Welcome to our next Q and A of the Day post! This column will be published daily, weekly, monthly, or just based on how many questions I get emailed – but no more than one a day. Feel free to send in your questions and I will put them in the queue. Click through for Q and A of the Day: Day 56. Topic: What's the deal with five points of articulation?
Q: Hi Paul - I know the 5POA has been discussed to death, but I was wondering about the business side of things. I have heard several times that this is a cost-cutting measure. I thought the point of cutting costs was to raise profit, yet the 5POA figures have a reduced price. So, why exactly is Hasbro making these? Thank you. Scott (Denver, CO)
A: Scott, your question is as brilliant as the lightbulb that went off in my head as I read it. Your point is well taken and makes complete sense. The whole issue of five points of articulation is and will remain one of Hasbro's most controversial topics of all time I feel. I give the line and my friends who like it a very hard time. But if I am completely honest with everyone, I think they would be nice supplements to the collector line if and only if Hasbro was able to decorate them with some grace. I would like to add another question to your question. If Hasbro is about reducing costs and raising profits, how can they expect to meet those goals when (A) retail has NO IDEA what to do with these budget figures (they're barely on any plan-o-gram anywhere, (B) they've completely cut out the collector market because of the lack of articulation and static poses and (C) are decorating these figures as well as elementary school students. I am not qualified to speak on the economics of the Star Wars brand, but I don't know anyone who is buying these figures (or at least happily), let alone in multiples for his or her collection. It seems that when one case arrives, it sells and then never gets replenished. I honestly don't believe these are selling like hotcakes. I don't think Hasbro is meeting quotas and the line just looks worse and worse thanks to sloppy paint jobs, so I don't know how this can be viewed as anything but a failure. Hasbro claims that the Mission Series and Saga Legends figures are doing OK, but I really wonder what that really means. I guess the jury is still out. My good friend Dan Curto says it best. If you're saying Mission Series and Saga Legends are "alright" or "just OK" and still buying them, then there is something very wrong.
