Hasbro eats dirt, Mattel inherits the brand!
By Raptoralpha, Wednesday 20 July 2016 at 08:20 AM
This is it, the end of an era. For the first time since the release of the first Jurassic Park, future JP toys won't be produced by Hasbro (who absorbed Kenner in 2000) anymore, but by Mattel...
Back on Monday 18th, everyone was taken aback by an announcement by Brian Goldner, CEO of Hasbro, as reported by CNBC, as you can read here:
“We have had a many year relationship with Universal; we will no longer handle ‘Jurassic Park’ because they are unable to arrive at a mutually beneficial financial arrangement on that brand.â€
Even though rumors of a Raptor Squad and a classic JP line planned for 2017 were starting to hit the web, and even reports of Hasbro already starting to work on the Jurassic World 2 line, things would not go as expected. The main reason for this license loss was apparently much lower sales on the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2015 (then again, when you see the very few new figures released and the overall quality of what was on the shelves back then, it could be expected). Still, while this came off as a surprise, many fans actually rejoiced when this was announced, which can easily be understandable when you look at the lackluster treatment of the JP brand by Hasbro for many years (some would say since 2001...).
And the very next day, an official announcement was made by Chris Sinclair, Mattel's Chairman and CEO:
We are honored that NBCUniversal chose Mattel to help bring the Jurassic World brand to life, and we look forward to developing multiple new lines of innovative, engaging toys and products. Spanning three decades of sustained worldwide popularity, few entertainment properties have so successfully captured the collective imagination of millions of fans around the world, and we are delighted to be a part of this truly evergreen franchise.
Vince Klaseus, President of NBC-Universal Brand Development, also spoke about the matter:
We are looking forward to collaborating with Mattel and broadening Jurassic World products worldwide. The appetite for the franchise globally is stronger than ever with consumers wanting more. Mattel's global support, creativity and category approach to expand our franchise makes them the best choice to partner with for this brand, bringing innovation, technology and a host of new ways to play. Jurassic World is more than awe-inspiring blockbuster films, it's a brand that has been reaching consumers for more than twenty years on everything from video games, toys and apparel, to theme park attractions and live events. Our focus for the franchise is to continue to collaborate with best-in-class partners as we build and expand this iconic property into a mega-brand across our Universal platforms.So there you have it: Mattel will inherit the JP license on July 2017, with their first products planned to hit shelves early 2018. Obviously, it's still too early to know what will happen with the current Dino Hybrid line (which currently only has three items released so far and is plagued with total lack of brand support and catastrophic distribution), and to the rumored Raptor Squad and Classic lines. Will Hasbro try to milk the license while they still own it? Time will tell... And as far as Mattel goes, while their previous offerings were hit or miss, their latest lines (Ghostbusters, DC Multiverse, ...) are mostly appreciated by toy collectors, and Mattel has an history of good relationship with fans and adult collectors (the Master of the Universe toy line comes to mind), so we think we can remain optimistic about what the future has in store for us, JP collectors. And we're sure that at least, they will realize that it's normal for a Velociraptor figure to have sickle claws...
