Nah, not all that surprising really. The amount of toys alone sold in the US (assorted toy lines, not just items) is jaw-dropping, and we only see a fraction of it here. I occasionally skip through a video or two on Youtube from someone like Laura Legends, going through an actual shop, and the shelves and stock are just endless. And she's Canadian, I believe, so what you get in the US is even ... morer

Someone at Hasbro clearly thinks that there's no market here for GI Joe. Dunno if they're right, but GI Joe certainly never impinged on my awareness as a child in the 80s.