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After a couple of rocky years,Disney’s financial situation appears to be stabilizing, but it’s too late for some of their business associates. The downturn in tent-pole blockbusters at thebox officehas caused unforeseen ripples. Unless you’re a parent or work at a department store, you might not have even detected box after box of toys going neglected on shelves.After years of allegedly hiding losses and waning interest in their line of toys (including Transformers and Disney merch: Marvel andStar Wars), toy industry juggernaut Hasbro is now being sued in a class-action lawsuit by investors for violating federal laws.
The complaint, perBusiness Wire, accuses Hasbro of covering up “a significant buildup of inventory that it was struggling to manage and which far exceeded customer demand” over a period spanning 2022 and ‘23. Since 2022, it should also be noted that the Hasbro COO has fled the corporate HQ, which sent their stock tumbling, ultimately resulting in 15% of staff being terminated. The less-than-stellar launch of newStar Warsand Marvel projects in the 2020s has already proven a thorn in the side of Disney as Disney+ struggles to compete with Netflix.No matter the brief bump from Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley fanfiction, “Reylo” couldn’t prevent the bottom from falling out of the action-figure empire. Let us explain why this happened, what it means, and where all those sad, unwanted, plastic Snokes will wind up.
Investors Finally Burst the Toy Bubble
It is becoming clear thatRey’s initial sales bonanzagave false hope that the newStar Warsfilms would launch a lucrative new phase, the crux of this fraud lawsuit. This news arrives six months after the CEO of Hasbro promised a windfall from theTransformersfilm, perDeadline. No matter how well that line sold, it was already too late. Whether it was bad movies, bad products, brand exhaustion, or — as Natalie Portman described it — a deficit of charismatic celebrities strong enough to sell a blockbuster and, therefore, shift units in the kid’s aisle, the result remains the same.The golden era of superheroes and sci-fi universes is history. On their descent, the Hollywood studios dragged a venerable dispenser of childhood nostalgia down with them. Not even the clearance bin could save Hasbro.
Why Companies Sold Their Soul to Trendy Intellectual Properties
Time was, toy manufacturers didn’t rest on their laurels. Look no further than Hasbro’s GI Joe or Mattel’s Barbie andHe-Man toy lines, which started as in-house concepts. Likewise, Lego’s popularity has shoehorned itself into seemingly everything, its art style is pervasive in video games and movies, spawning countless cross-branding opportunities. That’s exceedingly uncommon. Funny enough, toy company Kenner risked their reputation partnering with George Lucas in 1977, reaping the rewards.
Innovation may take years to pay off and cultivate fan loyalty, so they’d rather buy into an established one instead.Many crucial aspects of modernStar Warsdesign are determined by a gift-shop mentality, specifically crafting imagery that translates into toys that kids and collectors will pay big bucks for.Lucasfilm Senior Vice President of Creative Innovation, Rob Bredow, admitted toFast Companythat the foundational philosophy and design criteria of theStar Warsuniverse lies in merch:
“…one of the thresholds we were using on this show was, do I want to buy the toy? [We wanted to make] something that has that sort of universal appeal, like we think of when we think of anX WingorMillenniumFalcon.”
Shang-Chi Fight Scene Was Planned With Action Figures
When it comes to big action sequences, Shang-Chi’s final fight scene was prepared using Captain America and Stan Lee figures
We now know thatStar Warsand Marvel’s dominance collapsed post-COVID. As a reminder, old products don’t have a long shelf life as their value dwindles. Excess products are usually sold off in bulk to outlet stores for a tiny fraction of their former MSRP. In recent years, the stock of unsold Disney paraphernalia in Marshalls and Ollie’s stores has been a running joke among online communities. Toy sales are a canary in the coal mine for the overall health of a film franchise, which harkens back toDisney’s merchandising malaisewe covered in depth two years ago. We hate to say we told you so, but here we are, civil litigation looming.
The Landfill of Misfit Toys
The life cycle of any product inevitably involves obsolescence, and retailers, outlets, and charities can only play hot potato so long with injection-molded junk. Before anything hits shelves, it must first be vetted. Production numbers of each brand, character, and type of toy (plushy, die-cast, or the fancy kind that needs batteries) have to be calculated in regard to expected demand with every toy in direct competition for space in toy aisles.
This lawsuit implies Hasbro grossly inflated interest in their goods, doubling down on the hype even as fan reaction soured, leaving stores stuck with a Fort Knox full of unwanted products. Unsold merchandise is a financial drain, deemed “dead inventory.” Whether this was due to overly optimistic sales targets or the maniacal delusion that Marvel and Disney were invulnerable, we’ll have to wait and see when (or if) it reaches a verdict.
Natalie Portman Is Right About the Decline of Film
Natalie Portman has a few things to say about the decline of film, but she’s not too upset about it.
There’s one more unresolved detail. Where do old toys go when they are rejected?Some may be donated to charities, but it’s depressingly standard for consumer goods to simply be shredded or dumped in landfills.Such fates befell theETvideo game and unsaleable merchandise of Amazon, as covered by anITV Newsexposé. From financial blunders to environmental calamity, the leftover toys from unpopular media will find a new home under 50 tons of refuse as a tax write-off. Even Palpatine isn’t returning from that demise.
