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Post by Pinwig on Aug 25, 2022 7:27:21 GMT
It's also worth remembering that this is Hasbro talking about Hasbro, not Transformers. We already get small bursts - the deluxes and voyagers rarely come together, even deluxes from the same wave don't come at the same time (my ID shipment came in a solid case Wildrider box, so this seems to be common to everyone). Other lines might be different - Black Series has maintained the pretence of shipping waves of seven or so figures at a time, but haven't been managing that either. It might just mean they put up four in a wave instead of the current larger numbers. Same with Marvel Legends.
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Post by Shockprowl on Aug 25, 2022 21:03:43 GMT
Same with Marvel Legends. Shit, I better get another Mega Hair Sentry quick! |
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dyrl
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Post by dyrl on Oct 6, 2022 5:54:19 GMT
This is a very interesting thread.
Here are my two cents:
No corporation flat out announces the finer details of their business strategy in public because a) consumers generally don't care as long as they get the product at a good price and high quality and b) doing so would just give valuable information to the competition.
Ergo when there is a public corporate announcement like this it is usually phrased and crafted with public relations in mind.
Given current circumstances, Hasbro might be saying this not to signal any real or significant changes in strategy, but to create a narrative in the public mind that what would normally be interpreted as problems (lack of merchandise, chaotic release dates, etc etc) will now to some extent be seen as "all part of a brilliant plan".
So my interpretation of this is: this is corporate PR.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 6, 2022 18:10:37 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 6, 2022 20:49:55 GMT
Booooo.
-Ralph
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Post by Llama God on Oct 7, 2022 6:58:34 GMT
And just after PulseCon, too. And just after they announce that they're in line for decent profits. Typical big business behaviour, that - cut staff just before Christmas so that the end of year figures can look great. Hurrah for the freedom provided by US employment law that allows companies to do that! Freedom which, I'm sure, the Conservatives are finally going to give to us, here, too, to allow us to be "internationally competitive"... (No, I definitely haven't worked for a large multi-national corporation in the past. Why do you ask?)
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Post by Pinwig on Oct 19, 2022 20:37:09 GMT
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Post by Llama God on Oct 20, 2022 7:19:45 GMT
The only option they have, then, is to raise prices even further to make up for the shortfall. I know business, I can do this.
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 20, 2022 7:35:52 GMT
It's also higher prices during economic instability. I had downscaled my hobby budget quite a bit and that was before the current Tory Doom Loop fecked it even more. Less toys so I can heat the house.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 15, 2023 21:19:22 GMT
I see Hasbro are starting to talk about the 40th anniversary. Some grade A marketing-speak tosh here: toybook.com/property-profile-transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye/“We will start the year by celebrating the landmark 40th anniversary of Transformers by providing our licensees with 3D files of the original G1 toys for the first time ever,” Collins says. “With this, our partners will be able to reissue original licensed products and reimagined innovations leveraging the authentic vintage artwork from the G1 toy line and Marvel comics. Pulling it all together, we’re digitally releasing the ‘80s animated TV series soundtrack with an exciting bonus track that taps into nostalgia and re-creates the excitement, tone, and pop culture moments of 1984.” |
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Post by Benn on Jun 15, 2023 23:02:18 GMT
I am a sucker for a soundtrack album.
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Post by Llama God on Jun 16, 2023 6:58:32 GMT
The soundtrack album could be fun - as long as it's actually released on decent media, and not on vinyl. (Okay, I have nothing against vinyl, it's just difficult to play in my car.) The rest... yeah, nonsense. Sounds like they're basically going to let other companies do all the hard work. Maybe.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 16, 2023 9:08:08 GMT
Well it clearly says "digital" so not a physical release.
Or maybe it will just come out on cassette this time.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 16, 2023 21:23:20 GMT
Did I buy the last vinyl version? I've completely forgotten.
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Nigel
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
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Post by Nigel on Jun 17, 2023 11:25:36 GMT
Ooh. I saw that Toybook article, forgot to post it!
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 12, 2023 8:45:28 GMT
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Dec 12, 2023 11:12:21 GMT
Always seems especially heartless to me at this time of year. Could they really not have waited three weeks?
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 12, 2023 14:09:41 GMT
It'll be so they can include the costs in the fourth quarter.  I have a dim view of giant companies referring to people it is firing as "friends". -Ralph |
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Dec 12, 2023 16:04:40 GMT
of course, should have thought about that. I work at big companies where there's that absurd thing of using up budget by the end of Q4 so you can be sure to get the same budget next time...
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Post by legios on Dec 12, 2023 20:00:13 GMT
Yeah, heard about this from the Wizards of The Coasts angle (some of the fired staff have been from there, despite it being one of the more profitable of Hasbro arms). It seems a really cruel time to do it on a human level. But large organisations as far as I've been able to determine aren't human beings, and don't make their decisions with a regard to human concerns unfortunately.
Karl
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Post by Llama God on Dec 14, 2023 13:51:44 GMT
Meanwhile the CEO will continue to take home millions. That's what it's protecting, really.
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Post by legios on Dec 14, 2023 21:54:33 GMT
What gets me about it is that it is Wizards that is actually one of the reasons that the losses haven't been as high as they were. The profits at Wizards are compensating for the losses made elsewhere in the business, so you'd think that those folk were doing something right.
Karl
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Post by that_bluestreak on Dec 15, 2023 16:31:00 GMT
I saw an interesting vid from someone in the D&D sphere (which is one of my other jams) which suggested (with evidence) that Wizards of the Coast was as profitable as the whole of the rest of Hasbro put together.
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Post by Llama God on Dec 16, 2023 9:20:57 GMT
What gets me about it is that it is Wizards that is actually one of the reasons that the losses haven't been as high as they were. The profits at Wizards are compensating for the losses made elsewhere in the business, so you'd think that those folk were doing something right. Ah, but you see, if they're doing well, then it's clearly not that difficult for them. So they don't need as many people to do it. And if it is, the remaining employees will just have to be flexible and learn to do more with less. (No really. This is how CEOs actually think. Because they are, in general, psychopaths.) |
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 16, 2023 10:23:16 GMT
...while usually coming out with the word 'efficiency'.
My personal experience with cutbacks in a workplace is that the remaining staff are *always* expected to do more, usually in return for no wage rise (or as I found many times, a wage *cut*). Capitalism!
-Ralph
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Cullen
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Post by Cullen on Dec 17, 2023 17:43:01 GMT
Hasbro have just spent the last couple of years forcing Wizards to pump out product after product. With Magic the Gathering we used to get 4 main sets a year plus one supplemental one. Now it feels like we get a new set every month and as soon as one set drops it's spoiler season for the next one starts. They've quadrupled the profit margin of Wizards and turned Magic into a billion dollar brand (yay?). Interesting to see that after all that Hasbro as a whole is doing bad enough to lay people off (and some from Wizards).
The relentless product release schedule has cut my buying of new cards right down. I used to be able to keep up but have now recognise that some products aren't for me (which is fine), so I'm skipping more sets than I used to. My friends have almost all but stopped playing.
I'm interested to see how things shake out - going max capitalism has put some people off but Wizards are still making money hand over fist. Will more people burn out? Will the bottom drop out the secondard market? Will Hasbro spin them back out into a separate company? Or will they just keep on keeping on?
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Post by Llama God on Dec 18, 2023 8:48:09 GMT
I imagine that eventually more and more people will burn out so Hasbro will start raising prices to keep the revenue coming in which will cause more people to burn out so Hasbro will raise prices more so...
I would actually imagine that Hasbro's end plan is to now find themselves in a position whereby they have to accept being sold off to venture capitalists, who will shut down the company and make money selling all the various assets. Late stage capitalism is, of course, not about creating anything, but about purposefully letting things fail in order to make as much money for shareholders and executives.
I'm feeling cheerful this morning.
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Post by Benn on Dec 18, 2023 9:15:51 GMT
Well, 40 years of Transformers was a good run, if it comes to that.
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Dec 18, 2023 11:50:45 GMT
I don't think it will come to that, but I'm curious what would happen in that event given the shared ownership of the brand. I guess Takara-Tomy could keep on doing whatever they liked?
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 18, 2023 12:06:06 GMT
Transformers are produced under licence from them so I would imagine so.
-Ralph
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