[DESTRO]

So what's it going to take to get Masters Of The Universe back into mass market retail? In short, WalMart, Target and TRU need to place orders at Toy Fair or cut an exclusive deal much like TRU did with the He-Man and Skeletor DC 2-packs. What are these mass market retail chains waiting for?

[Shin Densetsu]

LOL, dude...that is an awesome image choice for the news post! Skeletor looks pissed, as are most of us who wanted to buy MOTUC at retail! Man I'd be down to buy 2 packs, so long as they are MOTUC only, the DC ones are neat but I already have Luthor and Superman.

Even better if a retailer like Target or someone sells single figures. I actually have yet to purchase a MOTUC figure!

[DESTRO]

Yeah, and where the hell is our 3 3/4 line!

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DESTRO

Yeah, and where the hell is our 3 3/4 line!

Wait...speaking of that, they did mention in our latest q&a with mattycollector that the WWE team is looking into 3-3/4"...and I know a lot of 3-3/3" fans would love MOTU in that scale, provided they don't turn out like DC Infinite Heroes.

[miraclefan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Densetsu

Wait...speaking of that, they did mention in our latest q&a with mattycollector that the WWE team is looking into 3-3/4"...and I know a lot of 3-3/3" fans would love MOTU in that scale, provided they don't turn out like DC Infinite Heroes.

WOOT! I vote HE-MAN!

[theestampede]

I'd be all over a retail release. That means I'd be able to actually get my hands on some of these. 3 and 3/4 would be excellent as well if handled correctly

[ShinGetterPrime]

they have released quite a number of characters already, so i guess they can release them in waves of 4. (ie Wave 1 he-man, skeletor, beastman, merman; wave 2 man at arms, teela, webstor, trapjaw and so forth)

but i guess they'll need some sort of advertisment. some exposure like maybe reruns or better yet a new show.

[Autobot_Goldbug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Densetsu

LOL, dude...that is an awesome image choice for the news post! Skeletor looks pissed, as are most of us who wanted to buy MOTUC at retail! Man I'd be down to buy 2 packs, so long as they are MOTUC only, the DC ones are neat but I already have Luthor and Superman.

Even better if a retailer like Target or someone sells single figures. I actually have yet to purchase a MOTUC figure!

I did get Skeletor & sold off Luthor. However Skeletor came only with a sword! None of his other accessories! So I was feeling slightly ripped off. So I won't be getting anymore of those 2 packs.
I bought She-Ra through a friend for retail. Then I also got Prince Adam & Orko the same way.
I would have significantly more figures if they were at retail.

[MegaPrime33]

I dont see why these couldn't go retail. If Mattel does a much larger run of each figure, even if it's just to a single store, the price would be lowered 6-7 bucks or so. And there is no other line out there that does that kind of size, so really it has almost no competition. If they spread the word and get kids, not collectors, interested, I think they'd be all over it.

[irondestro1975]

that would be awesome and the 3.75" is not a bad idea

[astig]

an articulated battle cat in 3 3/4 would be awesome!

[Joe Moore]

I think the problem with MOTU in general is that it's a very 80's concept that hasn't found the right niche in today's market. If they could ever get a movie off the ground, it would bring in people who had forgotten the line, and don't visit sites like this.

I also think Mattel was burned the last 2 attempts to get MOTU on shelves. First in 2000 when the reissues completely bombed and then in 2002-2003 with the new line. It didn't help that poor case assortments led to dwindling sales which led to shrinking distribution. Both Mattel and retailers are likely hesitant to go down that road until there is a real value to do so (movie, new tv show, etc.).

[trebleshot]

I would love for MOTUC to come to regular retail again, and I would be equally thrilled with the introduction of a 3.75" line. Well, as long as the second one is significantly closer to MU than DCIH in terms of design.

And I agree, they have enough characters available now that a retail release schedule could easily avoid the problems that plagued the previous attempts. The media push is the only missing piece.

I wonder if a new, darker movie would help. Instead of being campy like the Dolph Lundgren debacle, they gave it a serious tone and stayed on Eternia the whole time. I guess I would like it to be closer to Conan (which MOTU was based on/a rip-off of anyway). Maybe not R-rated, but a hard PG-13.

[jestermon]

A miracle, I mean after the original run has there even been a long run of the toys that sold well and didn't end up at the Fred's and such.

I remember the He-Man 2099 ha, or whatever it was called in the 90's being at those sort of stores as well.

A 3/ 3 4 line would ber great,but I wish Hasbro would get the liscense, it just seems that Matty collector has no plans for this and would much rather sell fewer of there expensive hard to get figures at this time.

Hasbro could absorb any major loss much easier, and hey the figures would at least get out there, and even if there was bad distribution, at least you get them off Hasbro toy shop where they wouldn' sell out if 5 seconds.

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jestermon

A miracle, I mean after the original run has there even been a long run of the toys that sold well and didn't end up at the Fred's and such.

I remember the He-Man 2099 ha, or whatever it was called in the 90's being at those sort of stores as well.

A 3/ 3 4 line would ber great,but I wish Hasbro would get the liscense, it just seems that Matty collector has no plans for this and would much rather sell fewer of there expensive hard to get figures at this time.

Hasbro could absorb any major loss much easier, and hey the figures would at least get out there, and even if there was bad distribution, at least you get them off Hasbro toy shop where they wouldn' sell out if 5 seconds.

MOTU isn't a license Mattel is paying for (like Ghostbusters), it's a property created and owned by Mattel. For Hasbro to get their hands on it, they would literally have to buy Mattel. That's not likely to happen any time soon.

[Steevy Maximus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I think the problem with MOTU in general is that it's a very 80's concept that hasn't found the right niche in today's market. If they could ever get a movie off the ground, it would bring in people who had forgotten the line, and don't visit sites like this.

To be fair, I think the same could EASILY be said of GI Joe. Where as Hasbro has basically positioned GI Joe as a "name" for military toys (when a kid wants military toys, among the first names out tend to be "GI Joe"), Mattel has largely done NOTHING with MOTU outside of big launches every 10-ish years which end up being forgotten quickly. Unlike GI Joe, which has a lot of political baggage by nature, MOTU doesn't have that. I see no reason why we don't have MOTU on the market as a default "fantasy" toyline.

But I think the biggest hold up on MOTU as a brand is Mattel. Outside of DCU Classics and Justice League Unlimited, NOTHING Mattel has handled in the last 10 years has shown any sort of longevity. And most of that is owed to Mattel's own corporate short-sight.

Mattel wants the big money NOW, and the idea of "growing" a brand like Hasbro has done with Transformers and GI Joe is foreign to them. Remember, this is a company that couldn't keep a comic BATMAN line on retail shelves (doing largely the same crap they are doing now with Brave and the Bold).

For MOTU to come back to retail (in any form) will take one of two things:
1. A big budget live action film. Which is currently stuck in development hell and even then, isn't a sure fire thing to make the brand into a juggernaut (GI Joe comes to mind)
2. A change in Mattel Management. Right now, Mattel has access to some of the strongest brands ever created. But the existing management either doesn't care or simply wants a quick return. If it weren't for owning Hot Wheels, Barbie and Fisher Price, Hasbro would have long ago become the number one toy company.

[Joe Moore]

I definitely agree that Mattel has been their own worst enemy over the last 10 or so years.

[Tarquinius]

I feel like MOTU has a niche of people and collectors who value what Mattel does for it.

Consequently, I think whatever Mattel would have to do to put it in the limelight, would jeopardize it's most loyal fan base to reach others.

So if Mattel is happy with how MOTU is coming along and the collectors are happy as to how it's presented...then I'm not sure it needs to be changed. But if Mattel wants more sales or collectors want a bigger venue, then change does need to occur.

[Steevy Maximus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarquinius

Consequently, I think whatever Mattel would have to do to put it in the limelight, would jeopardize it's most loyal fan base to reach others.

The big problem is that, ultimately, collector based lines haven't really proven to be a huge success for years on end (at least not compared to what the companies have accomplished at retail). And on top of that, Hasbro has pretty well shown Mattel that if you create a line that appeals to the mass market (very few fans of GI Joe or Transformers particularly liked the film adaptations for one reason or another) that success MORE than compensates for any loss of the collector/fan base sales.

To this day, many fans still hate the live action film series, but that film series has given Hasbro leeway to produced things like Transformers Classics.

Eventually, Mattel WILL tap out the collector base for MOTUC. Either many collectors will get too old, change priorities or once they complete their "sets", you WILL see a decline in sales. It might not be overnight, but eventually, Mattel will "check off" more and more vintage characters, and once Vintage is done, I can all but guarantee you will see a solid sales drop (and that's not counting the huge amount of sales done by speculators, which is a bubble waiting to burst like 1995 Star Wars figures).

As of right now, Mattel is placing all their hopes for the brand on a film that may or may NOT be the huge hit they want. I see no evidence that Mattel has any real idea what to do with the brand outside of remaking vintage toys and hoping they have enough nostalgia to keep collectors around and "hot" enough to keep the speculators around.

[DarthOnyx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DESTRO

Yeah, and where the hell is our 3 3/4 line!

Ditto!!!!!

[Jmacq1]

I think Mattel has a pretty good feel for what the collector market for MotU genuinely is, and knows that trying to sell the line at mass retail would likely end in another failure. Instead they keep the product "limited" and suddenly have a line that collectors and short-term speculators are falling all over themselves to get ahold of. It creates the illusion of great success even if the dollar amounts are likely chickenfeed compared to Mattel's "big" lines.

MotU is basically hurt by being generally considered the "silliest" of the 80's mega-franchises (Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, MotU).

[ericdbright]

It's been stated time and again that the 200x line died because of case assortment, and retailers demanded a certain amount of He-Man and Skelly figures per case. I don't see that changing with a retail release with no movie backing it. The line is doing fine as it is, and making 3.75 figures is foolish unless they're looking for retailer shelf space. DCIH sucks, and He-Man has always been in a larger scale. To shrink these would be a travesty, as we'd likely see worse sculpts and detail from the 4 Horsemen. If they're being paid a buttload of cash to make these, and I'm paying a lot for the figures, they'd better be awesome, or they might as well steal some no-names from Hasbro.

Store exclusives, Holiday pack with He-Man/Battle Cat are fine by me, but don't change how these are sold as single carded figures.

[siddarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I think the problem with MOTU in general is that it's a very 80's concept that hasn't found the right niche in today's market. If they could ever get a movie off the ground, it would bring in people who had forgotten the line, and don't visit sites like this.

I also think Mattel was burned the last 2 attempts to get MOTU on shelves. First in 2000 when the reissues completely bombed and then in 2002-2003 with the new line. It didn't help that poor case assortments led to dwindling sales which led to shrinking distribution. Both Mattel and retailers are likely hesitant to go down that road until there is a real value to do so (movie, new tv show, etc.).

Retail would kill MOTU Classics whether it was retail wide or just an exclusive with Toys R Us. The main issues would be distribution and case assortment. There are not enough Toys R Us stores around the country and while WM has the most stores, the distribution would be horrible. Most would be lucky to ever see all or even most of the figures.

Case assortment would be a problem. I believe the He-Mans and Skeletors would sell but you would end up with pegs full of Stratos or Zodak. And once the pegs are warming, we all know that seeing new product screeches to a halt.

At least under the exclusive online side, the option is there (though rather short for some figures) to order and the subscription service for 2011 covers nearly everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I definitely agree that Mattel has been their own worst enemy over the last 10 or so years.

While we are not privy to the boardroom discussions of Mattel, I am sure they are well aware of the track history of their retail lines. Might be a big reason that MOTU Classics has not moved to the big box chains.

Once Matty releases these to retail, they lose most of the control they have over the line. Manufacturing schedules have to be augmented to continually produce certain core characters. Pegwarming of certain less popular figures inhibits good distribution. Lesser known characters may get cut from the line altogether.

To this point, MC's plan with this line has worked well for them. They are not sitting on a ton of leftover product. They can produce lesser know characters, ie Chief Carnivus, and have them sell out. They're offering accessory packs, larger figures and beasts to augment the line. Plus, there's a possibility of vehicles in the future.

I think Mattel has this line well under control. They have figures planned out to 2016, I think, and they are reissuing figures to help fill the voids for collectors that don't want to go to the secondary market.

I do have one complaint, the stands. There have been positive and negative things about them but this is one item that should just be in stock. They sold out very fast in their first run. This is a basic item that should just be available.

Actually, they should also be offering some kind of protective case but that's another issue.

[Super_Megatron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DESTRO

Yeah, and where the hell is our 3 3/4 line!

Until Mattel starts producing figures with good sculpts at this size class I say don't bother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I think the problem with MOTU in general is that it's a very 80's concept that hasn't found the right niche in today's market. If they could ever get a movie off the ground, it would bring in people who had forgotten the line, and don't visit sites like this.

I also think Mattel was burned the last 2 attempts to get MOTU on shelves. First in 2000 when the reissues completely bombed and then in 2002-2003 with the new line. It didn't help that poor case assortments led to dwindling sales which led to shrinking distribution. Both Mattel and retailers are likely hesitant to go down that road until there is a real value to do so (movie, new tv show, etc.).

I agree that they need a movie or TV show in order to bring this back to retail. Kids don't care about MOTUC anymore, which is sad for a toyline that made a billiion dollars in sales in the 80s.

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super_Megatron

Until Mattel starts producing figures with good sculpts at this size class I say don't bother.

I agree that they need a movie or TV show in order to bring this back to retail. Kids don't care about MOTUC anymore, which is sad for a toyline that made a billiion dollars in sales in the 80s.

If the cartoon is anything like the 2002 series, then I'd be onboard. Loved that one.