Hasbro to Cut 10% of Workforce

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by frenzyrumble, Jan 25, 2013.

  1. frenzyrumble

    frenzyrumble Banned

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  2. Psycho Grimlock

    Psycho Grimlock Well-Known Member

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    For everyone here who is pissed about hollow figures, here it is:

     
  3. Shin-Gouki

    Shin-Gouki Retired Admln Veteran

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    Well let's see, No GI Joe to be found and the ones that could be found were either at a Dollar Store, or made like they should be sold at a Dollar Store (Retaliation). Then you Shrink Transformers, use substandard plastics, less plastic and less paint apps and then jack up the prices 50%.

    And you wonder why sales are off. FU Goldner.
     
  4. Shin-Gouki

    Shin-Gouki Retired Admln Veteran

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    No it won't it will result in even lower sales. Lees people will buy a product if quality goes down.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2013
  5. frenzyrumble

    frenzyrumble Banned

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    I don't think it's really that way... I think cheaper made figures are the result of sales declining, not the cause. Like said in article, it's likely gonna get worse.
     
  6. Shin-Gouki

    Shin-Gouki Retired Admln Veteran

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    It's the cause and the effect. It's the snake eating it's own tail. It may get worse, but then again so will sales.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2013
  7. daitarn red

    daitarn red bionic hero

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    hasbro is stinking rats
     
  8. citoria

    citoria Lord Dragon Master

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    Good luck Hasbro.

    You lower the quality of your products, and as a result sell less to the consumer.

    Perhaps this is time to reflect.
     
  9. Wreck n rule

    Wreck n rule Well-Known Member

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    Hmm.

    I suppose it would be considered in bad taste if I made a crack about maybe getting my toys for cheaper now?

    ... Kinda answered my own question there, didn't I?
     
  10. frenzyrumble

    frenzyrumble Banned

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    Hasbro isn't just TFs. We know TFs have been good bread and butter for them since TFTM, but the toy industry is tricky and trendy.
     
  11. Jetbolt

    Jetbolt Maximal Air Commander

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    So the quality of the figures went down, prices have went up, and its been a pain to find Transformer figures in stores for a while. Maybe somebody at Hasbro should start taking some notes on this.

    If I'm going to be paying $16 or more for a deluxe figure, I want it to look like it was worth it and easy to find it. Not paying that amount of money for a figure that looks like it should only be $10 and took me half the state to find in a store.
     
  12. Shin-Gouki

    Shin-Gouki Retired Admln Veteran

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    Yeah I'm sure Elmo has taken a nose dive in recent months
     
  13. frenzyrumble

    frenzyrumble Banned

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    Where's the benchmark for a $10 toy though? I know board games range between $10-30, and they are cardboard and paper. Plush dolls are foam and filler.

    Skylanders are quite popular right now, and that's $10-12, but is a tiny figure that doesn't do much. Most 3 3/4" action figures (mattel/marvel/etc) are $11.

    I never understood the lack of understanding due to overall economic inflation. Can't get a coke and burger for 5 cents anymore either.
     
  14. fateastray

    fateastray AnakRepublikMalukuSelatan

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    Especially lately, Takara-Tomy figures (Really getting into the TT MP line) is doing more for me than Hasbro TF productions, however I would expect this would affect TT's mainline tf productions as well, so tf's as a whole might become less enjoyable (I'm not too bothered with smaller sizes of, say, a deluxe, since hte engineering isn't downscaled, but considering people moaning about those things, imagine the forum flooding with complaints in the near future)
     
  15. Sideways77

    Sideways77 #1 flareup simp

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    I'm not suprised. When they jank the price up to 16-17, people expect quality. And with the most recent figures (FoC and BH), people aren't getting the quality, thus won't buy the product.

    Maybe we'll get better figures in 2015, but if Haabro doesn't go out of buisness in the meantime.
     
  16. General Tekno

    General Tekno Lugnut Supremor & Arkivist

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    I can't help but be reminded of the Iron Man 3 figures on shelves right now upon reading this.
     
  17. Noideaforaname

    Noideaforaname Pico, let's go up to Zuma

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    If anything I'd think Battleship flopping and the GI Joe movie being pushed back would be the main contributors, not the toyline we happen to be collecting. Though I can't help but wonder how well the "give all the Christmas exclusives to TRU and online stores" strategy worked...

    'Course, I really suspect it's the bad economy plus electronics becoming more and more popular (and quite frankly more useful). But hey, let's blame the symptoms instead of the cause.


    EDIT: Sucks about the people losing their jobs. Hopefully they find new ones soon enough.
     
  18. Shin-Gouki

    Shin-Gouki Retired Admln Veteran

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    And the implications to the future of GI Joe.
     
  19. edgs2099

    edgs2099 Optimistically realistic. Moderator

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    This is pretty much exactly why they CANNOT afford NOT to do another movie. Regardless of the quality of the movie.
     
  20. Digilaut

    Digilaut Well-Known Member

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    While I would agree with the prices going up so drastically for Transformers might be hurting sales (and I've definitely held back because of that), the reality of global dwindling sales has far bigger and more complex reasons than you seem to (want to) realize. And in no way does this warrant a 'FU'.

    -For starters: Transformers and GI Joe are only one of the many brands Hasbro is carrying.
    -Less paint apps, lower quality plastic and smaller toys? Not saying they're not noticable, but I will bet you it's mostly us, the collectors and people that buy TFs on a regular basis, who notice (and are bothered by) the scale of the cost cutting measures. Besides, Transformers, even now, are still above a lot of other similar products, quality wise.
    -Hasbro isn't the only toy business in the world. It's competing with other companies and toys, some of which might be currently 'hot'. And hey, some Hasbro brands might even be in direct competition with another Hasbro brand.
    -Global economy being in a bad state, we've only just begun climbing out of it.


    Not saying I support the cost cutting measures in TF, I eagerly await the day they become bigger and better again. But to say this is the reason Hasbro sales are bad is a pretty dumb (and dumbed down) statement.


    I honestly don't believe Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon toys sold as well as Movie 1 toys. Of course, now there will be people who immediately assume that is because the DOTM toys were smaller and pricier - and again, that's probably not entirely true - Revenge of the Fallen still had the complex (and bigger) toys and even that one didn't sell as good as the first Bayformers.

    I think the answer is even simpler: it's simply not new anymore. Movie 1 was the first time Transformers got a live action Hollywood blockbuster, and the hype was nuts. Now people have gotten used to it, so they're no longer as interested as they were when it was 'new'.

    While I agree that it would be wise to do another movie, as it's pretty much the broadest advertising you can get, I doubt it would boost TF sales again - at least as much as before.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2013