- Hasbro had a 9% drop in revenue in 2022, while Lego saw a 17% increase and Mattel was flat.
- The company plans to lay off 15% of its employees in a restructuring plan focused on refocusing on games and toys.
- Hasbro’s marketing strategy focuses on leading in five key categories.
Toy and game maker Hasbro didn’t have a good 2022. Its revenue fell 9 percent in the first year it Chris Cocks He was in charge of the maker of Monopoly, among other products.
In contrast, Lego’s turnover rose 17 percent and Mattel’s (Barbie) remained stable.
The truth is that these are not good times for game and toy manufacturers in general: macroeconomic problems and high inflation are hitting the entire industry. Consumers, with less purchasing power, spend on food and utility fees, with little left over for the rest.
In this scenario, Hasbro is going to lay off 15 percent of its employees in a restructuring plan that will take all of 2023.
It’s Hasbro’s biggest layoff plan in its 100-year life.
Cocks understands that the company has strayed too far from its core business of toys and games and that it must “go back to the sources” to attract consumers again.
In an interview with the Wall Street JournalCocks said that “the brand’s loss of market share in the toy business is because we lost sight of the game, Hasbro’s core pillar, and we didn’t invest enough there.”
It must be remembered that Hasbro bought an entertainment company, Entertainment One, in 2019, an investment that Cocks believes made them divert their focus from their business.
With the idea of refocusing on gaming and toys, Hasbro intends to sell most of the eOne TV and movie assets that are not related to the brand’s intellectual properties.
Hasbro Strategy
Regarding 2023, Cocks said they are investing “considerable sums” to hire “experienced industry leaders” with the idea of “knowing consumers better” and “better analyzing data”.
Asked why Mattel has captured a bigger share of the toy market, Cocks said a lot has to do with Hasbro not striving to be the biggest toy company in the world.
Hasbro’s marketing strategy going forward is to aim to lead in the five categories that account for 55 percent of industry sales: action figures, preschool toys, games, arts and crafts, and sporting and activity goods. outdoor.
According to Cocks, the preschool category is the only one in which Habro is not the leader. “We are number 4 and we aim to improve,” she said. The idea is to “build relationships with children of 2 or 3 years with brands like Peppa Pig”. And he added: “We’re also doing things with Walt Disney, like Young Jedi Adventures, a children’s version of Star Wars.”
The WSJ asked the CEO of Hasbro how they decide which brands to buy and which to sell, to which Cocks replied: “We have 1,500 registered brands. We tend to focus on brands that have annual revenue of $25 million or more with at least a 10 percent operating profit margin. The key is for our licensing teams to make deals that keep those brands alive.”
And an interesting fact: 45 percent of Hasbro’s annual revenue comes from people 18 and older.
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