{"id":12673,"date":"2012-09-14T12:22:54","date_gmt":"2012-09-14T16:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=12673"},"modified":"2013-06-26T14:01:24","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T18:01:24","slug":"hasbro-getting-hosed-by-unwilling-retail-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2012\/09\/hasbro-getting-hosed-by-unwilling-retail-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"Hasbro getting hosed by unwilling retail partners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looks like Business Week<\/i> has noticed the same problem toy fans have been complaining about:<\/p>\n

Kids looking to grab an Iron Man toy after being wowed by the hit The Avengers<\/i> movie have some choices on store shelves, including leftovers from 2010's Iron Man 2<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Stores, burned after years of slow-selling Hollywood toys, held back on orders for Avengers<\/i> product. With the film a huge success, retailers, including Walmart and Toys \"Я\" Us, have been peddling old Thor hammers and Captain America action figures at or close to full price.<\/p>\n

The Avengers<\/i> surprise illustrates the challenges marketers face capitalizing even on hits. Hasbro, which licenses the rights to make many Marvel-related toys, will generate about $150 million in sales from Avengers<\/i> merchandise this year, according to Gerrick Johnson, a New York-based analyst at BMO Capital Markets Inc.<\/p>\n

Normally, a movie that makes more than $1 billion at the box office would produce $250 million to $300 million in toy sales, said Johnson, who has an underperform rating on shares of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company.<\/p>\n

\"Nobody thought the movie would be this big,\" said Isaac Larian, chief executive officer of toymaker MGA Entertainment Inc., which doesn\u2019t make Avengers<\/i> products. \"Retailers didn\u2019t buy deep and Hasbro didn't push hard. Sales took off and now they are catching up.\"<\/p>\n

Second-quarter sales of boys' toys at Hasbro fell 16 percent to $389 million from a year earlier, as \"strong growth\" in Marvel products failed to counter declines in other brands, the company said. Analysts project the company will register $4.27 billion in revenue this year, down slightly from last year's $4.29 billion, so $150 million in lost Avengers<\/i> sales translates into no growth this year.<\/p>\n

No Growth<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Avengers<\/i> is ahead of expectations and selling well,\" Wayne Charness, a Hasbro spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. \"Retailers still have some inventory of Iron Man 2<\/i> and Thor<\/i>, but we are well-positioned to meet holiday demand for Avengers<\/i> products.\"<\/p>\n

Last week, a Toys \"R\" Us store in central Los Angeles was selling a mask with packaging emphasizing 2010's Iron Man 2<\/i> film for $9.99. The same mask in an Avengers<\/i> wrapper was offered for $11.99 nearby.<\/p>\n

The Wayne, New Jersey-based retailer has stocked its shelves with older Iron Man 2<\/i>, Captain America: The First Avenger<\/i> and Thor<\/i> movie products for \"an avid collector base, as well as kids,\" according to Bob Friedland, a spokesman.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read the rest of the article<\/a> for more information, but the gist is clear: stores are using the publicity of The Avengers<\/i> to sell old product that should have been clearanced out long ago. Good for them, but bad for Hasbro.<\/p>\n

<i>And now, some more OAFEry:<\/i><\/H5>