The Future of Star Wars Collecting?

[Rob]

I can't even fathom the idea of someone else taking all this over.

Say Mattel or some other company got the license...

Are they starting over like none of it ever happened?  Will they even continue 3.75" scale?  Would a new company match what Hasbro's been doing stylistically or would the figures feel like they come from a different line... etc...

Unless someone came along and made it relatively seamless, I have a hard time imagining that I'd continue on.

[Jeff]

I say zero chance they'd continue the Hasbro status quo in terms of scale or style.  Whoever came after Hasbro would certainly be wanting to do their own thing and would certainly be wanting their own takes on the main characters to anchor new waves of product.

I have said it before and I'll say it again.  I'm here to buy 3.75" Hasbro Star Wars figures until one of us is dead.  Just a race to see if it's me or Hasbro that goes out first.

[Matt_Fury]

I can't even fathom the idea of someone else taking all this over.

Say Mattel or some other company got the license...

Are they starting over like none of it ever happened?  Will they even continue 3.75" scale?  Would a new company match what Hasbro's been doing stylistically or would the figures feel like they come from a different line... etc...

Unless someone came along and made it relatively seamless, I have a hard time imagining that I'd continue on.

If Mattel were to take over the line expect the figures to look like the 1995 POTF2 figures.

[Nicklab]

Disney has been producing some of their own products for a while now.  Whether or not it's a partnership with Hasbro is something that I think a lot of people have been guessing about for some time.

Nothing lasts forever.  We've seen these ebbs and flows over the years.  And I don't think we'll ever see what we saw between 1999 and 2013 again.  And it's because of the gradual shift from toys to gaming which has been a macro shift in the toy industry.  Hasbro seems to be trying to hold onto some market share by investing in this segment.  That's what the earning call says to me.

But it looks like Disney and Lucasfilm are committed to merchandising the Star Wars franchise, otherwise they wouldn't have started pushing this Power The Force promotion for 2025.  And Hasbro seems committed.  Evidently 2025 is already put to bed from a planning perspective, and Hasbro has been actively working on 2026 offerings with the upcoming Mando & Grogu movie.

What I see is the potential for Hasbro to renegotiate a more favorable deal with Lucasfilm and Disney in light of what is no doubt a decline in the toy industry.  Disney has a vested interest in maintaining these licensed merchandise deals working for both them and their partners.  I'm waiting to see how this will shake out.

[Ryan]

I know we've all been noticing the decline of TVC (and toys/action figures in general) at brick-and-mortar stores over the last few years, and it has been about a year since the last scare of Target dropping TVC altogether... Tonight, I got curious about the lack of exclusives in general lately, and after a little investigation, I found something pretty telling. Hasbro has likely announced most of their releases for the 1st half of 2025 by now, and we haven't had any retailer exclusive figures. In fact, there has not been a single TVC brick-and-mortar exclusive since 2023...

Between 2018-2023 we had 53 total brick-and-mortar TVC exclusives (~9 per year). Many/Most of those exclusives were just repaints/retools and cheaper for Hasbro to produce. The fact that we haven't had ANY since then feels like a pretty ominous sign for the future of the line at brick-and-mortar. It is really starting to feel like the end of an era, and that this line (if not the entire hobby) has officially moved on to online retailers only. It doesn't seem like the line itself is going away anytime soon, but I do wonder if Hasbro has acknowledged internally that the traditional brick-and-mortar days are done?

[Dave]

TVC was the main offering back in the day and retail had no other real Star Wars options, with TBS coming in to sort of compete for pegs and dollars at retail.   But I think the big change is the release of the Epic Hero line and how Hasbro / retail treats TVC vs. Epic Hero.  Combine this with Hasbro's weak management of TVC at retail (price too high for kids and soccer moms, no alignment with current media releases, assortments weird with random repacks and not enough hero or core characters) and I think you've essentially got a fan channel only sort of offering now for TVC.

I'd still like to see them change Epic Hero to be fully compatible with TVC and be 5 POA 3.75" scale.  I love the concept of a more value oriented line with lots of main characters at retail and fan oriented more expensive stuff (TVC) being more online / fan channel only. 

Now that TVC has become nearly all fan channel, I'd really like to see Hasbro embrace this mentality and forget about brick and mortar retail appeal.  This could include increasing the price, giving us fewer (no) repack/kitbashes that are lazy, and drive all new collector oriented offerings that would probably never work at retail (Andor figures, obscure cantina aliens, etc).

[Ryan]

Now that TVC has become nearly all fan channel, I'd really like to see Hasbro embrace this mentality and forget about brick and mortar retail appeal.  This could include increasing the price, giving us fewer (no) repack/kitbashes that are lazy, and drive all new collector-oriented offerings that would probably never work at retail (Andor figures, obscure cantina aliens, etc).

You put it more succinctly than I did, but that's definitely what I'd hope for as well. The effective death of the line at brick-and-mortar is potentially not at all a bad thing, it could end up breaking the ball and chain that has so often held it back at times, allowing Hasbro to get more creative and give us the things we really want on a more regular basis. I don't think that prevents the double-dips or repacks/retools, but in theory, it could allow them to regularly be a bit more creative with them and the line as a whole.

The figure selection so far this year has been great, many of which we'd not have seen at brick-and-mortar, and hopefully, it is an indication that we are moving in that direction.

[Jeff]

Hasbro Extends Long-Running Strategic Relationship with Disney Consumer Products for Premier Star Wars and Marvel Franchises

"Under the extended agreement, Hasbro will continue to develop a wide range of products for families and fans of all ages, based on the iconic brands. This includes bringing characters from the Star Wars galaxy to life in action figure form through the highly popular lines, The Black Series and The Vintage Collection, as well as engaging new generations of fans with Lightsabers™ toys and other kids’ and preschool toys themed around characters from Darth Vader to The Mandalorian."

I guess all the rumors about Hasbro losing money and wanting out were just click-bait fodder for the youtube trolls...

[Dave]

They could have renegotiated the terms of the agreement.  So maybe they were losing money and the new agreement changes terms in a way that is more favorable.

I think the phrase "extended agreement" just means there is a continuation of the licensing, but the royalty rate, etc. may have changed. 

Probably a lot has changed in the consumer market since the last time they signed an agreement...

[McMetal]

Damn it. 

[Nicklab]

Hasbro Extends Long-Running Strategic Relationship with Disney Consumer Products for Premier Star Wars and Marvel Franchises

"Under the extended agreement, Hasbro will continue to develop a wide range of products for families and fans of all ages, based on the iconic brands. This includes bringing characters from the Star Wars galaxy to life in action figure form through the highly popular lines, The Black Series and The Vintage Collection, as well as engaging new generations of fans with Lightsabers™ toys and other kids’ and preschool toys themed around characters from Darth Vader to The Mandalorian."

I guess all the rumors about Hasbro losing money and wanting out were just click-bait fodder for the youtube trolls...

It's not rumors - the Hasbro CEO and CFO were saying as much on corporate earnings calls.  There's a legal obligation for corporate officers to be transparent in those investor communications, otherwise they might be guity of breaking securities laws.  I think it's likely that the sales performance of licensed merchandise might been a major factor in setting more favorable terms for Hasbro this time around.

[Jeff]

I guess all the rumors about Hasbro losing money and wanting out were just click-bait fodder for the youtube trolls...

It's not rumors - the Hasbro CEO and CFO were saying as much on corporate earnings calls.

Sorry, I should have been more clear - the rumors to which I was referring in a snarky way were in regards to a certain batch of youtubers who claim Hasbro is tired of losing money on "woke Star Wars" and was threatening LFL/Disney that they (Hasbro) would drop the license unless LFL stopped going so "woke".

[Nicklab]

Oh, that bull****?  I'm always in favor of calling that out.

I prefer to deal in real, verifiable news.  Please forgive me for not getting the distinction you were trying to make, because I know that the Chicken Little crowd has no shame in their never-ending quest for clicks and likes.

[Jeff]

Please forgive me for not getting the distinction you were trying to make, because I know that the Chicken Little crowd has no shame in their never-ending quest for clicks and likes.

No worries - we are on the same page when it comes to those turds.

[Rob]

Toy collectors can be a very weird bunch.  It's one of the reason I'm so glad to have this site.  I feel like we're a small, but relatively normal and socially adjusted bunch.