Hello, Robert. The latest on our toy story: my guess is that
Playmates will have a fairly respectable showing for 1996.
They sold out "Space Jam" for the holidays. If Star Trek
and the rest of their major lines just held their own,
we should be looking at a reasonably profitable final
half to last year. In 1995, Playmates was dragged down
by the poor performance of a French partner, Ideal Loisirs,
in which Playmates held a 37.5% stake. Indeed, Playmates
probably would have reported a profit last year had it
not been for Ideal's losses. Happily, Playmates has since
divested itself of Ideal, and that cloud is dispersed.
Of course, Toy Fair is coming up for 10 Feb to 17 Feb in
NYC. There, Playmates will debut its latest offerings. The
company has the toy license for the upcoming Zorro movie
and acquired the World Wrestling Federation toy license
previously held by Jakk's Toys. The word is Playmates
intends to design a very innovative product line around
this fairly popular line. In 1997, we have a new Turtles IV
movie to premier around Christmas. There will be a Haim
Saban (of Power Ranger fame) TMNT TV series upcoming,
which should help what is a major marketing push to
revivify the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise and
introduce it to a whole new generation of children who
missed the first wave beginning in 1988. Playmates' "Comfy
Couch" toys are just hitting the toy shops. I have seen
the first offerings and they are quite good. "Comfy Couch"
is a Canadian pre-school TV show which is now seen on PBS-
TV in the States. "Comfy Couch" has, reportedly, enjoyed
immense popularity within Canada and has eclipsed "Sesame
Street" in viewership there. Certainly, we shall know more
about Playmates toy offerings for 1997 during Toy Fair.
As to their game videos, the word is that the results for
1996 probably will not match high expectations. That being
said, Playmates has publishing rights to Shiny Entertainment's
eagerly awaited(Feb 1997) game video, "MDK". David Perry,
creator of Earthworm Jim, is the resident genius at Shiny and
"MDK"is his trailblazing brainchild. "Gamefan Magazine" did
a sneak-peek cover piece on "MDK" in their latest issue. Suffice,
to say, "Gamefan" reviewers seemed to think it was the greatest
thing to hit the market since sliced bread.
Of course, the wild card is the George Lucas "Star Wars"
toy license for the new trilogy of films coming up probably
for 1998 and beyond. All the big boys are foaming at the mouth
to obtain this Holy Grail of toy licenses worth hundreds of
millions of dollars to the licensee and have been actively
soliciting Mr. Lucas for the rights. They are Mattel, Hasbro,
Galoob, Trendmaster, and Playmates. The decision will come
down from the mountain, literally. Mr. Lucas lives on his own
mountain overlooking San Francisco Bay) in about two months.
Were I to be part of the Playmates presentation to the great
one, I would point to Playmates unimpeachable reputation for
quality and innovation. One needs only look at Playmates' Star
Trek line to witness the full capabilities of a nimble, highly creative company which has always adhered to its prime directive: giving the customer the best quality toy for the lowest price
with no compromise on innovation or creativity. Everyone has
seen Hasbro-Kenner's work on Star Wars (the original licensee).
Their offerings are fair to middling. Nothing really atrocious,
but nothing great or pioneering, either. I would ask Mr. Lucas
this simple question: You have pledged to your audience that
the new Star Wars trilogy will be something far and above your previous ground breaking work on the original Star Wars series.
The fans expect it, and there is little chance they will be disappointed. Why not go with a company whose toys will
also exceed all that has done before with this license?
Hasbro-Kenner is akin to the old Chrysler Corporation,
which merely repackaged the same stale Dodge Dart and Plymouth
Valiant and their ancient technology in new skins, year after
year after year. The public was not amused. Mr. Lucas, "put
new wine in new skins." If you want repaints of old body parts, Hasbro-Kenner is your company. If you wish a fresh, bold,
pioneering approach with attention to detail, quality, and
customer satisfaction- there is only one toy company that
has the talent and resources to materialize that wish. That
company is Playmates Toys.
Alas, it's doubtful I have Mr. Lucas' ear on this subject.
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