Hasbro Announces Partnership With Quidd To Fight Sales Slump
Zacks Investment Research | May 30, 2018 09:35PM ET
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) , like most other traditional toymakers, is plagued by lower consumer demand and sales crunch. The company is relying on strategic partnerships to revive its sales.
To this end, the company announced its partnership with Quidd, Inc., one of the foremost platforms for buying, trading and using finest digital goods. Teaming up with Quidd, Hasbro plans to sell its limited-edition digital stickers, trading cards and toys from 40 of its brands. Displayed and traded through Quidd’s free mobile app, this will be a chance for Hasbro to expand its product portfolio to a larger number of customers.
Why Partnerships are the Need of the Hour?
The U.S. toy industry was dealt a death blow when the country’s largest independent toy seller, Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy last September. To add a nail in the coffin, Toys “R” US also confirmed that it is liquidating its entire U.S. operation, leaving toymakers like Hasbro, Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) and JAKK Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) in a soup, as these used to derive a considerable portion of revenues from sales to Toys "R" Us. Although retailers like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) came to the rescue of these toymakers, the companies currently don’t have shelf spaces as big as Toys “R” Us, which remains a concern.
Meanwhile, Hasbro has been trying to curb its dependence on Toys “R” Us since the latter’s Chapter 11 filing. It has been testing waters with new distribution methods, the development of digital play components and exploration of ventures with other industries. The company has diverse retail channels such as drugstores and dollar chains, and big mass market retail. It also has a robust online strategy in place that includes interactive content and virtual immersive experiences. It has a five-year agreement with Paramount to enhance storytelling and content capabilities. The company also invested in Boulder Media, its animation studio, and cultivated its digital capacities to drive sales.
The recent partnership with Quidd further underscores Hasbro’s strategy of extending its partnerships and focusing on greater distribution of its iconic products to drive incremental sales. As it is, Quidd’s digital goods ledger and catalog is the largest in the world, which sold 1.75 billion serialized items since its launch in 2015.
Our Take
Notably, Hasbro has been one of the early movers to gauge the impact of Toys “R” Us bankruptcy amid its peers. Hasbro has been adapting rapidly to the changing market conditions and planning counter strategies. However, it is yet to be seen if the company’s efforts to turnaround through collaborations and product innovation could shore up its flagging fortunes.
Meanwhile, shares of the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company have underperformed the broader Zacks Investment Research
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.