Are Transformers toy numbers in stores this Christmas bad everywhere?

[griffin]

After a few months of unreliable restocking at stores like BigW and Target (and to a lesser extent, Kmart and ToysRUs), I was surprise to see today that my nearby Kmart and ToysRUs had been stripped of Transformers toys in just a week since I was last there... but other toylines were not as bare (maybe they were being restocked faster to keep up with demand).

So how have your local stores been this Christmas, or since the mid-year toy sales? Any stores near you showing empty pegs or shelves like the ones below?
(post up photos if you've been seeing empty or shrinking Transformers sections, during this time that should be capitalising on Christmas shopping)

This was ToysRUs Garden City... I've never seen it like this before, with almost nothing left.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015tru11.jpg

Kmart Garden City... with half the pegs empty, and all the shelves below it filled with Dragon toys, but the Transformers shelf-tags are still left there for whenever they get a restock.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015km25.jpg

This was Kmart on November 26th, with pegs full to capacity and two shelves with Transformers...
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015km18.jpg

In the last month though, Kmart have been so starved of supply, that they are putting up shelf tags to say that they aren't discontinued, but they can't get any more stock (which would be from the supplier, Hasbro).
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015km19.jpg

Even Myer was looking emptier than usual (they are usually very slow to move stock), as most of the space was empty when I got there, but I moved some toys around so that the photo shows what was in stock.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015m02.jpg

Meanwhile, Target and BigW are like Kmart, in that they are struggling to get new stock, so their Transformers section keeps shrinking with every visit.
This is the time of year that more of your (toy) product needs to be in stores, not a reduction or completely bare pegs and shelves.
This is Target today with their entire Transformers Range for Christmas.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015tg06.jpg

And this was BigW a few weeks ago, with their entire range, with 3/4 being Hero Mashers.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015bw14.jpg

[BruiseLee]

Yes those pics are a familiar and sad sight with the stores I frequent. I find that the TRUs are the ones with empty pegs/shelves but this is probably because they still have the same allotted space for TFs. They have increased their "premium" TF stock though and most of this range are bought with tickets so there aren't any MP or Platinum edition stuff there which makes the shelves look even more sparse.

With Myer, aside from the cbd store their TF selection is dwindling and poorly laid out. The city store though is mostly packed with YOTG and Platinum stuff.

My local Targets, Kmarts and Big W have a severe lack of stock since the mid year sales. The TF Mashers are probably the items in the most abundance next to RID stuff. The TF areas also keep shrinking in these stores with some Big Ws and Kmarts barely having enough stock to even fill a handful of pegs/shelves.

[dsphatlite]

Two words... Star Wars!!!

Hasbro needs to offload as much Star Wars toys as possible while the movie hype train is in overdrive. Retailers want to make as much money off you as well and easy way is to join the hype train and flog you all Star Wars toys.

The stores are bare over here as well in the west. Big W only has two lines of TFs. Target I only saw two pegs worth, KMart had from memory just the Combiner War Legends and the Ultra Prime limbs. Toys R Us has a bigger line but mostly old stock from AoE with a smattering of CW stock. This was at North of River stores though. I know Cannington Toys R Us has better stock than the Morley, Innaloo and Joondalup stores.

[i_amtrunks]

Just as bare in Western Sydney too.

I know hasbro have had a tough time moving distribution ex entries and at even the best of times they make terrible decisions regarding stock but perhaps this is also a sign that retailers don't trust them after all the nonsense with the wave 1 movie toys Hasbro pushed onto them?

Star Wars may be the money maker see holidays,it not every kid/ person is into Star Wars. Why have such diversification if there is nothing to buy?

For a company that is meant to be about profit they sure do seem to like not making money. No toys on shelves = no purchases.:rolleyes:

[Handsprime]

I was at Erina the other day and this is my experience:

Big W: Well pretty much in the past few years most Big W's have been a pretty sad place to buy Transformers, and this was no exception with there barely being anything intresting. Just a few Mini-cons, a RID one step changer and a deluxe Arcee BH toy.
Kmart: When I went here I was confused as to why I couldn't find the Transformers! Thats when I learnt there barely were any at all!
Reject shop: Now we're talking. Although it only had the FAB toys, there were more there than Kmart and Big W combined. Sure the range was limited, but there was stock.
Didn't check Myer or Target so can't comment on that.
Toys R Us: This has been the only place I've been to in the past few years to not disapoint me in Transformer range, although the problem of cause is the prices, but thats for another thread. The Toys R Us at Erina had a few Transformers, notably some masterpieces, some CW deluxes and a few Voyagers. The stock wasn't huge, but it was more than the every other store.



Since I need to do some more christmas shopping today I'm gonna check out some other stores.

[Paulbot]

Those pics look like all the stores I've been to lately. Small sections in Kmart (mostly 1 step changers), minuscule sections at Big W (like a few racks), bare shelf space at TRU. Only shops I've seen well stocked have been Reject Shops with heaps of the fast action toys and big Constructobot Grimlocks.

[LordCyrusOmega]

The state of the Illawarra has been awful this year, more so then other years. I was really excited for the Combiner Wars series. We got hit with wave 1 then nothing. Some store got a dabbling of wave 3 then after months of nothing we received wave 4. RiD has been nothing special. The only thing of note is how awesome the selection of masterpiece and other platinum sets have been at toys r us Shellharbour but they seem to me to be over priced.
I used to report sightings often but here just hasn't seem to be a point lately.

[UltraMarginal]

In most places I would have to say yes.

Big W Top Ryde, Macquarie and Chullora all have very little stock. some legends, some rid warriors and a couple larger rid simple toys. I think Macquarie has some one step changers.

Target Macquarie has had very little stock for several months now. several racks of masks, some rid one step changers, rid minicons, minicon deployers and some Combiner wars deployers.

Myer Macquarie has some year of the goat stuff, they had maybe a case or two of later wave combiner wars deluxes.

Top ryde toymate have a large range of movie stuff, combiner wars, rid and even some later wave prime deluxes. they also have some kre-o combiners, small kits and larger kits. and constructbots. The more recent stuff is not cheap but the older stuff is mostly at good clearance prices.

TRU bankstown has a pretty large section, pretty much an entire shoulder height side of an isle. as others have mentioned though, most of it is on the high side of the RRP or just way over priced (exclusives)

[Zommael]

It's pretty much the same in Rocky. Big W has I think two pegs of TFs, K-Mart has a very bare section with a few RID Warriors and CW Deluxes, Target looks a bit better but is mostly old stock (Rocky Target is always well-presented compared to the other stores, so this might go into it too).

I don't even bother checking out Toyworld any more as it's always disappointing.

[CBratron]

Even Myer was looking emptier than usual (they are usually very slow to move stock), as most of the space was empty when I got there, but I moved some toys around so that the photo shows what was in stock.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015m02.jpg


It's been looking like that everywhere all year.

[UltimateGalvatron]

Yes they are.
Kmart Belconnen has only ONE Transformer toy as of today: Hero Mashers Bulkhead, hidden under some Star Wars Hero Mashers.

[Jaxius._]

Yes, not a single one of the new rid warriors.

CW is clogging the shelves for the first time ever I think. At a Kmart all they have is Wave 4 deluxes and silverbolts.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I've been finding (in Swsn Hill & Bendigo anyway) that the smaller chain stores like The Reject Shop and Toyworld are pretty well stocked while the larger chains like Big W, Target and Kmart have bugger all

[DELTAprime]

The Big W I work at hasn't gotten any new figures since the Defensor limbs came into stock, we mostly have RID Gimmick and CW Legends Class figures left in stock. Kmart across the road has more empty pegs than pegs with Transformers on them, and what they have is shelf warming... Honestly when I was in Rocky today I saw more Transformers at The Reject Shop in Stockland than I have in any store in ages. That $20 Jetfire was tempting, but my Legends Jetfire will suffice.

[Bidoofdude]

Big W in general have been extraordinarily dry. Target and Kmart have a bit, but older stock. Toys R Us has been a mixed bag. Myer actually sometimes have good amount of newish stock. That said, I still can't find a damn Rook anywhere or even Wave 4 CW at this point.

[griffin]

The Toyworld stores near me had been accumulating stock for 3-4 years that they just couldn't sell at their high prices, so they might actually be benefiting from the dwindling amount of stock at the major retailers.

At Sunnybank Hills today the Kmart was similar to the Sunnybank store, with a variety of items but aside from Rescue Bots and gimmick toys, there is not much of each of the mainline toys, so very little choice for each of those size classes.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015km26.jpg

Although at BigW, I was shocked to see newish product on the pegs (the final 2015 wave of RID Warrior, 1-step & 3-step)... and they still had some Generations Deluxe toys as well (but not wave 4, so it's old stock, and no Voyagers or Leaders at all).
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/2015bw15.jpg

[DELTAprime]

I still can't find a damn Rook anywhere

Wave 3 is shelfwarming in some stores around the country, ask in the Saleyard if someone can pick one up for you and mail it to you at cost. I know we had a full set of Wave 3 limbs at my store till about a month ago when someone picked up the full set.

[GoktimusPrime]

My local Kmart has the final wave RiD Warriors, and Target had the Leader Class Megatrons, but is otherwise cluttered with the kiddy-oriented stuff (simple-step changers etc.). I've seen the Deluxe components for Optimus Maximus at 2 Kmarts. Toys R Us is pretty ordinary, and just cluttered with their exclusive TFs which are clearly too overpriced to move. Although I don't recall seeing Devastator, so that might've sold (or maybe it was on another shelf that I didn't see, I wasn't actively looking for it).

Haven't found Leader Class Jetfire at two different Reject Shops, though at their fantastic price for that figure it's not surprising.

[Bidoofdude]

Wave 3 is shelfwarming in some stores around the country, ask in the Saleyard if someone can pick one up for you and mail it to you at cost. I know we had a full set of Wave 3 limbs at my store till about a month ago when someone picked up the full set.

Will give it a shot.

[5FDP]

My local stores have had nothing for the last 12 months. I'd be surprised if they restock now.

[DELTAprime]

And we finally got new stock at work. RID Deployers and the wave of RID Warriors with Fracture in it.

Wish it was the W1 2016 Legends. Even tho I normally collect Takara Tomy I actually pick up Hasbro's Legends class figures because I can't rely on Takara Tomy to make Legends (line) or even Adventure figures of ever character Hasbro releases.

[griffin]

Today at Garden City, the stores are even worse than 12 days ago when I posted up the photos in the first post.
People are still buying a lot of the Transformers toys, but they could be buying the good stuff for their kids if it were available, instead of the gimmick junk that will now look like it is popular, and probably disappoint a lot of kids at Christmas.

Kmart - now just 4 pegs and a single Bumblebee on the shelf.
http://toycollectors.com.au/2015km27.jpg

They even added a sixth "Product Unavailable" to the shelves...
http://toycollectors.com.au/2015km19.jpg

BigW - people have actually been buying the Hero Mashers as over 3/4s of them are now gone... probably bought by parents and relatives just buying something Transformers as a gift.
http://toycollectors.com.au/2015bw17.jpg

Target - even more depressing than Kmart, with just Minicons, Optimus and Megatron.
http://toycollectors.com.au/2015tg07.jpg

ToysRUs - still no restock in the last two weeks, making it the only aisle in the store with a heap of empty space. The Star Wars side of the aisle is overflowing (literally) with toys, making the Transformers section look even worse.
http://toycollectors.com.au/2015tru15.jpg

Less than one week of Christmas shopping left and it doesn't look like we are going to be getting much stock now.
Anyone else with almost empty shelves? Take a photo and post it up, as Hasbro Australia are interested in seeing which chains are dragging their feet now that they have said that they have sorted out their new warehouse.

[Megatran]

Surely Hasbro can send out their Field Sales team to check the stores & store chains. That's what the teams are paid to do. Or are they too busy munching down donuts back at their State/ Regional offices at this time of the year?

Good on Hasbro for asking others to do their job. :rolleyes:

[UltimateGalvatron]

My local Toyworld has nothing from RiD or CW...
They have AoE Power battlers, FOC Deluxes one Real Gear Robot from Movie 1 and a Power Core Combiner! I would say yes, toy numbers are done this Christmas for Transformers.

[Paulbot]

At Target Southland on Thursday I could find a single Transformers toy. I'm hoping I just overlooked something hiding somewhere because otherwise not a thing.