The New York Post on Action Figure Sales
In a recent article — “Movie figures garnering little action at toy stores” — James Covert of the New York Post touches on the decline of the boys’ toys aisle in big box stores and quotes market analyst Gerrick Johnson as stating the reason as:
That’s because young boys’ toy boxes are already brimming with gear from a host of previous movies filled with the same superheroes, he says.
“You’ve got all these action figures chasing mind-share, and they’ve all got the same backstory and the same characters,†Johnson told The Post. “Every kid already has Spider-Man and Captain America.â€
That’s a fantastic point, but I think the problem with toy sales goes beyond regurgitation of the same characters year after year. In my own opinion, sales of action figures are in a free fall because:
- Costs. It is only over the past year or two that Hasbro and Mattel recognized costs are a problem. We’re seeing more and more $5 action figures, but we still see $15 and $20 figures that just aren’t moving at retail in numbers to truly matter.
- Transformers toys, as I mentioned in yesterday’s Barricade review, have forgotten how to be toys. This quote from the New York Post article is very telling and is one Hasbro had better be discussing internally:
“The toys licensed around the next “Transformers†film is nearly 50 percent below levels seen before the release of the previous franchise film in 2011, Johnson notes.”
- Competition outside the boys’ toys aisle, from digital offerings like video games and apps, are definitely affecting action figure sales.
I am certain Hasbro and Mattel are watching these trends far more closely than I am — I think my first post on the decline of action figure sales was “Action Figure Market Shrinking?” in late 2012, and it’s likely Hasbro and Mattel were noticing long before we were — and I would be surprised if Hasbro wasn’t preparing to throw every idea they have at fixing the problem when Star Wars launches next year.
Things are changing, that much is clear. It’s what happens next that none of us can predict.
I have two boys in prime action figure age range, and they have NEVER asked me to buy them an action figure. Their friends don’t bring their action figures over to play. If they bring toys, it’s either a video game or some Lego minifigs. The only action figures my sons own are ones that I bought them, hoping that they would express an interest in them. Unlike a lot of kids their age, my sons play offline for hours and hours every day, but action figures don’t have a role in that time. I honestly don’t know the reasoning behind this — clearly none of my enthusiasm has rubbed off on them!
While price is probably a majority factor, saturation of the same figure has to be an issue that needs addressing.
An entire line of Iron Man figures must cost a subsequent line that features a single Iron Man figure as parent’s are more than happy to say “but you’ve already got…”, so having near-similar, oft brightly coloured, designs (like Iron Man, Cap, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime) makes it easier for parents to identify whether their child has one or not.
honestly when I’m in the Toy Aisle in Target or even when I’m in TRU the only people I see are other collectors. I never see kids in the aisle begging their parents for toys. And if I do see them it’s cause their mother dragged them there and are trying to push a toy on the kid and the kid just wants to go.
1) I adore the Transformers: Prime toys, but they’re definitely a lot more complicated than what we had as kids. A lot of time is required for me or any of my adult friends to transform them, but hand them to a kid who’s at least seven or eight years old? Five minutes tops, and that’s without looking at the instructions. The newer toys that transform in one step should help to bring in some younger kids, too.
2) Boys are definitely outgrowing character-based toys at a much earlier age than girls, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with the one-step Transformers I mentioned. I think it’s a great strategy, hopefully one that will lead to kids enjoying the toys for longer.
3) After being caught off guard by overwhelming demand for toys from the first Transformers and Iron Man flicks, corporate retail seems to be convinced they can rely on other movie properties to deliver the same performance. When you look at the action figure aisles for the last couple of years, though, there’s only one brand selling through consistently, and that’s the TMNT line based on Nickelodeon’s animated series.
While core character availability is definitely a necessity, there’s something to be said for oversaturation of one character. I think the bigger issue, though, is how much you can really rely on any given movie to drive sales for a full year (or more). Transformers and Iron Man were clearly perceived as the beginning of a new trend, but the last six years seems to strongly suggest they were more anomalies than an indication of where the market was heading. A theatrical release can give a lot of life to a toy line for a couple months, but then what? Give kids repeated exposure to stories with relatable characters, and they’ll ask their parents for toys. It worked with Ben 10, it worked for several years with The Clone Wars and Prime, it still works with Power Rangers, and it’s working for TMNT.
And Playmates’ Ninja Turtles figures only cost nine bucks, which is a great price. While “volume of plastic” isn’t a logical means of determining a toy’s value, they *look* like a lot more bang for the buck than a 4″ figure at the same price. When it comes to consumer marketing, perception is reality.
Every time I read tfw2005.com, and it’s news posts about the new movie-based toys – I’m dumbfounded. The general quality and construction mirrors that of Dollar-store KO robots.
Those have their own niche-market collectors to be sure, but to read about the shock and horror among Hasbro that their sales are down for movie toys makes my eyes roll.
It’s like the time I saw a guy running a yard sale with nothing but beanie babies and old, rusty appliances. He was stomping his feet, angrily astounded that his product wasn’t selling like hotcakes.
With Hasbro, it could be that simplified toys that look junky don’t appeal to little kids who already have five of the same character – and misses collectors who see it as the poorly designed products they are. Their marketing is effectively tone-deaf with output like this:
http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/attach/1/smash-change-optimus-prime_1390184175.jpg
I’m thankful for 3rd party manufacturers – it’s the only reason why I bother reading about new TF products these days. 🙁
Hopefully Hasbro gets their marketing in gear, and returns to creating the dynamic, well made products of yesteryear.