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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2022 20:58:41 GMT -5
Except it's a policy that applies to every toy company, even those with more pull and sales than Hasbro. like Lego who also cannot influence Walmart's policy and have to suffer with it. Walmart had a kneejerk reaction to toy aisle overstocks that occurred in the early 2000s, when overstocked toy aisles tied up capital and turned away customers, so they made sure that one wave/order completely sold through before more went out. As sales in brick and mortar stores dipped, and toys account for a much smaller percentage of company sales, even during holiday season, Hasbro and others have very little leverage on Walmart, who simply tells them if you don't like our policy, find an alternative brick and mortar retailer. Hasbro needs Walmart much more than Walmart needs Hasbro. Lego and Barbie would be enough to carry a Walmart Toy Department and they wouldn't blink about not having Transformers (which currently gets about 6 pegs in the current Walmart) G.I. Joe (4 pegs) or Star Wars 10-12 pegs. Meanwhile Lego and Barbie have whole aisles devoted to their product, so why would Walmart give Hasbro consideration they are not willing to give Lego or Mattel (Barbie)? Those Hasbro brands are well past their prime and do not have the cachet they had a decade ago, and are lucky they get the peg space they do from Walmart. There are more toy options that appeal to the public for retailers to stock than there are retailers for you companies to sell to, so the leverage is with the retailers, not the producers or distributors. Walmart give more consideration to toy producers with toys that have mass appeal and sell as toys than they do those that sell collectibles as toys. More and more those collectible toys are relegated to the collectibles section in the electronics department and their peg and shelf space given to toys with broader appeal or the number of toy aisles shrunk and more aisles given to products that move in more volume that toys, especially Hasbro toys do. The day that Transformers, G.I. Joe and Star Wars toys are must haves in a toy department are long gone. In fact, you can get cheap versions of most of those with the brand logo on them at Family Dollar so the more expensive ones at Walmart are even in less demand to kids and parents who might actually play with them. -M A very sound explanation, mrp. Thanks. However, it sounds like the market may be ripe for a new chain that can guarantee lucrative exclusives with these toy companies in desperate need of better platforms. The value in these toys, beyond net profit, is their ability to bring in adult collectors, rife with cash, who will purchase other items while in the store. Essentially, Walmart and Target are rewarded for NOT having the toy in stock, because then the adult collector has to come back again. If Costco, or Aldee, or some other major chain that has the cash for expansion were to court these toy brands, they could really upset the market and capitalize on the potential to lure affluent new customers into their stores repeatedly. They (Walmart & Target) capitalize on the adult collector by putting the collectible toys in the electronics department where those customers rife with cash are going to buy a TV, video game, computer, phone, etc. i.e. big ticket items and not another action figure while in the store. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2022 21:01:06 GMT -5
Also, Walmart and Target already have exclusives and exclusive windows where items can only be gotten there before on sale widely. They rarely reach the shelves as collectors are there to buy them before they get from the stockroom to the shelf. Doesn't do much to generate other business or bring additional customers to the store.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2022 21:04:44 GMT -5
Also complicating things are the flippers giving stock clerks "tips" for heads up when stuff gets in and a chance to buy what they want before it hits shelves for the general public, which is a big reason why things like the retro Legends are hard to find. Entire waves are sold to flippers before the general public has a chance to see them on the shelves. Not much Hasbro can really do about that unless they are going to staff stores with monitors at a lot of expense and zero return.
-M
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Sept 15, 2022 21:04:55 GMT -5
A very sound explanation, mrp. Thanks. However, it sounds like the market may be ripe for a new chain that can guarantee lucrative exclusives with these toy companies in desperate need of better platforms. The value in these toys, beyond net profit, is their ability to bring in adult collectors, rife with cash, who will purchase other items while in the store. Essentially, Walmart and Target are rewarded for NOT having the toy in stock, because then the adult collector has to come back again. If Costco, or Aldee, or some other major chain that has the cash for expansion were to court these toy brands, they could really upset the market and capitalize on the potential to lure affluent new customers into their stores repeatedly. They (Walmart & Target) capitalize on the adult collector by putting the collectible toys in the electronics department where those customers rife with cash are going to buy a TV, video game, computer, phone, etc. i.e. big ticket items and not another action figure while in the store. -M Two very different demographics. The collectible toys area is targetted to adults who are too cool/mature/easily embarrassed to walk down the toy aisle and fight an eight year old for an action figure from their youth. That's also a niche section that, last I heard, sells in much smaller quantities than the toy aisles. Meanwhile, the primary consumers in those toy aisles are adult men, flush with cash, but far more interested in completing their collection than in upgrading their TV. And there's evidence to support this. Dollar General's recent Final Faction campaign is a major gambit based entirely upon this idea -- offer high quality action figures as lost leaders, and you'll flood the store with adults who will end up buying other things in the store and regularly coming back for more. Due to distribution issues (once again), Final Faction is struggling a bit at this point, but Dollar General went all in with the line in the beginning because they knew it would bring in new shoppers with cash to spend. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2022 22:42:41 GMT -5
Dollar Tree, not Dollar General.
And just as an FYI, Walmart has already started moving some of the McFarlane DC figures* into the collectibles section in Electronics, as a prelude/test case to see if they should move other "adult" action figure lines there as well to give more of the toy aisle space to better sellers heading into the holidays. If they do, Target will likely follow suit.
-M
*mostly the movie and TV tie in figures of the main McFarlane line
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Sept 16, 2022 6:46:14 GMT -5
Dollar Tree, not Dollar General. One of these days, I will recognize the difference between these two names. Thank God their signs are different colors, or I'd be completely lost: "Green Dollar place = cheap. Yellow Dollar place = not so cheap and drug addicts". |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2022 12:14:56 GMT -5
Dollar Tree, not Dollar General. One of these days, I will recognize the difference between these two names. Thank God their signs are different colors, or I'd be completely lost: "Green Dollar place = cheap. Yellow Dollar place = not so cheap and drug addicts". The only reason I easily remember the names is that Dollar Tree has quite a rpg terrain crafting following using all kinds of bits and bobs (including Final Faction figures) found at Dollar Tree to make stuff for use in table top rpgs, with a couple of youtube channels and facebook groups devoted to how to videos and heads up for interesting new stuff that comes into stock there that can be used for various different things, and I follow those and often make trips to Dollar Tree to get that kind of stuff (and snacks for our D&D sessions on the cheap to offer our players). Dollar General, not so much. That said we have 4 (I think) Dollar Tree stores here in town and I'm not sure how many (probably double digits) Dollar Generals (plus 3-4 Family Dollars-even more expensive than Dollar General) to go with 2 Walmarts, but our Target closed about 7 years ago because it wasn't doing enough volume of business. -M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Sept 16, 2022 13:26:04 GMT -5
(plus 3-4 Family Dollars-even more expensive than Dollar General) to go with 2 Walmarts "Red Dollar place = dvds from 2008 and lots of chewing tobacco, but not many good deals" |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2022 13:47:27 GMT -5
(plus 3-4 Family Dollars-even more expensive than Dollar General) to go with 2 Walmarts "Red Dollar place = dvds from 2008 and lots of chewing tobacco, but not many good deals" The only thing red dollar place has going for it is $2 boxes of cookies in "Girl Scout" flavors like thin mints and caramels (Samoas) and sadly they taste as good and you get more than the girl scout boxes. -M |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 28, 2022 18:12:43 GMT -5
Dollar General also sells drink mix in packets (actually a $1 per box of 6) with cool flavors no one else does.. that's the only reason I ever go there  Back on Topic, I got FOUR new guys this week... two 'in the wild' at a not quite local Target before my daughter's soccer game today. Thor and Thing.. I was really wanting Thor especially.. very exciting! They had quite a few at this particular target (maybe 15 all together).. typically I haven't seen more than 5 before. Decent variety, too. A few Ms. Marvels (that seems to be a poor seller in this area) but also Electra, Torch, Daredevil, Electro and Vision. The only downside was the price was bumped up to 11.99.. not sure if that was just this particular target (Which was much better stocked with toys than is typical) or that's the new price. I didn't grab Vision because I was able to order him and Ant-Man from ebay this week for $10-ish dollars each, both free shipping (different sellers). those should arrive soon. It's good, because ,my old Asgard Press calendar I use for backgrounds on the wall where they are hanging includes the Vision cover and a really good Thor one, so I was sad I didn't have the figures to match..now I do  |
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Post by whakojacko on Oct 8, 2022 14:45:39 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2022 19:04:35 GMT -5
context? Are these prototypes? Actual figures? Were they revealed at NYCC? Or are they fan customs? -M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 8, 2022 23:46:40 GMT -5
@mrp they were announced on Hasbro Pulse. I'd seen other images of Ghost rider and his bike that seemed to have much better coloring. I really hope the image you posted is an unfinished prototype, whakojacko! Here's what I'd seen:    |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2022 0:36:47 GMT -5
@mrp they were announced on Hasbro Pulse. I'd seen other images of Ghost rider and his bike that seemed to have much better coloring. I really hope the image you posted is an unfinished prototype, whakojacko! Here's what I'd seen: Ah, the only Ghost Rider project I knew off what the Robby Reyes and his car crowdfunded project that was getting a lot of flack for the price. -M |
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Post by Jesse on Oct 10, 2022 20:21:39 GMT -5
Definitely want that Dr. Doom if Hasbro is keeping the same packaging with this line as I'm keeping all mine on card for display.
Not a fan of the windowless packaging for some of the new Marvel Legends.
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