[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weapon X

How did they end up losing the license anyways? I've never fully understood.

It basically boiled down to money, control, and distribution, things that Marvel wanted and Hasbro was able to better provide. When Marvel cancelled their agreement with ToyBiz, they did it a year early and ended up paying about 13 million in fees, but in doing so, they sped up the transition to Hasbro and in turn ended up getting a 100 million dollar advance in the process. Remember, Marvel was a company that was in dire straits and was nearly bankrupt at the time, so every bit of money was needed to keep things afloat, and the money they received from Hasbro likely went towards the 525 million dollar financing deal they had with Merril Lynch to start Marvel Studios (which would be the business venture that would finally get Marvel out of debt.)

Marvel receives less money in royalties and fees from Hasbro than what they received with ToyBiz, however, they get something from Hasbro that ToyBiz simply didn't have, and that's name brand recognition, as Hasbro is one of the biggest toy and game companies in the world, and as a result, can be more widely distributed. If ToyBiz was still around today, I'd highly doubt you'd ever find a Marvel Legends in the toy aisle at Walgreen's, but with Hasbro's marketing power and reach, it's possible. Marvel knew that, and was willing to lose a few pennies in the process in order to move more product.

Hasbro is also a master of getting the most out of their products, factories, and molds, allowing them to produce figures cheaper than ToyBiz ever could. ToyBiz's own methods, which often featured unique sculpts (and in turn, sculptors who had to be paid for their work,) elaborate paint decos and articulation, and highly detailed large scaled figures, was not cost efficient, whereas Hasbro has had a talent for kit-bashing figures for years to create new products, saving tons of money in the process.

It wasn't a smooth transition for Hasbro as most of their early offerings were ToyBiz re-dos, some dismal and poorly distributed Legends figures as their own team tried to find their footing, and an eventual push away from the 6" line altogether (Hasbro was FAR more experienced in smaller scale lines, thanks to the years of milking G.I.Joe for everything it was worth,) but eventually all things that are old become new again, and after having that sour experience behind them (as well as playing around with new molds and techniques for their Universe line and how to better implement them,) they got it together and Marvel Legends finally returned. While it sucked for ToyBiz, I'd say it's worked out for the best for Hasbro and Marvel. Marvel Legends used to only produce about 15 to 20 figures maximum in a year under ToyBiz. Under Hasbro, nearly 70 figures were produced in 2015 alone, all of which adds up to more profit in the long run for Marvel.