Hasbro Q&A
Posted by: Beedo Sookcool 04.01.09 12:01am
HOLONET SLICE SUCCESSFUL. BEGIN TRANSMISSION:

Greetings, gates! Let's interrogate! Nope, Jerry Colonna impressions only work if done out loud. And if the target audience knows who Jerry Colonna is (without Googling, that is - although, considering his eyes, that would be entirely appropriate). For the first time in months, we've got an actual question sent in by someone who isn't a staff writer. Oh, and apparently, there's some sort of Global Economic Crisis going on. On with the dissemination of information!

CreatureCantina.com:Having seen the Toy Fair coverage on various other websites, I was just wondering how 2009's exclusives will be handled for overseas markets and customers. With a month or less left to go on Stateside distribution for some of the exclusives slated for this year, like the three Wal-Mart Comic 2-Packs or Jabba's Rancor with Luke, is there any projection for getting more of these exclusives released abroad? The main reason I ask is because I still haven't found a European website to carry the "Lucky Lekku" Gunship, or Battle of Christophsis and Battle at Carkoon Ultimate Battle Packs, so I have to pay through the nose to get them shipped over from an American online dealer, and I don't want to have to do that too often this year if at all possible. (Not because of the Credit Crunch, but because I'd rather spend the money on army-building.) I'm a bored collector with little to buy, and I want to hand your corporation money by the shovelful without getting too many grasping middlemen involved. How can we make this happen?
- Beedo Sookcool, staff writer and deprived (or depraved, either would be accurate) foreigner

Hasbro: We have offered every item in the line to retail partners in Europe so far for 2009, but not every item has been accepted, which poses problems for getting to the manufacturing minimums needed for some of the items. We are trying to work through these issues. The goal is to have complete distribution, at least in the U.K. and Germany, for every item. Unfortunately, the reality is that this will not be possible, and the Rancor is one of those that has not been selected to be supported in Europe.

CC: Why does Hasbro love the re-pack? Is it simple economics or are your sculptors part of a Commie union and lazy?
- Steve "Solo" Rensi, staff writer and Pinkerton Strikebreaker

H: We rely on repacks because we would not be able to do Star Wars without relying on our vast library to help offset tooling costs. To put it in proper perspective, the "completist" collectors who would like us to do every Cantina alien, every Separatist, every Pod Racer, every one of Jabba's denizens, comprise a relatively small user base. Some collectors may find this hard to believe, but the vast majority of Star Wars figures that consumers purchase every year are from core, recognizable, characters along with clones and other high-profile figures. The tertiary or background characters are released in much smaller volumes, yet consist almost entirely of new tools. The business model for the obscure characters is thus "upside down." If we had to rely on 100% new figures to propel the line, we would only make the core heroes because it makes the best business sense to develop what most people want to buy. We don't want to do that, however, because collectors are an important part of the consumer base for us (and we are fans of the tertiary guys ourselves!), and doing smaller-run figures is an important way to keep everyone engaged and interested year after year. We have to carefully manage how many we do, however. We hope that clarifies why repacks are, and will continue to be, a vital part of our strategy.

CC: Since we've already gotten several different Clone-, Storm-, and Rebel Trooper army-builder multi-packs (which seemed to sell well), is there any chance we could get similar multi-packs for the various multi-hued Battle Droids and their ilk (Super Battle Droids and Droidekas, for example), or for Podracing-livery-themed Pit Droids?
- Wildman, casual reader and ardent droid enthusiast

H: We do not have plans to do Battle Droid-themed Battle packs, although droids will be a prominent theme in the Deluxe assortment that will be re-launched this Fall. We would not do a Battle Pack centered around Pod Racing; that topic is too niche to be of general interest for a successful Battle Pack.

Okay, so foreigners are screwed on exclusives due to the blinkered buying tactics of retailers, as usual (and presumably The Global Economic Crisis has something to do with it as well); repacks are here to stay, which will give us the chance to save a little money in the face of The Global Economic Crisis by passing on stuff we've already bought; and look for more droids later in the year, although, apparently, powerful machines going "zoom" in circles and crashing isn't mainstream enough. (Has anybody told these Hasbro guys about the commercial success of NASCAR and Formula 1?) And if I hear one more bloody story about The Global Economic Crisis and the massive bonuses the investment bankers of the world are awarding themselves for causing The Global Economic Crisis, I will personally track down, cook, and devour the bastards. Eat the rich? Only the guilty ones. With some fava beans and a nice chianti. Slurpslurpslurpslurpslurp.

Anyway, until next time, take it easy, and may your hunts be rewarding!

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