I'm just going to post this here instead of starting a new thread for such a tiny bit of info, since it's related to BF, hope that's okay.

Hasbro's latest earnings call mentions "We saw positive early results in Q1 from LITTLEST PET SHOP, now manufactured and distributed by Basic Fun." No word of MLP in the entire transcript. Bit strange, since retro G1 has been going for 5(?) years now. They did say that "Hasbro is a Games, IP and Toy Company in that order"

It's as if MLP doesn't exist anymore :/

I like the styling head! The sculpt is really nice; cute muzzle.

This better be of the same size as those large barbie styling heads though, otherwise it misses the point of just going for a head a bit.

But on balance, its success is something that MLP is going to struggle to overcome or match. I actually did wonder how Hasbro would continue after the FIM phenomenon, because whatever they released wouldn't be able to match up to it.

On top of that, FIM's success hasn't completely waned yet; merch continues to come out to this day! MLP Merch just posted a nice overview of new stuff, and frankly, it looks better than what's on that shelf.

I think that as long as third parties are willing to pay the liscensing fees, we will see FIM merch. It's just part of the overal MLP brand, like G1 is to this day. Maybe Hasbro sees whatever gen is current as just a branch of a larger tree, and not as the main focus anymore? It's all just a bit messy IMO.

Definitely Petites!

That would be a hit today i'm sure; perfect blind bag sized, and the small playsets wouldn't break the bank :-)


Dream Beauties was a nice concept, but the execution was lacking. The hard plastic is no fun, and the wings were just tacked on.

I kind of hope Hasbro hands off the next gen of MLP to them as well.

Me too. If Hasbro is unwilling to up their game when it comes to quality and design then I do want them to pivot to just owning and (re)creating the IP and licensing it out to other companies, like they seem to have in mind.

Kind of like how Disney handles its IP's, you know. Sure, Disney makes some of its own toys, but most of what's out there is created by licensees and they are all giving it a bit of their own spin. Then again, it could become a jumbled mess as well?

I think it is safe to say that it did.

Two ways to tell:
1.   Just look at the poor presence on store shelves.
2.   All the brands that were successful (i.e. made Hasbro a lot of money or at least met their expectations) get mentioned in their financial reports. MLP was among those brands during the G4 reign, but not one peep of the brand since G5 (minus the first report following the release of the G5 movie, I believe. Not sure though).

And I also disagree that G5 is lame (nobody said this exactly, but the vibe is there).

Oh, I think very very similar words have been used before, lol, it's not just a vibe

But we need to make a distinction between the quality of the toyline and the entertainment side of it. As a toyline, MLP has become a real joke. It doesn't even have its own section anymore in a lot of stores; the few mlp products they have are thrown together with a lot of other small brand creatures. Space filler, if you will.

And while G1 - G3 weren't geared towards adults, they were of such a high level that they transcended the core market (kids). The primary focus was on the collectibility of it, which continues to have a loyal fanbase even to this day.

For a company with a new philosophy of "Fewer brands but Bigger and Better", they botched MLP completely.

I also refuse to accept the general excuse that kids don't play with toys anymore and are opting for gaming, online experiences, etc., so companies are inclined to put less effort in their products.
If that was the case, all toy companies would be suffering like Hasbro is. But there are plenty of brands who are doing extremely well, primarily because they keep their focus on the collectibility aspect.

Hasbro simply lost touch with the market, first and foremost.

Edit: I knew I forgot something. This is a headline from CNBC, not so long ago: Adults are buying toys for themselves, and it’s the biggest source of growth for the industry

Hasbro's financial statements have been released. Needless to say it's bad: Q4 operating loss of $1.2 billion (in comparison: Mattel reported net sales of $1.6 billion for Q4).

While they go over some brands that performed well - like Transformers, Monopoly, Magic, Furby - there isn't a single word about MLP.

Overall, they're coming off a year of losses and seem to remain focused on "monetizing Hasbro IP in an asset-light structure", meaning less product creation by Hasbro itself and more focused on monetizing their brands through third parties (merch, I assume?).

"We're exiting 2023 with our retail inventory down around 20%. While we think Hasbro's retail inventory is in a healthy position, across the industry a lot of older discounted inventory still remains in the market." Basically this means their stuff is collecting dust on the shelves and stores' warehouses.

Whatever money MLP brings in, it must be peanuts.