Hasbro Inc. (formerly Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational toy and board game company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Connection to Magic: the Gathering[ | ]
The game and toy giant bought Wizards of the Coast in September 1999, for about US$325 million.[1] Wizards of the Coast was a subsidiary of Hasbro for 22 years and Magic: The Gathering became Hasbro's top-selling brand. In February 2021, Wizards of the Coast was reformed into one of three new divisions of Hasbro.[2]
In January 2022, Hasbro named Wizards COO Chris Cocks as its new CEO. He succeeded Hasbro's longtime CEO Brian Goldner, who died in October 2021.[3]
In February 2022, Alta Fox, a significant shareholder of Hasbro, urged the company to split off Wizards of the Coast to the benefit of both entities. They nominated five candidates, a.o. Jon Finkel, to the Board of Directors.[4][5] In April 2022, Hasbro rejected both the proposal and the nominees.[6][7]
On November 14, 2022, a Bank of America analyst said that Hasbro was “destroying the long-term value” of Magic: The Gathering by overprinting cards. The dire warning was accompanied by a double downgrade of Hasbro stock — from “buy” to “underperform” — as its valuation fell more than 5% before trading began on Monday. The analyst also called out the Magic 30th Anniversary Edition as particularly egregious.[8][9]
In 2023, Hasbro celebrated its 100-year anniversary with a limited edition Monopoly set. The custom illustrated game board commemorated the anniversary by highlighting 90 of Hasbro's most acclaimed brands including Transformers, Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, NERF and Magic: The Gathering.
That same year, Chris Cocks announced layoffs for 1,100 workers, cuts which came in addition to the roughly 800 jobs eliminated earlier that year. Cocks said the decision to reduce Hasbro’s workforce was made in light of market headwinds proving to be “stronger and more persistent than planned.”[10] Although Wizards of the Coast itself had had a very successful year 2023, it appeared to be the only department at Hasbro that was doing well and employees of Wizards were not spared.[11]
Hasbro Monopoly with planeswalker symbol playing piece
Hasbro Monopoly with Jace Beleren in Green
Theme park[ | ]
In December 2018, Hasbro announced plans for its first indoor water park and family resort, themed around some of its biggest toy and game franchises. The holiday destination was set to include themed hotel rooms, entertainment, and food and drink, as well as installations and experiences inspired by Magic: The Gathering, Monopoly, Hungry Hungry Hippos, My Little Pony, Mr. Potato Head, Candy Land and Nerf.[12] These plans were not realized.
Hasbro Pulse[ | ]
Hasbro Pulse is the current official Hasbro web store for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada (excluding Quebec). Aimed specifically at adult fans, Pulse's product selection consists mostly of collector-focused toylines. The Hasbro Pulse name was originally used for the company's collector-focused news website but was relaunched as its new web store in February 2019.
Hasbro Entertainment[ | ]
After the release of the 2023 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie, Hasbro sold eOne and launched a new division called Hasbro Entertainment, which unified the company’s film, television, animation, and digital media businesses.[13]
See also[ | ]
References[ | ]
- ↑ Hasbro To Acquire Wizards Of The Coast, Inc.. TMP (September 9, 1999).
- ↑ David McCoy (February 25, 2021). "Wizards of the Coast is Now a Division of Hasbro, Will Lead Digital Licensing Initiatives". Hipsters of the Coast.
- ↑ Hipsters of the Coast (January 5, 2022). "Hasbro has named Chris Cocks as its new CEO". Twitter.
- ↑ Free The Wizards
- ↑ Cedric Phillips (February 17, 2022). "Are you confused by the whole Free The Wizards thing today?". Twitter.
- ↑ Mollie Russell (April 5, 2022). "Hasbro refuses to spin-off D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast". Wargamer.com.
- ↑ Hasbro (April 25, 2022). "Hasbro Board of Directors Issues Letter to Shareholders". Hasbro.com.
- ↑ Senad Karaahmetovic (November 14, 2022). "'Magic: The Gathering' analysis prompts BofA to double downgrade Hasbro". Coolstuffinc.com.
- ↑ Charlie Hall (November 14, 2022). "Hasbro’s squeezing Magic: The Gathering players for too much money, big bank warns". Polygon.com.
- ↑ Samantha Delouya (December 11, 2023). "Hasbro laying off 1,100 employees". CNN.com.
- ↑ Thomas Wilde (December 12, 2023). "New round of layoffs at Hasbro impacts Wizards of the Coast — read CEO’s memo to staff". Geekwire.com.
- ↑ Hasbro is opening a water park and holiday resort with Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly themed attractions
- ↑ Joe Otterson (August 16, 2023). "Hasbro Launches Entertainment Division Led by eOne Executives Olivier Dumont, Zev Foreman, Gabriel Marano". Variety.com.