Pokemon
The highest-grossing game in the history of the media franchise came into the spotlight 25 years ago. Pokemon is a subsidiary company of Japan’s Nintendo, whose shares are trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Last year, the franchise cost $95 billion. Pokemon is primarily a video game, which is also the anime, manga, as well as a collectible card game anime, manga, as well as a collectible card game. Thanks to the incredible popularity of the trading card game, in the first quarter of 2021, global sales of card games surged by 136% to $805 billion. At the same time, the Pokemon board game became the global best seller.
Barbie
The first Barbie doll was released in the US in 1959. It is supposed to be created by Ruth Handler, a wife of the founder of the toy company, Mattel. This company has the right to sell the world’s most popular doll. Last year, Barbie was recognized as the best toy brand in the world. During the pandemic, sales of the dolls soared by 16%. Thanks to Barbie, in the previous year, Mattel earned $1.35 billion and became number 1 producer of toys in the US. In 2020, the company’s shares advanced by more than 55%. In the first quarter of 2021, Barbie lost the lead to Pokemon and took second place in the ranking of the best-selling toys in the world.
Star Wars
Hasbro owns executive rights to release toys based on the Star Wars media franchise. At the same time, Disney also receives income from the sales of figures of heroes from the popular universe. The toy manufacturer has signed a multi-year contract with Disney. Today, Hasbro is occupying one of the leading positions in the market. In the second quarter of 2021, the company’s revenue surged by 54% compared to the same period in the previous year. The better part of the revue was earned owing to the sales of fantasy-themed toys, including the ones from the Star Wars universe. NPD Group placed space characters in the third position of its rating.
LOL Surprise
Not so long ago, a surprise toy with a doll or its pets hidden inside appeared in the market. A private company, MGA Entertainment, launched a series of LOL Surprise in 2016. The producer decided to ask bloggers to promote its product instead of spending money on ordinary advertising. Bloggers were filming the unpacking of the toy, thus attracting millions of YouTube and Instagram users. Such a successful marketing approach led to a weekly 500% rise in sales. As a result, the LOL dolls repeatedly led various ratings of the most popular and best-selling toys. However, this time, they took only fourth place.
Marvel
Hasbro also releases figures of super heroes from the Marvel universe. The well-known producer of toys got the rights in 2006 after Marvel Entertainment suffered bankruptcy and was unable to manage Marvel Toys, its subsidiary company. However, when the pandemic broke out, sales of toys under the Marvel brand dropped. Now, when film production is getting back to normal, Hasbro's revenue from sales of toys based on Marvel films has grown by 33% to $689 million. The most noticeable rise was observed after the release of the film "Black Widow", as well as the TV series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier".
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