card game happens to be the flavor of the week. The only TF advertisements I've ever seen were for G1 reissues (targeted at collectors. Hm.)

For Transformers to be king of the toy hill, they need to be more visible and get much more exposure than they are now. (Or maybe they need a card game. **dodges rotten tomatoes**)

-J

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:25 am

Do you think that Transformers will ever develop past just being seen as mainly "toys"? I mean, is there any chance that they could be considered in the same lineage with things like Gundam or Robotech or even Voltron?

Post by **Denyer** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:21 am

By who? Y'see, I consider Gundam, Robotech and Voltron toys...

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 6:54 pm

I remember when you could say 'Optimus Prime' or 'Megatron' to any kid and they knew what you were talking about. I doubt that's very true now.
And until there's more merchandising that ISN'T just the toys, TF will always be known as such - regardless of the collector's market. Hasbro need to push the kid's line a lot more too, or by the time kids today are adults, there won't be a new generation of older TF fans (we'll all be long dead by then probably).
And then the franchise will die.

How does Takara manage TF in their neck of the woods? Any better?

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 7:08 pm

At the very least, I'd imagine they'd have a slightly easier time considering how popular animated robots are in Japan (which is pretty popular, but not as popular as little schoolgirls or virtual pets)

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 7:11 pm

Perhaps we live in the wrong country.

Didn't Japan have vending machines that sold used schoolgirl underwear?
*shudders*
And cans of schoolgirl sweat?
*shudders off of the face of the planet*

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:30 pm

Autobloke wrote:I remember when you could say 'Optimus Prime' or 'Megatron' to any kid and they knew what you were talking about. I doubt that's very true now.
And until there's more merchandising that ISN'T just the toys, TF will always be known as such - regardless of the collector's market. Hasbro need to push the kid's line a lot more too, or by the time kids today are adults, there won't be a new generation of older TF fans (we'll all be long dead by then probably).
And then the franchise will die.

How does Takara manage TF in their neck of the woods? Any better?

Agreed. But I think a lot of that change is the product of a changing culture. When our parents were kids, there was something amazing about the fact that everyone watched the same shows each night, largely because there was nothing else to watch. Now, in an age of increased options, that commonality is gone. Similarly, When we were kids, all we had were two and a half channels of quality cartoons every Weekday and Saturday. Cable has changed that. Add in the internet and a wealth of videogames and consoles, and its easy to see that kids have many more options these days. It's not about TF declining in particular. Name one cartoon that nearly every kid watches. With the exception of Spongebob (which is already old news) I can't think of any. The world has gotten bigger.

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Shanti418 wrote:Excellent points, shaxper. Do you think their success with E. Galvatron is what caused them to want to release King Starscream?

It could be. I think Hasbro has finally figured out that the bigger toys, though more expensive to ship and stock, sell better. I don't think Hasbro ever would have released Unicron, Omega Supreme, or 20th Anniversary Prime five years ago. There's something irrationally alluring about giant robot toys, at least until you run out of space for them.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:01 am

But it seems, at least in my area, E. Megs, E. Ops, E Omega, and E. Unicron were all shelf warmers.

If you're a kid, you can more easily convince your parent to buy a 4.99 or 7.99 figure spontaneously than a $40 one.

jboyler · Post by **jboyler** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 3:32 am

Perhaps we live in the wrong country.

I went to a Korean Lotte-Mart today and dropped by their toy section. There were a few car toys and a couple of police/firefighter figures, and some really slick airsoft guns. But 95% of their toys were toy robots. Most were either Power Rangers or clones thereof.

In American toy stores there are lots of WWF toys, Star Wars, superheros, and soldiers. But from what I've seen of Korea almost all action figures are robots.

As for TF, Korea is in the middle of the Armada releases. This is the first store I've seen the Armadas in. The shelves were full. I've always wanted an Armada Starscream, and I was able to pick one up for $20.

-J

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 4:37 am

Shanti418 wrote:But it seems, at least in my area, E. Megs, E. Ops, E Omega, and E. Unicron were all shelf warmers.

If you're a kid, you can more easily convince your parent to buy a 4.99 or 7.99 figure spontaneously than a $40 one.

Well I think the shelf warming is largely due to overstocking. At least that's been my impression. I know that, with Armada Unicron, Hasbro offered a very generous bulk discount to vendors because they were afraid retailers would be unwilling to make the space for such large items. As a result of the discount, major retailers flooded their shelves with Unicrons and still made a profit when they discounted the items to 50% off. I think the final $19.99 sale Target ran to clear the shelves was the break even price, meaning Target was still making $10 per sale on the 50% Unicrons. Hasbro may still be employing a similar, though less drastic, strategy for Omega Supreme.

E Unicron only warmed shelves in some very select areas. He was impossible to come by in others for the same reason. Both consumers and retailers didn't want him because Hasbro had already flooded the market with the original Unicron. When E Unicron was released, the original was still on shelves for 50% off.

I doubt they did the same for Prime and Megs though, since these are key figures. It just makes sense to have these guys in spades. Even a stingy parent can be convinced to shell out $39.99 for the main characters. The kid would never stop screaming until he had them. Flooding shelves with them is a safe bet. Eventually, most of them will sell.

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 4:11 pm

shaxper wrote:Name one cartoon that nearly every kid watches. With the exception of Spongebob (which is already old news) I can't think of any.

Is The Simpsons still popular with the nippers?
And I don't think I ever saw an Energon Megatron in the UK apart from Argos (where I got mine).
Every toyshop has E Unicrons and Omegas clogging up the shelves - I can't see them ever shifting. Although, if the price goes any lower I can buy spares of 'em (mine are back in the safety of their boxes).

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 4:44 pm

Autobloke wrote: Is The Simpsons still popular with the nippers?

Actually, no. Many of my students think it's highly outdated. Even still, Simpsons has always been for more mature kids (early teens minimum). Most kids in that age range aren't buying toys anymore. Most...

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 4:51 pm

Pretty true. I guess what I'm asking is this:

In a hypothetical world where you could do whatever you wanted with TF, would you
A) Bring it more to the kiddies, with ad blitzes, cheap toys, cartoons on in the afternoon, etc.
or
B) Make it more refined, ie make TF anime and try and get in on Adult Swim next to the Gundams of the world and try and force your way into the "mech" demographic.

Autobloke · Post by **Autobloke** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 4:53 pm

Couldn't I do both?

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Hasbro: Dumbasses?

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