Force Friday II - September 1, 2017

[Darth_Anton]

The great part of my experience on Force Friday is hanging out with my buddies for the day. Did fairly well on the night at TRU, only missed the 6 inch Red Guard. What really bothered me was heading to WM Friday AM to find that in spite of the fact that they re-did the SW isle in preparation, AND that they had the product (because I found it the week before) they did stock anything 3.75 inch related for Force Friday. I mean, seriously? The toy manager had a job to do and he he didn't do it.

[Nicklab]

Check out this Bloomberg article about Hasbro and their STAR WARS - THE LAST JEDI toy line:

Hasbro CEO Admits Making Mistake With ‘Last Jedi’ Toys

Feel free to read the full article.  But the gist of it?  Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner stated that the toy line for THE LAST JEDI was released too far in advance of the theatrical release of the movie.  And there is a consensus that there may be franchise fatigue with some 20 films fielding licensed toy lines.

The strategy moving forward may involve a toy line launch closer to the theatrical release of a film.  And notably, the SOLO toy line is rolling out in April, approximately a month before the movie is released in theaters.

[Dave]

I've never really understood trying to launch toys so far ahead of a movie.  I assume they're trying to drive interest in the movie, but with the strict street dates you would think they would aim for something like 10 days before the movie comes out.

I get it that in the Christmas season you'll want your stuff out by Thanksgiving, but for Solo I would aim for a week or two early at most.

[Nicklab]

The article mentions the rollout for the TFA line which saw a lot of anticipation.  But with the movie releases becoming an annual thing it's been less special with each successive release.

The December movie releases have led to complications with retail.  Notably, trying to stake out that shelf space for the toy line in advance of the holiday retail set ups.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I've never really understood trying to launch toys so far ahead of a movie.  I assume they're trying to drive interest in the movie, but with the strict street dates you would think they would aim for something like 10 days before the movie comes out.

I get it that in the Christmas season you'll want your stuff out by Thanksgiving, but for Solo I would aim for a week or two early at most.

Exactly.  That way a kid sees the film and then pesters the parent for a toy from said film.