Hasbro Q&A - Round 66
1) Times are hard all over... Lots of layoffs, people are cutting back spending all around, and that leads me to this question; Do the folks at Hasbro think increases in prices with toys are going to greatly affect the future plans of the Star Wars line? It seems like the line in general has increased in price from the basic figures, to the battlepacks, vehicles and more... This certainly has impacted what I spend. Where I used to buy 2 of almost every figure (usually to have some for customizing) or more, I've certainly had to cut back. Are there any fears the line could take a "hit" from the inevitable cutting back many people are doing with their spending combined with price increases and whatnot?
It is not the price increase, but the overall economic situation that has affected some collectors that has also caused us to take some corrective measures which we'll get to in a minute. Overall, Star Wars sales are red hot, and basic figures, Starfighter Vehicles and Battle Packs in particular are all more popular than ever. However, this seems to be because of very strong kid demand for Star Wars, especially anything relating to Clone Wars. We have indeed seen an effect on the more collector-targeted figures and sets, like Evolutions and even Droid Factory basic figures, which have slowed down significantly since last year and we have lost some of the more casual collectors, retaining a loyal "core." Going forward, we are going to be more cautious about the breadth and depth of the 100%-collector-targeted figures that we put into the lineup, since the economic health of the collector base is tied directly to our success with these types of figures. Collectors are still a very important focus for us and we will still be developing new and re-sculpts figures that fill the collector need, but the prudent course for the long-term health of the brand is make sure that we do not produce
too many overall, or over-release these tertiary figures. This means that some releases may be scaled back, and supply kept shorter than in the past for some things. We will continue to look for ways to bring out new and interesting figures in other ways (such as the numerous exciting figure-based exclusives coming this year and in 2010). One outcome of the current collector situation is that we are going to take the announced Spring 2010 wave of The Force Unleashed figures out of the basic figure lineup, and move them over to the exclusives plan.
2) The Clone lockers are pretty cool sets of pack-ins with the Legends figures, and the "artifacts" that Indiana Jones figures came with were really neat... What I'm curious about though, is that some collectors actually enjoy the little cardboard locker and crates on some level, and have you ever considered including a cardboard box (maybe to look like a Death Star cargo box like the scanner technicians used?) to hold the Build-A-Droid Part? Or perhaps to replace the Clone lockers at some point? I know they'd make some neat background filler to me at least, for my Imperial shelf. Different colors and things would be neat.
We are looking at including more cardboard elements with some sets,
including diorama-like backdrops in the Starfighter Vehicle line starting this Fall (taking their cue from the Indiana Jones vehicle packaging). We also may look at it in other sets as well. Unfortunately, the box is not feasible for the Droid Factory parts since we need the part to be visible from the outside.
3) We got a pretty great Hoth Han with the last "Vintage" series of figures, and you've now put together what looks like a great Hoth Rebel footsoldier for our snow trenches. I'm curious where you're headed with Hoth-specific characters next? Would you look to Luke, or Leia resculpt? Or would you look at maybe the tan vested Hoth Soldiers ala the vintage rebel figure? Which character from Hoth would be your next goal to get outthere on the shelves if you could?
There is a great new Luke Snowspeeder pilot coming later this Fall, and we hope to get to a new Hoth Leia in 2010. No plans right now for the other Hoth Rebel soldier, but he is one that we have our sites set on, hopefully within the next couple of years.
Thanks as always to Hasbro for the Q&A! 
Monday, April 13, 2009 | Jesse McCracken
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