[youdoitimbusy]

I don't think Hasbro can focus on more than a couple things at a time. If it's not the most profitable they don't care. Hence, they could care less about GI Joe being relevant. I really think it's just not worth it to them. I can't for the life of me believe that as many years as they have been doing business with buyers, that they haven't formed the necessary relationships to get figures on the shelves in stores. I'll say that some of it can be blamed on how they do wave distribution. If they released everything at once a few years ago, they wouldn't get heavy orders for crappy wave one, and light orders for the best figures in later waves, due to peg wormers. Also if you just bought back what didn't sell and didn't allow things to go on clearance you'd be in better shape. The final nail in the coffin was the movie being held back from its release date. If you pulled that shit on me I wouldn't buy from you either. There are many things they could do, but they involve "change" and effort. Businesses want the low hanging easy fruit. The only way Hasbro would change the way its operating is if nothing was selling.

[skinny]

The answer is staring them right in the face.
GIJOE has a new mission and that is to ferret out Dire Wraiths that are still around, work with ROM and Action Man and you know...save the planet.
Build on the current IDW Revolutionaries stories.
They are fresh, new, and ripe for "toys."
Scale means nothing if you don't have a hook to interest people.
I am all for A GIJOE Skywarp, Solstar Knight weapons for the Joe team, and Dire Wraith action features or sculpts.

[Kolschey]

I also have no interest in 6" figures.

The scale is frankly a problem for me, as I do not have an excess of storage/display space, I don't collect other characters or lines in the 6" scale, and a 6" line kills the chance of even small vehicles unless the first few waves of figures fly off the shelves (somehow, I don't see this happening). Add to that the inevitable issues of them packing at least one dud in a wave of four, and you will have folks seeing the same Duke and Cobra Commander figures shelfwarming for months, while the coveted (and shortpacked) Crimson Guard figure rockets up to $100 or more on Ebay within days if not hours after the scalpers rip open the shipping boxes right in the stores to claim their prize.

Within three waves, Hasbro would be ready to put the whole thing to bed.

[IC3 VIP3R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Playful

Recently, G.I. Joe figures have been the best value for the dollar. For an average or $6-7 per figure, these 4 inch toys offer a large assortment of accessories, articulation, a figure stand, and improved paint applications. The recent absence of vehicles is regrettable, but fortunately many previously made vehicles can be purchased for them. Also, many discount brand vehicles or playsets can be purchased to supplement G.I. Joe action figures. The figures offered by those same manufacturers are undesirable, so Hasbro need not worry about any threat to their line of G.I. Joe figures. They only need defend their legacy of G.I. Joe, their high quality flagship product, which remains as important to their identity and success as Mr. Potato Head does (in my opinion).

For the moment, this is a good thing. Hasbro has a wealth of molds that they can use to churn out action figures at a relatively low price. It really is the only way they can compete with the generic lines and their low prices. It is unfortunate, but a reality. I think that Hasbro could use these resources a bit more creatively to sell better....but I digress.

Quote:

Nostalgia is not an adverse factor, because the children do not know if one of these characters or file cards ever existed in the 1980s or 1990s. They just want to play with the shiny new toy in front of them. A Python Patrol Cobra Viper sold at Toys ‘R Us in 2017 would be just as new to a child today as they were in 1989.

I think you are seriously underestimating the child. If all they did was want the "shiny new toy" in front of them, GI Joe would be flying off the hooks. But alas, it is not happening. GI Joe in the 80's was NEW back then - not nostalgic...and it sold as a result. That 80's styling does not appeal to the kids today.

Quote:

In fact, the nostalgia factor might help to increase sales, because collectors would also be willing to purchase that action figure, or even a new parent or grandparent that had some memory of that toy from their own past.

It is this kind of thinking that has brought the brand to the point it is today. Isn't this exactly what they are doing right now? How many 80's styled HiSS tanks do we see languishing on eBay? The VAMPs were selling for less that $20 on eBay.

Quote:

But if Hasbro makes the unfortunate move to 6 inch figures for the G.I. Joes, then the price hike excludes many children from that product. Vehicle sales for G.I. Joe becomes largely impossible, and discount brand vehicles and playsets become incompatible with G.I. Joe.

I agree here. Moving to a 6" Joe would mean completely new tooling for everything. That would get very expensive indeed.

To keep costs down and competitive, Hasbro is going to have to stretch their molds to cover multiple genres - When they tool for a new jeep, that jeep had better be able to be packaged (with different colors and accessories) for Avengers and GI Joe alike. A new plane or boat? Same thing - market it for every genre they are selling. Milk it for all it is worth.

For the Joes, continue to use the existing tooling in new and imaginative ways with a few small changes and new tooling when they can. That is the best formula for now.

[46 Zone]

I say keep Joes in 1:18 scale and put a cartoon on Cartoon Network that uses the actual figures as the animation, like Robot Chicken. Kids may want to get into Joes again if they see the actual figures in action.

[Cobra Agent 66]

If the Star Wars Black Series 40th Anniversary figures do well, which, so far, it looks like the pre-sales have been doing great, then it would be interesting to see the same thing done with the Joes. Make them 6" and updated, but give them the classic card. I'd jump in.

[fireflyguy]

I would buy some 6" Joe figures, but I don't think production of Joe 6" figures would save the line. Media - cartoons, (good) movies, and video games would be what would save the line. I really just don't think Hasbro wants to save the line. At this point, just turn over the rights to Freah Monkey, Boss fight, and Marauder and let them do their thing. Those figures are always what I wanted in Joes anyway.

[Playful]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IC3 VIP3R

It is this kind of thinking that has brought the brand to the point it is today. Isn't this exactly what they are doing right now? How many 80's styled HiSS tanks do we see languishing on eBay? The VAMPs were selling for less that $20 on eBay.

No, it isn’t. The products on eBay are there because they did sell already from the store shelves, which means that Hasbro did already sell them to the stores. Before the products became movie-centric, they were nostalgia driven 25th Anniversary style (2007-2009), and they sold extremely well. Toy hunts were both fun, and difficult. They involved driving to numerous retailers, each carrying their own exclusive figures and vehicles.

The type of thinking that brought the brand to the point it is today is what I refer to as Anti-Bozigian sales and marketing. It is the Hollywood executive producer approach to selling toys, courtesy of Brian Goldner. The success of the 2007 Transformers movie is what probably got him to his chief executive officer position within Hasbro. Maybe good for some investors, but dire for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.

I admit, I am no fan of Transformers to begin with, but if those motion pictures were to remove the G.I. Joe styled military action scenes and heroes, what would be left? In my opinion, it was the very spirit of G.I. Joe that was used to catapult those movies to the success that they were.

The unexpected, unintentional 2007 re-birth of G.I. Joe was like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and it was Brian Goldner’s The Rise of Cobra that stunted its growth, like a cold bucket of water on the flames. Even the Pursuit of Cobra and 30th Anniversary line looked promising for a short while, but then Brian Goldner’s Retaliation movie killed it again. Look at the other movies of the Hasbro cinematic universe… lesson learned, American film producers shouldn’t sell toys.

Get Hollywood the heck away from G.I. Joe. It is killing the G.I. Joe product line. Instead, try riding the growing wave of American nationalism which is about to take center stage in the world. As the U.S. military starts the largest cycle of growth since World War II, have the G.I. Joe product line surge right alongside it.

Time for somebody at Hasbro to take the bull by the horns, and bring A Real American Hero back to life again. It is a timeless story of American values, and good vs. evil.

[Blackice]

Star Wars= huge global sales
Marvel= huge global sales
My little pony= huge global sales
GI Joe=small North American sales with the majority in the US
GI Joe needs global appeal for Hasbro to take the risk, hence the toys'R'us US exclusivity.
I'd definitely get key characters in a 6" black like series, especially Cobra, but it ain't gonna happen until GI Joe regains its global sales status.

[SmokeBellew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Playful

No, it isn’t. The products on eBay are there because they did sell already from the store shelves, which means that Hasbro did already sell them to the stores. Before the products became movie-centric, they were nostalgia driven 25th Anniversary style (2007-2009), and they sold extremely well. Toy hunts were both fun, and difficult. They involved driving to numerous retailers, each carrying their own exclusive figures and vehicles.

The type of thinking that brought the brand to the point it is today is what I refer to as Anti-Bozigian sales and marketing. It is the Hollywood executive producer approach to selling toys, courtesy of Brian Goldner. The success of the 2007 Transformers movie is what probably got him to his chief executive officer position within Hasbro. Maybe good for some investors, but dire for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.

I admit, I am no fan of Transformers to begin with, but if those motion pictures were to remove the G.I. Joe styled military action scenes and heroes, what would be left? In my opinion, it was the very spirit of G.I. Joe that was used to catapult those movies to the success that they were.

The unexpected, unintentional 2007 re-birth of G.I. Joe was like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and it was Brian Goldner’s The Rise of Cobra that stunted its growth, like a cold bucket of water on the flames. Even the Pursuit of Cobra and 30th Anniversary line looked promising for a short while, but then Brian Goldner’s Retaliation movie killed it again. Look at the other movies of the Hasbro cinematic universe… lesson learned, American film producers shouldn’t sell toys.

Get Hollywood the heck away from G.I. Joe. It is killing the G.I. Joe product line. Instead, try riding the growing wave of American nationalism which is about to take center stage in the world. As the U.S. military starts the largest cycle of growth since World War II, have the G.I. Joe product line surge right alongside it.

Time for somebody at Hasbro to take the bull by the horns, and bring A Real American Hero back to life again. It is a timeless story of American values, and good vs. evil.

People always seem to forget that the last few 25th waves had to be clearanced by major retailers and showed up at the discounters. It was no longer selling like they wanted and some retailers dumped it. Shit, Target had to clearance not just the Python Conquest & Tiger Rat, but the Conquest and Rattler before that. Which is sad because $25 bones was a great deal for them. That's not even touching on the Ultimate Battle Pack debacle...I wonder how much Target lost per unit on that deal.

Anyway, point is, we sometimes act like the 25th was this ragging sales success when it really wasn't. It was pretty hot initially and Hasbro struck while the iron was hot and pushed out product, but it petered out.