[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflakian

It's been in the works for a bit, was something being discussed.
Didn't realize it fully went through. Discussions came out of this because of how Mattel handled Wonder Woman, and the money they kept leaving on the table by only half doing what market demand wanted. Stuff they began to learn from Multiverse to correct, but at that point it was a little late. Hopefully we'll see some way that Multiverse will find something to do about that market or otherwise, but we'll see.

Trying to get decent material through Mattel has always been rather a bit of a crap shoot sometimes, they have some amazing enthusiastic employees, so where the hiccup is in the chain is a question, but hopefully long term this will fix that.

And it won't be "5poa garbage". The whole intent of Spin Master getting it was because of how well they did with Tron Legacy for Disney. So minimum, we'll see articulation and sculpting to roughly that standard. With much of the problems of that line remedied by the change in materials from not needing the electronics.

But full effects are unknown for now until we fully see product lineups and how it'll impact going forward.

Mattel will bounce back, but they do need to rethink how they approach the market after how well Jurassic World material did.

Restructuring is a process that demands no small amount of planning and Mattel likely decided months ago that they would not aggressively pursue the DC license upon renewal. To me, while disappointing, that decision makes complete sense given the balance sheet issues that compelled them to lay off employees to begin with.

Truth be told, since Mattel moved away from 4H, I haven't been anywhere near as enthusiastic about their wares as I once was. Sure, the latest waves have been better and brought me back to collect spot chracters; Green Lantern (Cruz), Ray, Vixen, Clayface, King Shark, Batman Beyond, Gar, Starfire, Lobo, to name just a few. However, I doubted seriously that the trend was sustainable without a TRU (the only retailer that offered me at least an inconsistent shot at new Multiverse figs) in place.

New blood may be needed for a DC 1/12 line to flourish. We'll see what Spin Master can do, but I admit to being pretty nonplussed about the prospect. Those Tron figures were not impressive. They caught my eye initially, but on closer inspection, yeah, kinda trash. Opinions are subjective, so please don't take offense. Maybe they'll surprise me in their first outing with an incredibly diverse and storied pantheon of popular superheroes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grant C

This is the ripple effect of TRU closing down! TRU was a giant in the toy industry. It's closing created a giant black hole that is creating chaos throughout the entire toy industry. When major manufacturers are having the type of troubles Mattel & Hasbro are it can't be a good sign of things to come. I believe the repercussions of TRU closing will be felt for a long time.

Agreed and then some. Toy companies and the fans of their lines will need to get used to a state of perpetual recalibration. This dilemma will continue until the industry fills the retail hole that represtented 15% of the market worldwide. Yikes.