Careers at Hasbro
Mission
Hasbro develop and sells toys and games, and licenses a range of franchise brand content for various forms of digital media.
Business segments
Hasbro’s operations are organised into four business segments:
- US and Canada, which is engaged in the marketing and sale of the Company’s products in the US and Canada.
- International, which is engaged in the marketing and sale of products to retailers and wholesalers in most countries in Europe, Latin and South America, and the Asia Pacific region;
- Entertainment and Licensing, which comprises the Company’s consumer products licensing, digital gaming, television and movie entertainment operations; and
- Global Operations, which is engaged in the sourcing of production facilities for the Company’s toy and game products.
History
Hasbro was founded in 1923 by brothers Herman, Hillel and Henry Hassenfeld. The Company, then operating under the name Hassenfeld Brothers, began textile remnants, but later began selling pencils and school supplies.
It went on to produce its own pencil cases and pencils, and in 1940s established itself primarily as a toy maker, its first toys being doctor and nurse kits and modeling clay.
Hasbro has since expanded significantly, selling a range of toys that have become popular across multiple generations of children, including GI Joe and Mr Potato Head. The Company shortened its name to Hasbro in 1968, the same year that its sold a small stake to the public. Hasbro continues to trade its shares on the NASDAQ.
It is one of the most well-known and recognisable toy companies in the world, with a range of lucrative franchise brands and intellectual properties. It has a current market capitalisation of $10.34 billion.
Benefits at Hasbro
Business model of Hasbro
Customer Segments
Hasbro’s products are designed for consumption by general consumers, primarily children, who are able to purchase Hasbro products through various channels. While general consumers do make up a direct customer segment of the Company, its principal customers comprise a range of physical and online retailers and distributors, including wholesalers, distributors, chain stores, discount stores, drug stores, mail order houses, catalogue stores, department stores and other traditional retailers both large and small, as well as internet-based ‘e-tailers’.
According to its annual report, the Company makes the majority of its sales to large chain stores, distributors and wholesalers. During 2015, net revenues from derived from Hasbro’s top five customers accounted for approximately 39% of the Company’s consolidated global net revenues. This included revenue generated by sales to its three largest customers, Wal-Mart Stores, Toys “R” Us, and Target Corporation, which respectively represented 16%, 9% and 9% of net revenues for the year.
The US and Canada comprise Hasbro’s largest market, accounting for a little over half of the Company’s annual revenue. International sales, notably across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, are also significant.
Value Propositions
Hasbro provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- The quality and breadth of its product offerings, including an extensive range of toys, games, television programming, motion picture content, and digital gaming content;
- Its brand reputation and industry standing, being one of the largest and most well-known companies of its kind worldwide, associated with quality and original content and products;
- Its global sales and marketing reach, with operations across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, as well as in other jurisdictions; and
- Its high-profile and popular intellectual properties and franchises, including lucrative and popular titles such as Monopoly, My Little Pony, Nerf, Play-Doh and Transformers.
Channels
Hasbro operates website at www.hasbro.com through which customers are able to find information on the Company’s various business activities and services. The Company also operates an online store hosted at the www.hasbrotoyshop.com domain, where general consumers are able to purchase toys and games directly from the Company.
As noted above, the majority of Hasbro’s sales are made to distributors, retailers and resellers. These sales are made by the Company’s own in-house sales teams that are organised by region across the world. Hasbro’s own direct sales force is supported by a network of channel partners that sell the Company’s products in jurisdictions that the Company does not itself maintain a direct presence.
In addition to its physical products, Hasbro licenses its properties for and creates its own television programming, motion picture and digital gaming content, which is distributed through various broadcast networks, digital on-demand platforms such as Netflix and iTunes, and gaming networks.
Customer Relationships
Hasbro operates an online sales channel named the Hasbro Toy Shop, where consumers are able to make purchases on a self-service basis, with no interaction with sales representatives required.
Hasbro’s sales to distributors and retailers, which comprise the majority of the Company’s business, are made primarily through the Company’s own in-house sales unit. This allows the Company to establish long-standing relationships with larger customers, consulting with clients to provide a tailored service. This approach is apparent in its ongoing relationships with high-profile customers such as Walmart and Toys “R” Us.
Hasbro operates a Consumer Care portal on its website, through which consumers are able to find a range of online resources, including FAQs, guides and recall information, instructions and safety information. They are also able to interact with customer support staff through an online chat service, email, and telephone assistance services.
Customers and consumers are also able to stay up to date with developments at Hasbro as well as across the industry more broadly by following the Company’s Newsroom portal – which includes press releases and articles, media events and email alerts. Additionally, customer can interact with Hasbro directly through its accounts with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Key Activities
Hasbro is a global toy and games company.
It operates through four business segments: the US and Canada segment, which is engaged in the marketing and sale of the Company’s numerous products across the US and Canada; the International segment, which is responsible for marketing and sales to retailers and distributors across international markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America; the Entertainment and Licensing segment, which comprises the Company’s consumer products licensing, digital gaming, television and movie entertainment operations; and the Global Operations segment, which sources the production of the Company's toy and game products.
Hasbro additionally provides entertainment offerings, such as original television programming and motion pictures, and other digital media products.
Key Partners
Hasbro partners with a range of companies worldwide, finding various different means of monetising its brand franchises and intellectual properties. Its partners primarily comprise technology companies, electronics producers, media and digital publishing agencies, programming and motion picture studios and software and application developers.
In recent years, the Company has launched tie-ups with partnerships with Panini to create a sticker collection for its My Little Pony content, with Kabam to create a transformers mobile game, with Shapeways to create Hasbro franchise-inspired fan art, with Xiaomi to produce Transformers-branded tablets, and with Paramount to create original content based on the Company’s franchise properties. In addition to this, Hasbro has a range of brand partners for which it produces branded toys and merchandise. This includes brands such as Marvel, Star Wars, Jurassic World and Sesame Street.
Hasbro also has a number of manufacturing and channel partners that assist in the production and distribution of its physical products. Notably, in 2015 all of the Company’s products were manufactured in third party facilities in Asia, primarily China, as well as in two located in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts and Waterford, Ireland.
Additionally, Hasbro has a number of social corporate responsibility partners, including GenerationOn, Toys for Tots, Operation Smile, Give Kids the World, and SOS Children’s Villages.
Key Resources
Hasbro’s key resources are its intellectual properties and franchise brands, its sales and distribution networks, its various partnerships, its manufacturing and production networks, its warehousing and logistics chain, and its personnel.
Hasbro protects its products and intellectual properties in a number of jurisdictions, through registered trademarks, copyrights and patents. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified 17 patent applications filed in Hasbro’s name, including patent applications entitled ‘Projectile launcher with rotatable clip connector’, ‘Multidimensional alignment spacing for toy building elements, and ‘Device and method for an electronic tag game’.
Cost Structure
Hasbro incurs costs in relation to its product development activities, the sale and distribution of its various products, fees relating to the manufacturing and production of its products by third parties, the storage and transportation of its products, the creation of original programming content, and the retention of its personnel.
At 27th December 2015 Hasbro employed around 5,000 members of staff worldwide, all of whom represent costs in the form of salaries and benefits. Hasbro also operates a network of offices and facilities across its operating jurisdictions, accruing costs in the form of rental and utility fees.
Revenue Streams
Hasbro generates revenue through the production and sale of various physical products, such as toys and games, and the sale of media content and licensing of its brands. The Company organises its offerings into the following categories:
- Boys, including revenue generated from the sale of products and offerings based on its franchise brands targeted at boys, including Nerf and Transformers, and products related to partner brands for boys such as Marvel and Star Wars;
- Games, comprising revenue generated from the sale of the Company’s games face-to-face, board, off-the-board, digital, card, electronic, trading card, and role playing games;
- Girls, including revenue generated from the sale of products and offerings based on the Company’s franchise brands aimed at girls, including My Little Pony, Furby and Littlest Pet Shop; and
- Preschool, comprising revenue generated from the sale of the Company’s products aimed at preschool age children.
In 2015 Hasbro generated $4.45 billion in annual net revenue, up on the $4.28 billion recorded in 2014. Of this revenue, the Boys product category was the largest revenue generator, accounting for $1.18 billion of the Company’s total net revenue for the year. Games accounted for $1.28 billion, while Girls and Preschool accounted for $798.24 million and $596.82 million respectively.
Our team
info: Goldner has served as Hasbro’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer since 2008. In addition to his role as a member of Hasbro's Board of Directors, Goldner serves on the board of The Miriam Hospital and The Rhode Island Hospital, and is a member of the Producers Guild of America. Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000, and has held a number of leadership roles at the Company, including a spell as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Hasbro, Goldner held a number of management positions including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Bandai America, Worldwide Director in Charge of the Los Angeles office of J. Walter Thompson, and Vice President and Account Director in the Chicago office of Leo Burnett Advertising. Goldner is a graduate of Dartmouth College and of the Executive Education Program at the Amos Tuck School.
info: Thomas has served as Hasbro’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2009, leading the Company’s global corporate financial operations and investor relations. Thomas also serves as a director of SeaWorld Entertainment, and of several local, not-for-profit groups in Rhode Island. Thomas first joined Hasbro in 1998 as part of its Finance Department, where she held a number of roles culminating in a spell as Corporate Controller. Prior to joining Hasbro she held Assurance positions at KPMG from 1986, both in the US and in the UK. Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree from Providence College, and is a chartered public accountant.
info: Billing has served as Hasbro's Executive Vice President and Chief Global Operations and Business Development Officer for a number of years, prior to which he served as the company’s Chief Development Officer, leading global toy and game product development. Billing first joined Hasbro in 1988 as Group Director of Sales and Marketing, for its UK subsidiary. He later transferred to the US, where he held a number of senior-level positions, managing many of the company's franchise brands. Billing began his career at Unilever in the UK, later joining Kenner Products, where he held roles in both Europe and the US. Billing holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Southampton.