I agree with the statements presented but I'd stop short of blaming videogames as "disinterest in using one's imagination". :)

 

One could argue the whole shift from print based media (reading books) to visual media (movies, videogames) as a lack of using one's noggin. But I beg to differ, it's simply a matter of entertainment changing. That's all.

 

Ingenuity, imagination, diversity will always be with us, because there will always be those kids who are born smart regardless of the toys they are presented with. One could argue that they would possible play less and do more I dunno, algebra. :)

 

Long story short, yes younger kids are playing more games these days. And as a gamer myself, I fully support that. The toy industry will always exist in some shape or form.

 

The question in my mind is: "Will Hasbro still be willing to support collector oriented lines in the future?" Cause if not, we may end up just collecting TF Go-bots. :D

what i meant was, they could do it on selective figures and probably offer a couple a week, but not on all their toys. other retailers could retain their customers by choosing a figure of the month to put on sale and offering more variety. if other retailers offered the same price for most toys, walmart wouldn't start selling all their toys below cost. obviously they have an advantage, but you can compete if you have a niche.

Selling one toy at a marked down price doesn’t really help u if u don’t sell other stuff at the same time to make up for the lost revenue.

they can't keep it up for to long.

Dude, you would be wrong there?seeing as though they don?t just sell toys. They use the toys to bring kids in and as you know where the kids are the parents will be too. And that?s what Wal-Mart counts on.

 

They can afford to loose a few bucks on a toy if it means parents will spend a lot more money on other things when they are in the store?.i mean have you seen the Wal-Mart superstores...everything but the kitchen sink!!!

Don't they have kitchen sinks over in the hardware department? :)

they can't keep it up for to long.

Dude, you would be wrong there?seeing as though they don?t just sell toys. They use the toys to bring kids in and as you know where the kids are the parents will be too. And that?s what Wal-Mart counts on.

 

They can afford to loose a few bucks on a toy if it means parents will spend a lot more money on other things when they are in the store?.i mean have you seen the Wal-Mart superstores...everything but the kitchen sink!!!

Don't they have kitchen sinks over in the hardware department? :)

hehehe...yea but wanted to keep the saying. :thumb

that's why they also have to offer a larger variety. walmarts general prices are lower, but they aren't al below cost, just a few. if other retailers had more toys at a more reasonable price, they could offer a sale for a few of them and lose the overpriced image people have of them. it is difficult to compete with superstores, but they have to offer more.

that's why they also have to offer a larger variety. walmarts general prices are lower, but they aren't al below cost, just a few. if other retailers had more toys at a more reasonable price, they could offer a sale for a few of them and lose the overpriced image people have of them. it is difficult to compete with superstores, but they have to offer more.

But when your sole source of money comes from selling toys, how do you make the average consumer choose you over a superstore that sells everything. Lets be real people love convenience that’s a fact, all that you have said would only aid in bring in transfans…but if you haven’t notice in the grand scheme of things we are only a small part of things.

i understand where your coming from, but i don't think walmart has as many toys in general as TRU. walmart sells hardware, but a lot of people will still go to home depot if they wanted building supplies because that's their main business. a larger selection and specialized for those who aren't casual shoppers. if a person just wanted to buy any toy, they would probably choose walmart. but for specifics, they may prefer a specialized store. that's why i originally said they should focus more on building up a better demand for toys. this is in general and not just for TFs. it's not easy, as you mentioned, but i think it is possible. they'll never drive walmart away, but they could stand to be a little more competitive.

but they could stand to be a little more competitive.

So true...but easier said than done.

not easy at all. hopefully they can pull through.

KB was a mall orientated business, and with more kids growing up on TRL and MTV they are not rushing to buy toys, they are spending it on the new albums and the latest fashions. But the one thing about KB that was great is its determination to get rid of overstocked items. They would continously mark down items until they were gone (atleast at the one by me).

 

FAO was a rich persons toy store, they were supposed to specialize in the things that no one else had, but with the rise of the internet, you can get anything you want from somewhere else i.e. ebay, bigbadtoystore, amazon...etc. But FAO was still alot higher then Walmart and Target plus TRU and FAO never and I do mean NEVER had sales. FAO only became affordable when it was going out of business, but even then unless you wanted a stuffed animal there was nothing worth buying.