I think the retailers are becoming a much bigger part of the problem. They have become accustomed to being able to tell the companies producing the product they sell when, where, and how much to make. I think Hasbro has gone too far in allowing the big box retailers to determine product line, price point targets, product size, and quantities. It's like Hasbro has become a subsidiary of Target/Walmart, and only does what they want.
They have Hasbro direct now. I picked up my brother in laws voice activated R2 there, and was very happy with the site and the speed of shipping. It seems like this is a good outlet for ships, maybe playsets, who knows what else. It simply gives Hasbro a venue to provide product without bending over for everything Target and Walmart want to tell them to do (and not to do). They also have other online etailers eager to sell anything they can get their hands on, and I think these companies tend to be a bit more in touch with collector interests.
I guess my point here is that the retailers seem to be hurting hasbro- they refuse to carry large items like playsets and large ships, they aren't putting basic figure product on the shelves, and when they do they are pricing it so it doesn't move. So as a producer of toys, they should be exploring their other options for getting their products to their customers.