Hasbro Q&A
Posted by: Beedo Sookcool 05.14.08 12:01am
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Wa tetu dat uta, gang! Here’s the latest propaganda from the Hasbro Star Wars Machine. This week, we learn why we can never have enough 501st Legion Clone Troopers, how Hasbro plans to get your kids hooked on their products, and just why this whole exercise has turned into -- believe it or not -- a mutual appreciation society. Read on, gentles, for the latest poop that’s fit to scoop!

CreatureCantina.com: Howzabout releasing some more super-articulated 501st Clone Troopers? Like, in solid-packed cases? I ask because it’s the only design that consistently sells out online within five minutes, and I’m sure there are tons of collectors (like me) who have consistently missed out on previous releases of this crack unit and would like to get their hands on a squad of them. ’Cause one-per-case ain’t cuttin’ it.

- Beedo Sookcool, staff writer and incurable army-builder

Hasbro: We cannot do this because tooling limitations prevent us from being able to produce enough troopers to supply retailers with all the Star Wars figures they need. In other words, we can only make so many per week or month of the SA trooper body. So from a your perspective, we are delivering as many 501st figures as we can - it shouldn't matter if we deliver them as solids or mixed with other figures in case packs, as long as we are making as many as we can to match demand. From a retailer perspective, they need to have many more figures than just 501st, so our case pack strategy is the best way to solve all demand issues. Incidentally, this is also why many new figures come 1 per case...because we can only make so many per week. In the "olden days" you may have seen case packs of 12 with 4 new figures weighted 3 each, but in our current line we keep our assortments working by supplying a higher level of demand with a broader selection of characters, and releasing higher demand characters again in subsequent waves. It would be a critical mistake to go back to distribution models that offers a narrow selection of figures and limited production capability.

CC: Dear Hasbrosians,
Ever since the success of the Galactic Heroes, every major toy franchise seems to have generated a line targeting a younger 3+ age range. Are there any plans for Star Wars to lead the way into an even younger market? It seems to me that Star Wars could easily tap into the Little People market, or even find its way into a series of educational preschool toys? A See-n-Say that made noises of Star Wars creatures would be a hoot: “The Tauntaun goes Rabblerabble” ; “The Rancor goes Roooooaar.”

Inquisitively,
Wishful Wokling

H: We think that Galactic Heroes is the young expression that you talk about - a great line that hits the original pre-school age target as well as providing a collectible expression that "older" kids can embrace too. We think we can do even more to make this the best expression for those kids just starting to play Star Wars, and a great safe choice for moms and dads who want to share the magic of Star Wars for the first time with their younglings. Our focus remains on building out that Galactic Heroes model even further with an expansion of the Cinema Scenes idea for this Fall, and additional plans beyond that.

CC: So does Hasbro regret starting these Q&A sessions yet? Has anyone ever used this forum not to bitch and just say thank you to you guys for bringing us great figures for the last decade on a consistent basis? For always having new figures ready to roll out for new movies? For constantly improving sculpts and articulation? For giving us new characters? For giving us great Star War toys? Thank You Hasbro.

- Steve “Solo” Rensi, staff writer and frequent voice of reason

H: Steve - thanks very much for the heartfelt comments (along with everyone else who has written similarly - you are not alone). We take everything in stride (we're very critical ourselves), and don't regret for a moment starting the Q&A dialogue. It has been one of the best things we could have done over the past couple of years. The critiques are part of the territory and are always welcome...we would be foolish not pay attention to our loyal, passionate, and extremely smart collectors. The comments and suggestions do get heard and ideas make their way into our parking lot for future consideration, and things like the fans' choice polls have been a direct outgrowth. All in all, we look forward to it every other week. OK, so it has grown and grown, and takes a great deal of time and attention, but it's something we love. Thanks for being there to be a part of it.

. . . And there you have it, folks! Tune in next time for some more answers to Life, The Universe, and Everything. No, not really. Unless your life, universe, and everything revolves around Star Wars collecting. In which case, you’d be in luck!

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