If I'm a buyer at Target, Walmart or TRU, I'm frantically dialing my Hasbro sales rep demanding information and some type of discounts on this. There's no way this doesn't cost Hasbro huge money in one way or another.
I can see it resulting in big discounts or loss of future shelf space or even no support on other movie properties that Hasbro is producing toys for.
Besides Avengers, GI Joe was really the only other huge toy movie due this year so you have to believe that TRU and Target, at least, had some plan in the works for a featured front end (TRU) or end cap (Target) to push the movie toys.
GI Joe is still GI Joe, it has a fan base and will sell even without a movie, but I can't believe for a second that even IF Hasbro ships waves 2 and up that retail would be willing to carry much of it. Walmart hasn't had Joe figures since the first of the year, Target is currently clearancing the leftover Renegades/30th figures and TRU, well, TRU will sit on all sorts of stuff for years... But can we expect a store like Target to carry stuff advertising a movie that wasn't released?
Hasbro has had so many problems for the last 6 - 10 months getting any of their product in stores this CAN'T be a good thing for them. They had down numbers in their last quarter, they laid off a bunch of people (including in the MU team and that's the ONLY line that's actually making it to retail) and I have a hard time believing that The Phantom Menace helped their bottom line that well seeing as they put out all the Buy 1 Get 1 and other discount coupons back in Feb/March.
This is such a complete cluster **** for Hasbro is so many more ways than just having a film delayed 9 months. Other than Avengers, they haven't had a hit movie line in years, and none of them have been managed well at retail.
E...