jasont
Mid-Carder
Joined on: May 4, 2020 4:03:41 GMT -5
Posts: 102
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Post by jasont on Sept 30, 2023 2:04:17 GMT -5
Mattel still currently has around $2.33b of debt, as reported in June 2023, down from $2.58b, one year before. However, it does have $299.9m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about $2.03b. I think execs will be looking at lines that aren’t Barbie or Hot Wheels and cutting down . Retros and Coliseum in particular, are my favourite lines but they don’t appear to be selling that well on Mattel Creations. Wave 1 of CC is still for sale! I feel we’re on the cusp of many changes for this line and probably many more cuts just like WWE are going through at the moment.
I wouldn’t mind if they reduced the number of elite figures in each wave to 4 with no chase - same with Legends. 4, with no chase. I think it’s becoming a bit saturated anyway. Also reduce Ultimates to 2 per wave again so they feel more special again.
I’m probably in the minority here but what are your thoughts?
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Post by boz1515 on Sept 30, 2023 4:01:54 GMT -5
If they could get figures out in the right quantities that people wanted they'd be doing a lot better. For instance, Gunther has been the IC champion for what, 15-16 months? Never seem him at retail. No one will buy the 15 Big E basics hanging at my Walmart.
Figure out a way to get these guys on the pegs:
LA Knight
Solo Sikoa
Dominic Mysterio
Gunther
Cody Rhodes
Damien Priest
Too many figures that people won't buy hanging around forever.
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Post by jumpinjefffarmer on Sept 30, 2023 6:47:23 GMT -5
As great as it is (for some people) to have nxt guys in the main lines, i feel this has been a mistake. Iv been a wrestling fan all my life, but i never got into nxt. I go into my local smyths and i honestly dont recognise half of the figures. Iyo sky/santos escobar?/angel garza...they all ended up on heavily reduced and they still dont sell. I think if mattel were wise they would scrap all nxt talent until they have been proven on the main roster. Stick to what works
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Post by boz1515 on Sept 30, 2023 7:12:40 GMT -5
As great as it is (for some people) to have nxt guys in the main lines, i feel this has been a mistake. Iv been a wrestling fan all my life, but i never got into nxt. I go into my local smyths and i honestly dont recognise half of the figures. Iyo sky/santos escobar?/angel garza...they all ended up on heavily reduced and they still dont sell. I think if mattel were wise they would scrap all nxt talent until they have been proven on the main roster. Stick to what works Yep, they clog the pegs at Walmart (and often times Target as well). Nash Carter, Jake Atlas, Scarlett, Raquel (Gonzalez) Rodriguez, etc. are going no where at my local store. The NXT figures are the ones that should be available online. I'm under the assumption that kids don't watch NXT in large part. Mattel would sell more if these weren't hanging around forever. |
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Post by stc13 on Sept 30, 2023 7:21:11 GMT -5
And 3 years ago they were carrying 3.25B in debt with half as much cash. There's no reason to think there will be any imminent changes to how they're doing business.
They've stretched the WWE offerings to what definitely seems like a record number of products. They're pushing out a ton of Elites and Ultimates, plus store exclusives of those products, plus store exclusive multi-packs, plus Mattel Creations offerings. Something was bound to give, and sustaining that level of product never seemed likely. Sublines have always come and gone.
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Post by kirk815 on Sept 30, 2023 9:20:08 GMT -5
Mattel still currently has around $2.33b of debt, as reported in June 2023, down from $2.58b, one year before. However, it does have $299.9m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about $2.03b. I think execs will be looking at lines that aren’t Barbie or Hot Wheels and cutting down . Retros and Coliseum in particular, are my favourite lines but they don’t appear to be selling that well on Mattel Creations. Wave 1 of CC is still for sale! I feel we’re on the cusp of many changes for this line and probably many more cuts just like WWE are going through at the moment. I wouldn’t mind if they reduced the number of elite figures in each wave to 4 with no chase - same with Legends. 4, with no chase. I think it’s becoming a bit saturated anyway. Also reduce Ultimates to 2 per wave again so they feel more special again. I’m probably in the minority here but what are your thoughts? Mattel has access to all of the sales data so they will make their business decisions based off of that. If there are lines that aren't doing well, then they will cut them or find another outlet to live on. It's possible that retros and CC eventually end, but it seems like Mattel Creations has lower expectations than traditional retailers (and they are cutting the middle man/retailers out so that probably allows them to do so). Suggestions of cutting elites down to 4, Ultimates down to 2, and getting rid of Chase figures sounds more like a wish from collectors that are overwhelmed trying to collect everything or might not be able to keep up financially (which I totally understand). They wouldn't have just increased Ultimates if it didn't make sense financially so I don't think reducing two of their popular lines Ultimates/elites is going to help their debt (probably will make it worse). Also, if you cut elites down to 4, then the elite budget gets cut and has to be spread against 4 figures instead of 6/7 (Chase). That's going to hurt the line more since that means less accessories and quality (soft goods, belts, etc.). Same for Ultimates - I'm not sure if we would be getting Asuka's robe if it was still only 2 figures. |
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Post by Chip on Sept 30, 2023 9:26:27 GMT -5
wait you mean flooding every walmart with 57 roman reigns figures because walmart requests "top guys at all times" isn't the best way to make money?
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Post by venomeratt on Sept 30, 2023 9:40:35 GMT -5
wait you mean flooding every walmart with 57 roman reigns figures because walmart requests "top guys at all times" isn't the best way to make money? On the other hand appeasing the company who is buying your wholesale product to sell for profit in the first place, as a main distributer, is probably a good idea in the long run. Its kind of a catch 22. |
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Post by stc13 on Sept 30, 2023 9:49:29 GMT -5
wait you mean flooding every walmart with 57 roman reigns figures because walmart requests "top guys at all times" isn't the best way to make money? On the other hand appeasing the company who is buying your wholesale product to sell for profit in the first place, as a main distributer, is probably a good idea in the long run. Its kind of a catch 22. And Top Picks was something their major buyers asked for. Target and Walmart want Roman, Cody, The Rock, and John Cena on the pegs at all times. As much as hardcore collectors hate it, they're not going to tell their largest buyers no on something like that. |
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kinnikuman
Main Eventer
Joined on: Feb 6, 2020 21:42:25 GMT -5
Posts: 4,674
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Post by kinnikuman on Sept 30, 2023 9:49:37 GMT -5
It's not as big of a deal as it sounds. Hasbro is over 3b in debt. But as I said in another thread, Barbie, Hot Wheels, and MOTU probably get more budget than WWE. We, as wrasslin fans, need to be ok with that and understand that Mattel does not mean WWE. WWE is just a small blip in Mattel. So while you may see a dip in quality here and there as we have recently, nothing major is going to change. Because, again ... Mattel is NOT just WWE.
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Post by stc13 on Sept 30, 2023 9:54:02 GMT -5
Mattel still currently has around $2.33b of debt, as reported in June 2023, down from $2.58b, one year before. However, it does have $299.9m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about $2.03b. I think execs will be looking at lines that aren’t Barbie or Hot Wheels and cutting down . Retros and Coliseum in particular, are my favourite lines but they don’t appear to be selling that well on Mattel Creations. Wave 1 of CC is still for sale! I feel we’re on the cusp of many changes for this line and probably many more cuts just like WWE are going through at the moment. I wouldn’t mind if they reduced the number of elite figures in each wave to 4 with no chase - same with Legends. 4, with no chase. I think it’s becoming a bit saturated anyway. Also reduce Ultimates to 2 per wave again so they feel more special again. I’m probably in the minority here but what are your thoughts? Mattel has access to all of the sales data so they will make their business decisions based off of that. If there are lines that aren't doing well, then they will cut them or find another outlet to live on. It's possible that retros and CC eventually end, but it seems like Mattel Creations has lower expectations than traditional retailers (and they are cutting the middle man/retailers out so that probably allows them to do so). Suggestions of cutting elites down to 4, Ultimates down to 2, and getting rid of Chase figures sounds more like a wish from collectors that are overwhelmed trying to collect everything or might not be able to keep up financially (which I totally understand). They wouldn't have just increased Ultimates if it didn't make sense financially so I don't think reducing two of their popular lines Ultimates/elites is going to help their debt (probably will make it worse). Also, if you cut elites down to 4, then the elite budget gets cut and has to be spread against 4 figures instead of 6/7 (Chase). That's going to hurt the line more since that means less accessories and quality (soft goods, belts, etc.). Same for Ultimates - I'm not sure if we would be getting Asuka's robe if it was still only 2 figures. It's also worth noting that the Creations items are pure profit for Mattel. I think the markup is usually around 100% on toys. So I'd imagine that Mattel is probably ok with a slower sell-through rate if it means a much larger chunk of the profits. WWE seems to be doing great numbers right now, and overall this is probably the healthiest the line has been at retail in ages. Remember when the store exclusive lines were getting cancelled very time you blinked an eye? I get people wanting more of what they like and less of what they don't, and there have been some glaring design issues lately. But for a line that is 13 years in, it's honestly impressive how well it's doing and their ability to keep the product relatively fresh for collectors across all ages and eras. |
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Post by Crane on Sept 30, 2023 10:39:02 GMT -5
I think CC should have been/should be made to order like the UE Cody and Logan Paul figures. They're clearly not as sought-after as they thought they would be
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Post by Crossfit Jesus on Sept 30, 2023 11:05:44 GMT -5
Mattel is done for
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Post by gentlemanjohnny on Sept 30, 2023 14:14:01 GMT -5
As great as it is (for some people) to have nxt guys in the main lines, i feel this has been a mistake. Iv been a wrestling fan all my life, but i never got into nxt. I go into my local smyths and i honestly dont recognise half of the figures. Iyo sky/santos escobar?/angel garza...they all ended up on heavily reduced and they still dont sell. I think if mattel were wise they would scrap all nxt talent until they have been proven on the main roster. Stick to what works Every time I enter the toy aisle it’s guys I’ve never heard of. This is what happens when a mark decides who goes in the lines. Mattel will live forever, but it would be great if they put actual stars on shelves. Get Macho Man back. His corpse has more life in it than 99.9% of people in the biz today. |
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Post by BadGirlRyleigh on Sept 30, 2023 15:04:40 GMT -5
Mainline elites have been barely getting to retail since like series 93, can’t make money if you can’t sell anything
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Post by BadGirlRyleigh on Sept 30, 2023 15:05:34 GMT -5
If they’re done for then the whole industry is too |
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stormbreaker
Superstar
Joined on: Jul 23, 2021 16:34:10 GMT -5
Posts: 720
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Post by stormbreaker on Sept 30, 2023 15:11:45 GMT -5
A whole calendar year made up solely of Hogan figures and no one else will guarantee them getting out of debt… BROTHER!  |
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Post by CM Poor on Sept 30, 2023 15:35:05 GMT -5
Every major corporation carries stupid amounts of debt.
Mattel still has a BB+ rating with a positive long term outlook rating.
Hasbro, by comparison, carries a BBB- with a stable long term outlook rating.
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Post by AxelSmackdown on Sept 30, 2023 15:56:06 GMT -5
wait you mean flooding every walmart with 57 roman reigns figures because walmart requests "top guys at all times" isn't the best way to make money? the amount of roman figures recently is too damn high! |
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gwildor
Superstar
Joined on: Apr 11, 2023 20:12:24 GMT -5
Posts: 539
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Post by gwildor on Sept 30, 2023 16:07:51 GMT -5
If that was the issue Mattel wouldn’t be creating new lines such as Monday night wars with elites and Ultimates along with Legends Ultimates.
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I dont know good luck 
