Mattel down for the count, Hasbro the champ

[banzait...@gmail.com]

ATT,

Interesting article on the performance of Mattel relative to Hasbro. It's shocking that American Girl sales are down. That brand seems to be taking over the world. AND WHY CAN'T MATTEL REBOOT HE_MAN SUCCESSFULLY???

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/21/investing/mattel-earnings-sales-toys/index.html?iid=ob_article_footer

-Banzaitron

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

They just added an American Doll section to all the TRU stores around, but the only American Doll store in the region is in what everyone is predicting to be the next mall to fail.

Heman and GI Joe are kind of in the same boat. They just don't get the attention anymore. There are stores around here that each have 2-3 of the GI Joe aircraft carriers that nobody wants.

[Zobovor]

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 8:40:50 AM UTC-6, banzait...@gmail.com wrote:

> Interesting article on the performance of Mattel relative to Hasbro.

Very interesting indeed. All of Mattel's biggest brands in recent years have been sleeper hits. They perform, but they're not a runaway success. Even with direct-to-DVD tie-ins being churned out like clockwork, Barbie isn't selling and Monster High isn't in top demand like it once was. Fisher-Price does okay, but babies don't ask for toys during Christmastime. MegaBloks do okay, but not as well as LEGO. Hot Wheels is a steady success, but it's hard to dominate sales with a 94-cent car.

Meanwhile, Hasbro's got Star Wars, Transformers, Marvel, Littlest Pet Shop, Disney Princess, Beyblade, and most of the board game aisle. Bitches be mopping up.

Losing the Disney license really hurt them, I think. The story I got from my Hasbro vendor was that Mattel was dissatisfied that all the Disney dolls looked like Barbie. Hasbro wooed them with some more distinctive doll design concepts so they got the license. (I bought one of those gift packs of 11 princess dolls in the ridiculously long package on post-Christmas clearance. Saving it for my daughter's birthday in June. I love how distinctive and recognizable all the face sculpts are, except for Snow White, who just looks wrong on every imaginable level.)

As the article mentions, Cars 3 is coming soon, so that should give them a much-needed shot in the arm. Cars as a toy line has existed since 2006 so it's demonstrated its staying power, but it will go back to being a sleeper hit when the excitement over the movie dies down.

> AND WHY CAN'T MATTEL REBOOT HE_MAN SUCCESSFULLY???

For He-Man to be really successful in today's marketplace, I think they would have to reinvent the concept. Make him a cyborg with an eye laser or something. But then of course the existing fans would go berserk. Witness the 2002 reboot when people went ballistic over the color of Trap-Jaw's belt.


Zob (loved the New Adventures of He-Man cartoon, for the record)

[banzait...@gmail.com]

Wait. Are you saying they rereleased the uss flagg???? I've always wanted one to out all my g1 seekers on. I would totally drop $200 on it. Maybe put it in the garage?

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 11:35:16 AM UTC-5, banzait...@gmail.com wrote:
> Wait. Are you saying they rereleased the uss flagg???? I've always wanted one to out all my g1 seekers on. I would totally drop $200 on it. Maybe put it in the garage?

Not a rerelease, the original. Collectors are turning theirs over because it takes up a ton of room.

[Zobovor]

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 4:35:08 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:

> Not a rerelease, the original. Collectors are turning theirs over because it
> takes up a ton of room.

Well, the thing is like seven feet long. Hasbro management used to refer to it as the "coffee table." Apparently the correct way to store it was to stuff it under a child's bed.


Zob (if I owned one, I think I would have to paint it into Broadside)

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

They are cheap around here on the secondary market, not too much painting needed.

[banzait...@gmail.com]

Define cheap.