Is it bad that companies like Funrise an Funko are no longer licensed by Hasbro?

[ManaMinori 4,143]

With Hasbro getting into the business of making their own plushies and GoH figures, they're dropping third party company licensing- Aurora, 4DE, Diamond Select, Funrise, Funko...All have seen the chopping block. Problem is, unlike the sweet and simple standing pony molds from Funko, GoH molds may be too dramatically posed, and take up more shelf space than a full sized Funko figure. On the other hoof, Hasbro's homemade plushies lack the quality of Funrise. (Which isn't that great, but still better than Hasbro's)

Not to mention that by pulling licenses from these third party companies leaves less merch being released at once, less merch in general, and less options, and that is never a good thing. But how do others feel?

Edited February 21, 2017 by Nightmare Muffin

[Jeric 46,834]

I have to agree. Hasbro stopping licensing altogether would be a poor business decisiom in general. Licenses are good for service niche markets and tastes. It also shields Hasbro by earning revenue without tying up capital.

[chaosprincess 1,064]

I say its a bad decision the quality will go down, the amount of merchandise that is made and sent out will drop etc in the end they will be losing money more then they gain due to they use cheap fabric and plastic and they won't be able to produce merchandise as quickly and efficiently back when generation 1-3 was made Hasbro they took more care into the cutie marks , eyes etc , but it seems with generation 4 it just went down they are only out for the money which of course any big business will be out for the money Hasbro is no different, but I find generation 4 merchandise to be quite boring especially the figures since they all pretty much have the same pose including the big ones.

Edited February 21, 2017 by chaosprincess

[Fhaolan 4,468]

This is a strange thing. Hasbro has spent the last twenty years divesting themselves of any production capability of their own and moving towards being a purely IP licensing company. They only have one or two factories of their own, and those are geared to just doing packaging now as I understand it. This is a really serious reversal of that, and honestly I don't think it's going to go well for them. They got rid of all their manufacturing experts, it's going to take a lot to hire-up to replace them.

[Ganondorf8 11,117]

This could end up being a mistake down the road for Hasbro that would be difficult for them to reverse. Then again, they may have planned this out for quite some time and are prepared for any potential consequences. Either way, this will leave people upset as many options have now become fewer.

[cmarston1 5,951]

I am about disappointed that they lost Funko because those figures they had were pretty awesome and some of the best FIM merchandise.

[Olsen1987 133]

nah, not really.
i think the new toys from Hasbro has much higher quality than the funko figures.
atleast hasbro makes a diversity in positures, unlike funko vinyls which all has the same pose.
sure, the new ones may take up more space, more quality wise, they are good enough.

[Rose Tea Written 60]

I love the G4 merch, both ones created by companies like Funko and the Hasbro ones. I was a bit saddened by hearing that Funko wasn't making MLP toys anymore, because I love the vinyl figures (and I have a bunch of them), as well as the Mystery Minis. I thought it was unfortunate that Funrise qut making the plushies, too, because I really do like them even with their weird spaghetti hair.

 

I do really like the stuff Hasbro is coming out with, however. It may not be the highest quality stuff in the entire universe, but that doesn't bother me. I still like it. I'm really liking some of the GoH stuff, I love the new brushable design, and my new five dollar Fluttershy plushie is still adorable. I'm looking forward to the new stuff that's coming out from Hasbro too.

[ManaMinori 4,143]

This could end up being a mistake down the road for Hasbro that would be difficult for them to reverse. Then again, they may have planned this out for quite some time and are prepared for any potential consequences. Either way, this will leave people upset as many options have now become fewer.

I find it funny that in an interview, one of their marketing execs gave the very reasons for other licensing advantages.

 

Another key aspect to the overall licensing strategy, according to Simon Waters, senior vice president, global brand licensing and publishing, Hasbro, is the strength of its licensee partnerships.

"We created the style guide, and we worked very hard to ensure that all the assets we created either spoke to the key themes or we incorporated licensees into the start of the process, so we were able to have a much better and more integrated product that really spoke to the overall franchise rather than having it look odd or be out of place," says Waters.

Waters emphasizes how important the partnerships with licensees are that have enhanced not only the product design, but placement at retail as well.

 

"There are three key words for licensees–innovation, responsiveness and collaboration," says Waters. "We always challenge ourselves to innovate, to be as responsive as possible to our partners and sales force and to collaborate on the business plan. It's a two way street.

"There is a mutual respect with our partners," Waters adds. "They are our sales and marketing force at retail and have helped us to have greater product integrity and do things faster and quicker–we go to retail with one voice."

 

Yet Hasbro then does stunts like this....

[Steve Piranha 28,720]

It's strange to make a decision like this at this point . Maybe ponies have suffered a drop in sales and they no longer see as marketable to grant licenses   . Man, why now, just when I could afford to buy some horses on my own 

[Nightshroud 331]

Hasbro needs the money g.i joe died out except in comics