Hasbro Financial Earnings Reports (ongoing)

[griffin]

Brian Goldner's replacement has now been announced, and it is a name that has popped up in this topic recently, as he was the CEO of the WOTC division of Hasbro - Chris Cocks.
He originally comes from a long stint at Microsoft, and we saw above that he was looking at expanding digital entertainment at WOTC, so now that he's in charge of all of Hasbro, we could see a big focus shift to digital and virtual play, over physical toy play.

They also announce other new names to the upper management re-shuffle.

PAWTUCKET, R.I.�(BUSINESS WIRE)�Jan. 5, 2022� Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Chris Cocks as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, effective February 25, 2022. Mr. Cocks currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Hasbro�s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming division, a global leader in tabletop and digital gaming. He will succeed Interim CEO, Rich Stoddart, who was appointed following the October passing of Hasbro�s longtime CEO Brian Goldner. Mr. Stoddart, who has served as a Hasbro independent director since 2014, will become Chair of the Board, effective February 25, 2022.
Tracy Leinbach, current Chair of the Board, said: �Chris�s appointment marks the culmination of an extensive and thoughtful candidate review and selection process led by the Board. In Chris, we have chosen a leader uniquely positioned to execute and evolve Hasbro�s Brand Blueprint strategy while continuing to generate growth and deliver strong shareholder returns. Chris�s extensive omni-channel experience and proven track record make him the ideal leader for Hasbro as it continues to become the world�s leading play and entertainment company. On behalf of the Board, we thank Rich for serving as Interim CEO during a difficult time for the Hasbro family and are delighted he will serve as Chair of our Board.�
Mr. Stoddart said: �Having known Chris for years and working more closely with him these last several months, I have no doubt that he will be an extraordinary leader for the next phase of Hasbro�s journey. A storyteller and gamer at heart, Chris innately understands how to create and nurture brands to drive fan and consumer connection across channels. He is a highly strategic leader, with the vision, skills and experience to unlock our Brand Blueprint for supercharged growth.�
Mr. Cocks said: �Hasbro has amazing brands, gifted storytellers and unique entertainment assets, and I am humbled to step into the position of CEO at this important time and to build on the strong foundation Brian created. Our consumer products, gaming and entertainment teams are the best and most creative in the business and have shown such incredible resilience. I look forward to working with our highly-experienced senior management team as we continue to reimagine play and entertainment and deliver experiences to families and fans, of all ages, around the world.�
Mr. Cocks has served as President and COO of Wizards of the Coast since 2016, when he joined Hasbro from Microsoft. Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, offers games and entertainment under world-renowned brands such as MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and DUEL MASTERS. Under Mr. Cocks, Wizards of the Coast has focused on cooperative game play, expanding new digital initiatives and creating a robust workforce of back-end developers, digital designers, 3D artists and producers. Under Mr. Cocks�s leadership, revenue at Wizards of the Coast has more than doubled, surpassing $1 billion in 2021.
During his 14 years at Microsoft, Mr. Cocks led a global sales and technical engagement team as Vice President, OEM Technical Sales and served in product management and marketing leadership positions at MSN and Xbox Games, where he worked on hit franchises like HALO and FABLE.
The Company expects to name a new president for Wizards of the Coast in the coming weeks.
Eric Nyman to Become Hasbro�s President and Chief Operating Officer
Hasbro also announced the appointment of longtime leader Eric Nyman as President and Chief Operating Officer, effective February 25, 2022. In this new role, Mr. Nyman will oversee global business, operational and foundational platform investments; continue to lead Hasbro�s overall consumer licensing strategy and strategic partnerships; and oversee Hasbro�s global supply chain, directing the strategy for a next-generation consumer direct distribution platform.
Mr. Stoddart continued: �Eric has been a valued member of the Hasbro team for more than 18 years, inspiring our people, and driving consumer-focused innovation across our iconic brand portfolio. The Company will benefit from his vast knowledge, creativity and leadership as he takes on this new, expanded role on our senior management team.�
Mr. Nyman, who joined Hasbro in 2003, currently serves as Chief Consumer Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Hasbro Consumer Products. In this role, he leads the Hasbro Consumer Products business unit, including oversight for operations and partner relationships, Hasbro�s licensed consumer products business and Hasbro Pulse, the Company�s direct-to-consumer platform. He previously served in a number of senior roles, including President of Hasbro North America and General Manager and Senior Vice President of Marketing.

[griffin]

Usually these updates are on TFW, but Seibertron has the latest financial reporting from Hasbro, and it looks like 2021 was a bumper year for Hasbro, increasing revenue (over us$6 Billion) and profits (just on us$1 Billion) despite the pandemic, that impacted sales, production and supply chains for most companies (and we saw a lot of Transformers products delayed here in Australia in 2021).

The financial report says that Hasbro used over a billion US dollars of profits to pay off some of their debt (they bought Entertainment One for 7 Billion, which was probably mostly borrowed, so they might have a lot more debt to pay off just yet).

[griffin]

The 2021 annual financial report from Hasbro has been released, and it also talks a little about their next year (which we are already almost halfway through), including the Transformers Experience "summer" (mid) 2022 in America still being listed, which should mean that it hasn't been delayed.

It also mentions that despite other Hasbro Brands doing much better than Transformers, the Transformers Brand still did well in 2021, noting that the WFC cartoon helped with sales.

The total revenue for 2021 was us$6.42 Billion... with us$2.1 Billion of that from Gaming alone (which includes Magic, their biggest growth Brand for the year).

Something that will apply to Transformers, is in their environmental targets...

On track to eliminate plastic in new Hasbro product packaging by end of 2022.

Set goal to make POTATO HEAD brand with plant-based or renewable materials by end of 2024. Transitioning all other existing toys and games to recycled or renewable materials by 2033

That means that within 11 years, our Transformers toys will be made with renewable or plant-based materials... which is good for the environment to have them break down faster (if they end up in the bin and then in land-fill), but that will also mean the toys that don't get thrown away will also break down and disintegrate within a shorter period of time... probably like those biodegradable plastic bags that you find in the cupboard a couple years later and they shatter into thousands of pieces like honeycomb.

[JJJ]

That's a bit pessimistic. There are plastics made from non-fossil sources that are just as durable as the ones we're used to - the important part isn't that they come from a particular source, but rather that they are the right polymers. I'm not entirely up-to-date on progress with these plastics, but the last time I looked they hadn't reached the nylon and ABS realm, and were more expensive than traditionally produced plastics, but development was continuing apace. They started with biodegradable bags and the like because that's where the industrial interest and demand was; this sort of thing will redirect research and development.

On the other hand - good thing we've now got G1 (just about) sorted

[DELTAprime]

I know this is an area of science I don't understand fully, but I'm very sceptical of companies saying they can keep producing the same product, but do it green.

Formula 1's fuel suppliers say they can take carbon from the atmosphere to make fuel and it will be "carbon natural".

[JJJ]

Oh, there's no way to make it carbon neutral in and of itself, that's just corporate / marketing bullshit. Replacing oil with biofuel doesn't get away from using carbon (and you've got all the industry involved in agriculture to go with it, plus a new set of refining processes), because carbon is at the core of polymers. What it does do is stop moving carbon from ancient sequestration back into the current atmosphere, which is something of an improvement, if already far too late.

[Bidoofdude]

I know it�s relevant to their brand to reduce use of plastic packaging, but a lot of this stuff kind of reeks of marketing fluff and trying to gain public favour through ultimately pretty meaningless platitudes. Plastic packaging on collectable toys is ultimately a drop in the bucket compared to the capital and power that Hasbro has. It can come across in a similar vein to a lot of big companies now pushing for individual responsibility from customers (recycling in the home, saving power, saving water) that lessens the responsibility for large faceless companies. Those things are great to do, but the time to do them was decades ago. The time period we live in demands more.

Though perhaps out of their wheelhouse as a toy company, Hasbro would make a much more meaningful impact by investing directly into large scale sustainability efforts and helping push back against the majority of carbon production, that is made by large energy, transport and food production companies resisting systemic changes. Given their recent licensing with Funko and its blatantly unsustainable NFT projects, I would doubt the efforts would go much farther than this surface level marketing gloss, which is disappointing.

[griffin]

Some big changes could be coming our way from Hasbro, after the recent changes at the top (after the passing of Brian Goldner).
One thing is that they are re-evaluating their future entertainment plans and their ongoing partnership with Paramount... which has been a big part of Hasbro's growth in the last 15 years, thanks mostly to Brian's vision for Hasbro's future as an entertainment company, not just a toy company.

This is from an article in Bloomberg, which I haven't read... so am just going on the highlighted bits from here.

Thanks to an article by Bloomberg, we now know that Hasbro is in the process of reevaluating its entertainment plans.
The article highlights multiple factors including the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic wreaking havoc on Hollywood box-office, and the passing of Hasbro’s former CEO, Brian Goldner, as the root causes of the reevaluation.

Mr. Goldner was also a part of the director board of Paramount Global (formerly known as Viacom CBS). His passing may have severed the tight connection between Paramount Pictures and Hasbro. At the moment, Paramount produces and distributes entertainment based on Hasbro properties such as Transformers, G.I. Joe, D&D, etc.

According to the article, Hasbro is looking at two options:

1. [Hasbro] can take the existing staff [at eOne] and redirect it to make branded entertainment (think “Peppa Pig” movies), and shut down work on projects like “Yellowjackets” and “Designated Survivor.”
2. [Hasbro] can sell everything it doesn’t want.

With the current 5-Year Agreement with Paramount Pictures coming to a closure at the end of 2022, Hasbro will also have to reevaluate the partnership on whether to extend or to let go.
CEO of eOne (a subsidiary of Hasbro), Mr. Darren Throop, will be stepping down at the end of this year as well.

Meanwhile, there could also be a shake-up of their toy distribution strategy, as they are looking to change the way they release movie tie-in toylines (not just Transformers), from a huge flood of stock all at once around the release of the movie, to a more staggered release over a longer period of time.
This probably only applies to Movie and Cartoon toylines, not the more collector-targeted toylines.

‘Today, unpredictability reigns, with chaotic supply chains affecting timing, and streaming content rolling out in six-packs rather than full seasons. Meanwhile, disappearing theatrical windows have drastically changed movie launches and the Consumer Products programs that accompany them.
But in business, challenges often bring opportunities. That’s the lens through which Marianne James, Hasbro’s VP of EMEA and Asia, sees the current landscape.
“Tried and tested models still have their place, especially when you’ve got a Consumer Products program that leans on core pillars like toys and games,” says James. “What is interesting now is that we can test and learn. Instead of dropping products based on seasons, we’re now looking to where a rollout could be more relevant to a culture in one of our specific markets.”
One way Hasbro has shifted its strategy to accommodate the “highly unpredictable” nature of the market is to space out product releases in smaller waves instead of releasing the entire range in one large launch, she says. This provides the ability to establish contingencies if logistical issues occur in the company’s supply line.
“If the content is pushed back and we experience a delay at retail, or there are problems getting product on the water, it’s better to be flexible and have a softer, more phased-out launch instead of using a big, all-encompassing 360 strategy,” says James.
This is especially important for Hasbro’s “vault” brands such as Transformers, Peppa Pig, and My Little Pony, which exists in highly competitive toy categories, most notably preschool. To have a major rollout fall flat due to timing problems is not an option, so the company is expanding its arsenal of marketing and engagement tools, she says.’

[DELTAprime]

Some bad news today that impacts Hasbro as a whole and its financial state.

Hasbro is laying off around 1100 Employees. I can't find anyone saying people on the Transformers team have been laid off, but that doesn't necessarily mean we won't see Transformers staff leave.

https://gamerant.com/hasbro-layoffs-over-1000-people/

[High_Q]

Some bad news today that impacts Hasbro as a whole and its financial state.

Hasbro is laying off around 1100 Employees.
https://gamerant.com/hasbro-layoffs-over-1000-people/

That's about one sixth of their global workforce. That's a lot of people laid off.