This brings up a point that I totally forgot and I'm glad you reminded me - costs have increased DRAMATICALLY. Costs of everything - gas, food, toys, etc. When I was little and I was a good boy, my mom would buy me a StarWars figure when we were out - and the damn things were like .79 cents or something. Maybe $1. Now? Star Wars figures are what, $10? That's INSANE.

So yeah - parents may make up a big part of their market, but WHAT are they buying? Are parents buying $10 StarWars figures for their kids? Or are they hitting the TJ Maxxs etc and getting that kind of stuff on the cheap, meanwhile if a new Xbox or PS3 videogame comes out they can buy THAT for the kid on birthday / Xmas or whatever, and get more mileage out of that perhaps than spending the same amount of money on 6 action figures. Or are they buying the Nerf gun - one time - and just replacing nerf darts as they get lost? Over time, that's arguably a cheaper investment for the same fun factor. To a kid, anyway.

I understand costs to produce these things have gone up, and inflation, etc etc... but what did they honestly expect? That StarWars figures (they're just an easy example) would be $10 apiece but continue to sell like they did in the 80s? I mean, they can't honestly be surprised at this situation. Can they?

And getting back to collectors - yes, we may be a small percentage of the market, according to Hasbro anyway. But they need to look at that percentage with different eyes - that small percentage has the willpower and $$$ to drop $180 apiece for Masterpiece Soundwaves, $500 for Hercules', etc etc. I think they really need to start looking at Quality over Quantity. Yeah - there's a million Star Wars figures on the shelf right now at Toys R Us. And they all cost $10 each, and there they sit. Meanwhile, the 1 or 2 MP Optimus' that popped in there sold out immediately at their $99 apiece. If they made a few less SW figs, and a few MORE MP Optimus', I dunno. Parents sure aren't spending $99 for a toy truck for their kids... but it sure doesn't look like they're buying the SW figs either. At least not at the TRU I go to. So IS there harm in making less of one and more of another? I mean, certainly there are not enough collectors to warrant making TONS of MP 10s... but at the same time, WHY keep cranking out StarWars figures, etc if they just sit there too? And I'm not anti-StarWars or anything, but just saying. Mattel has kinda made the online model work.... Digital River sucks, but the idea is sound and people ARE buying a ton of Heman stuff directly from Mattel. And by a "ton" I mean I don't know exact numbers - but most of what they do offer sells out fast. That's AWESOME for a retailer. No retailer wants stuff hanging around - if it ain't new, it's through! If I were Hasbro, I dunno - I might be thinking of a "Hassy Collector" site. And on it, they could sell all that stuff they they're afraid to put at retail. Like collector stuff. I mean come on - PARENTS aren't keeping Matty Collector going - a bunch of COLLECTORS are. It's even called "Matty COLLECTOR" not "Matty You-Adult-Toy-Folks-Who-Don't-Matter".

My Dad has a bunch of vinyl records. Back when he was young, that was the "cool" thing to do - kids went and got the new "whoever" album. And so they collected records. That was "cool" - for alot of us, we grew up around a time when StarWars was huge - the toys were cool, and they were cheap, so we collected them. And GIJoes, etc etc - THAT was "cool". And so now we, as adults, instead of vinyl record collections now have toy collections - because it was cool when we were little. That's clearly NOT "cool" anymore. Walk into Toys R Us - remember when people were actually like IN there? And it was crowded? It's only like that at Christmas around me anymore. Sure, there are customers - but not like it was. And maybe that IS the economy - it's easy to blame the economy. OR - maybe these toy sellers have missed the mark. Maybe the kids today simply don't WANT the same things that WE did as kids. Maybe they want videogames, and tech gadgets, and cellphones. Because now we actually HAVE those things - when back when we were kids, we didn't - so they couldn't even BE "cool", like they are now. Maybe their collections will be made up of MP3s and downloads, and all stored on one tiny little device with a giant harddrive that they can use as a phone, computer, and whatever else they want   Because NOW - THAT'S cool. Not a million pieces of plastic crap. But technology. Our kids today PLAY with things that science hadn't even dreamed up when we were kids. A cellphone that can also be a walkman that also fits in your pocket? Forget it! Right? But that's NORMAL today. And THOSE are our kids' toys. Kids tend to play with what they HAVE - our parents had records and toy soldiers, we had action figures and arcades, and our kids? They carry miniature computers. Could you even have imagined it even 20 years ago? Give it time - our parents vinyl records and our own toy collections will PALE in comparison to the MP3 / digital movie collections of our own kids.

Times change. I think Hasbro has failed to change WITH them.

 

Doesn't help that kids don't want toys anymore. They want electronics and video games. I gave my friends son a TF and he was like "You could have gotten me a video game."

So it doesn't shock me that sales are way down. Kids are growing too fast these days and want more adult toys at younger ages. So, Hasbro should in fact step up their game to get these kids wanting toys again.

 

IMHO Hasbro should use their Activision contacts and go the full Skylander route. A spacebridge deco for the portal and have every figure incoprorate the memory chip in the foot and I think, especially with a cartoon tie in, we'd see kids flock to the line again. My son pretty much gave up on TFs in favor of Skylanders...in fact FOC was on his X-Mas list with the disclaimer "If Giants is sold out everywhere I understand, so maybe this instead". For a kid that has spent his whole life around MY TF collection and was all about them until Skylanders, that saysa lot.

 

No, the world around them has done just about everything possible to make toys less attractive and it's worked. If Pizza Hut stopped serving pepperoni in half of their locations and closed the other half during dinner hours, somebody would be out there waving their annual report around as proof that Americans don't like pizza.

 

I don't get the who video games or toys argument. I had both as a kid, it's not one or the other in my experience. All of my friends kids have action figures, ALL of them. My nephews all have action figures and they all have video games too.

The issue is more kids want action figures of what they see on TV or on the big screen. They don't see G1 Transformers they see Transformers the Movie. They don't want Gi Joe unless a new movie is out. They want Avengers, Ben 10 and all that Beyblade or whatever other stuff that they see on TV.

It's silly for Hasbro to try and focus on collectors when kids are the overwhelming larger piece of the pie and they can make a lot more $$ focusing on ways to make toys for them. That is just common sense.

 

Maybe they don't need to focus specifically on collectors, but their focus maybe doesn't need to be on kids and only kids - it may seem like "common sense" to stay the course and go all "kids kids kids", but here they are getting ready to lay off 10% of their workforce. So... clearly something is not working out the way that they had hoped/planned.

 

Yes, I would definitely agree with that. I didn't mean to suggest that it should be all KIDS KIDS KIDS but yes the bulk of their focus should be on kids imo.

The MP line is a collector line and they have been chugging those out pretty good lately so maybe that is a sign of good things to come.

 

This has been my personal experience as well. It’s anecdotal, but I’ve spent the better part of the last 12 years watching college “kids” (17-20 year olds) as well as my own nephews (4 and 10 year olds) develop into beings with such a different conception of communication and entertainment, and such different interests, that it’s hard to overlook how foreign my generation, which was on the cusp of the Internet and digital transformation, is to theirs.

That might be one ‘structural shift’ involving the toy industry. For example, in Japan, most of the talented young artists already chosen the video game industry over the anime industry, leaving the anime industry to continue atrophying (Japanese animators are among the most overworked and underpaid of the population, with so many jobs being outsourced for much cheaper to places like Korea). It's a combination of the global economy and competing forms of entertainment and the fact that anime can be downloaded--multiple factors that have altered the industry permanently, some of these factors mentioned by the next poster...

A thoughtful response. I agree, and I’m glad to see people considering the complexity of the issue. Only blaming management or Hasbro or crappy toys, IMO, will not reverse cultural, social, and economic forces beyond the company’s control. And it’s not because I have hard-on for Hasbro. It’s just being realistic.

The other day, my girlfriend brought over some Star Wars Legos from her youth for my nephews to play with, and they literally stared at them for about 10 minutes before realizing they should play with them. And my nephews are fans of Star Wars. If it were me and my brother, we would have dived right in without any hesitation. We wouldn’t have been considering whether to play with the iPad or mess around with a video game.

Of course Legos are still good and popular toys, and children still enjoy them and will continue to enjoy them for years to come, and of course video games existed back in the 80s (though not developed to the degree they are now).

But those of us in our 30s or older should understand that kids these days are exposed to the instant gratification of the Internet and hyper-detailed and complex video games at much younger ages. It changes people. Stillness and quiet, and the imagination involved with static toys, can be a challenge for some in these younger generations.

 

 

I feel bad for them but that would be ironic if it was them that got the pinkslip.

 

Hasbro do Brasil is COMPLETELY out of touch with the local economy, pushing retail prices of US$30 for a deluxe! Gee, we didn't do as well as we expected. Genius!

 

It's true though. Most of us grew up with something like a PC and NES in the house, but we still wanted toys. The newest generation has grown up surrounded by electronic gadgets and they want them right away, toys don't hold much interest anymore. I've seen it myself. My god-daughter will get Barbies, Duplos, etc. at her birthday, play with them for a week or so, then be right back begging to get her mother's iPad. Things have changed a lot since most of us were kids.

I've been saying this ever since the first Skylanders game came out. Activision holds the TF gaming license, and it's ripe for a Skylanders-like game/figure crossover. That will get things selling again movie or no movie.

 

If Cyberverse figures had something like that i'd buy 'em

 

This whole thread is an exercise of the sky is falling. Wherever there are kids there will be toys!

 

Ha ha, yes it does seem like stream lining the workforce and a couple of product lines not hitting it out of the ball park every wave must be the death of Hasbro. Then the death of Hasbro must mean the death of all action figures because those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures must have just magically disappeared off the shelves at Christmas because kids only play video games or text message.

Spot on that people have the sky falling rather than perhaps Hasbro has ups and downs just like any other business.

 

If the figures actually transformed, then all the better, but I feel like they'd have to be statues on bases just like the Skylanders. Skylander figures have to be able to stand up very stably without a bunch of fiddling. You don't want them falling off the portal in the middle of play. And of course, not every TF toy can be that reliable...

 

Instead of having Skylanders type figures transform, they could just be double-sided sculptures like the Movie Unleashed turnarounds. Robot on one side, vehicle on the other. Simply rotate the figure 180 degrees on it's activation base to change it's mode.

 

OMG that's my 19 month old in a nutshell - she has stuffed animals, toys, etc - and she plays with them, sure. But her favorite thing is OUR Iphones. She can take it and find the Netflix app and turn on Leapfrog cartoons - and then sit there and watch them. Like - she MEANT to do it, it was no accident! She's only 19 months old and she can navigate my Iphone.

It's a different world, for sure.

 

I don't think the problem is kids wanting high tech gadgets. The problem is:
1. parents who shove these devices in front of their kids to keep them occupied and out of the parent's way.
-and-
2. kids wanting what's currently considered "cool" and "in."

Hearing stories of children as young as two operating these devices breaks my heart. Hell, I didn't get a Gameboy until I was 12, and I mainly use my iPhone for calls, notes, photos, maps for directions, and web when I need an answer to a question. No games.

Then you have kids see other kids with these high-tech gadgets, and then they want what the others kids have. I'm sure you've all experienced this some time during your childhood, where a kid gets some awesome new toy, shows you what it can do, and now you want the same awesome toy as well. Kids see gadgets as toys, so it happens with those as well. They don't see them as phones, they see them as game devices or devices that can do all sorts of fun stuff. Video games and portable systems themselves are also hurting because their devices cannot do everything the phones and tablets can. Kids want it all and they want it now.

Parents should sit and play with their children, help develop their imagination, and teach them the values of real interaction. Unless it's an educational game or program, a glowing screen won't raise your kid for you. It'll only occupy your kid's attention. If I had kids, I'd buy them some real toys and take time out of my day to sit down and play with them. Dad can be Darth Vader while son can be Luke and we'd have battles around the house or in the yard. They want a car and a robot? Buy a Transformer! They want to build a house and a train? Buy some LEGOs! Can your iPad turn into a robot and shoot missile at the family cat? Can you rip apart your phone and reassemble it into a duck? Didn't think so.

Sure video games, t.v., and the devices that provide them can be entertaining, but they should not overshadow imaginative play, physical activity,or real world exploration and learning. This is why we still need traditional toys.

 

I don't have kids, but I have brothers who have kids. One of them has a boy (around 13) and he likes Transformers and has some. He's into the movie crap though, and I have yet to ask if he watches "Prime" and has any figures. My other brother has a boy as well (he's almost 9 I think), and he tried to transform Prime Cyberverse Commander Dreadwing, and was annoyed within minutes. Mind you, this is a child who has been watching R rated movies since he was five, and plays M rated video games at about the same age. I've already argued with my brother about this, but it's his kid. The whole point though is that the toy wasn't interesting to him, and he would rather use his computer or play a video game than an action figure. The only toys that he has are some Batman figures or something called Imaginext (I think that is the name).

The 80's was the high point for kids and toys, and with each decade...it is getting worse in terms of sales toward kids. Hasbro keeps saying that adult collectors are the minority, but I don't think so. I honestly feel that in 20 years, toys themselves won't be in stores anymore. Unless it's something for a newborn to 3 years of age. Any company that wants to sell toys will be doing it for collectors online (like how certain He-Man and G.I. Joe figures are). I think that other Countries will continue to sell toys for the kids there, but in the U.S., it isn't going to last long. Thank parents who just want their child distracted by an object (and that object being an electronic device) at an early age for the death of toys.

Example: I've been active in many stores this last year (February 2012 till present) and what I have noticed is that there are barely any kids in the Toy section. I have seen more adults looking for something (yeah, it might be for their kid), but even they are hit and miss. I have NEVER seen anyone buying Transformers when I'm in the aisle. NOT ONCE. I have never even seen anyone with a Transformer in their cart or in line at the cashier. Whenever I do see kids in the Toy section, they seem to be near stuffed animals, or by Lego type items, or by cars. Oh, I have seen some by the Nerf guns (which I'm surprised that any type of toy gun exists after all the gun crap going on lately).

NOW...let's talk about video games. I play video games still, so I check the stores for what they have to offer. I see kids in these sections ALL the time. Hell, I see them in the DVD sections as well, and even near the Cell Phone area. To me, this just proves how kids are into electronics instead of toys.

Hasbro made roughly $1,600 dollars from me in 2012. Before that, their last sale from me happened around 1988. "Prime" made me interested in Transformers again, but with these new changes to "Beast Hunters," my spending is going to drop. I do agree with the other members who said that Hasbro needs to go the Skylanders route with their toys, since they are connected to video games. Would I buy them? No. But their sales would be high since kids would ACTUALLY want them. Hasbro only cares about the kids right? lol

It's going to be an interesting 10 years. Just with how the Transformers movies will end up doing, along with the cartoon (whatever version), and the toys (however long they last).