Unrelated to Transformers but Mattel have filed a new trademark application for Dino Riders:

1. DINO RIDERS

The trademark application follows recent rumours that a live-action film is in the works for the 1980s franchise.

The Australian Associated Press have released an article stating that toy sales for the year 2015-2016 are forecast to be the strongest in a decade. According to research performed by the NPD Group the US toy market has seen a 6.2% growth on the previous year with sales up to $19.9 billion (US). In 2014 toy sales rose by 4%.

The NPD Group report that the growth is being fuelled by increasing popularity of collectibles, toys based on Hollywood Blockbusters, and better technology which provides a more interactive experience for children.  It comes as great news to everyone in the toy industry as sales have slowed and sometimes been in decline over the last decade as children have become more interested in technology rather than toys.

"The selection is much greater than in the past," said Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of TTPM, an online toy review site. "Technology is much better in the toy aisle, and it's really inspiring young kids to play but also bringing older kids to things like radio control and role play items."

Surging demand for all things "Frozen" helped the toy industry achieve a rare gain in 2014. Toys related to the blockbuster about a princess who sets off to find her sister with icy powers were popular. In fact, Frozen was the top toy brand in 2014, reaching $US531 million in sales, according to NPD.

And the Hollywood infatuation is expected to continue with the release of the Star Wars movie on December 18: Hundreds of products, from puzzles to action figures related to Star Wars, are expected to exceed Frozen's success.

Marty Brochstein, who's with the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association, says the LightSaber from Hasbro, which features motion sensor-controlled sound effects, already are on backorder. He says Star Wars appeals to both kids and adults.

"It's multi-generational," Brochstein says.

Hasbro, the nation's second largest toy company, reported a jump in second-quarter profit last month, helped by toys related to "Star Wars."

Hasbro has the major merchandising licensing rights to make Star Wars toys from now until 2020. It's also teaming up with Walt Disney Co's consumer products division to make Frozen dolls in 2016. That deal froze out Mattel, which sells the dolls based on Frozen characters.

Toys R Us' new CEO David Brandon says the retailer is placing big bets this holiday season on brands like Star Wars to help boost sluggish US sales.

"It will be very interesting to see at the end of the holiday season where the growth comes from. And how much growth there is," Brandon says.

Toy companies are pushing remote controlled cars and droids controlled by smartphones. And robotic creatures are becoming more life-like with voice recognition features.

Hasbro's StarLily My Magical Unicorn, for example, responds to voice and touch with more than 100 sound and motion combinations. Mattel also is hoping technology will help it reverse years of slumping sales.

"You want to make sure that you give them enough that they're going to want to walk away from their iPads and phones," said Mattel's Executive Vice President Geoff Walker.

Mattel's new Barbie features speech recognition and can have a two-way conversation with girls. And its Fisher-Price brand has Smart Bear, an interactive plush bear marketed as having the brains of a computer without the screen - and is linked to a smartphone app. Fisher-Price also is pushing a robotic dinosaur.

Credit to Yahoo! News and AAP for the story.

After Mattel posted an 11% drop in it's sales figures on Wall Street yesterday Hasbro's shares also dropped (even though they haddn't posted any figures).

Seeking Alpha reports

Everyone knows or knows someone who knows a “Debbie Downer.” That acquaintance or friend that just won’t let you have a good time. They always seem to pull the good times down and ruin the party for the rest of us.

You can find Debbie Downers in the stock market as well. Today’s example is Mattel (NYSE: MAT). After it reported lower earnings and an 11% drop in sales, it dragged Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) down with it.

The reasoning behind most of these moves is that the pressures hurting one company in a sector should be impacting the competition as well.

But that isn’t always the case.

We can find numerous examples of companies in the same industry with the same pressures that deal with those challenges differently. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) was able to put up considerable numbers over the past year as its competition suffered greatly. It did this by hedging its oil costs correctly.

Maybe Hasbro hasn’t done the exact same thing as Mattel – and will report similar earnings figures? But who’s to say they did. As smart investors, we cannot assume that is the case. As of this writing, Mattel is down 16% and Hasbro is down 9%.

Let's think about that, a 9% percent drop on no information about their business model. It’s the kind of emotional movement that value investors love.

Hasbro Inc and Mattel both released their first quarter figures this afternoon (this morning in America) with forecasts fair even performance for both companies, but with Hasbro receiving the higher increase in profits. Well the official figures are in, shocking some forecasters, as whilst Hasbro's profits rose by 14%, Mattel reported a loss of $46.6 Million

Reuters report that "The maker of Monopoly board games said first-quarter profit climbed to $37.5 million, or 25 cents a share, from $32.9 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier.
Quarterly sales rose 13 percent to $704.2 million from $625.3 million.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 14 cents a share on $582.2 million in sales, according to Reuters Estimates.
Hasbro said sales climbed 6 percent in the United States and Canada and 22 percent internationally."

AP Business Wire reported "The toymaker Hasbro Inc. said Monday its earnings rose 14 percent in the first quarter on growth in brands such as Transformers and Littlest Pet Shop.
The world's second biggest toy company said it earned $37.5 million, or 25 cents per share, for the three months ended March 30, up from $32.9 million, or 19 cents per share, during the same quarter a year ago.
The results beat the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, who forecast net income of 14 cents per share.
Sales grew 13 percent to $704.2 million from $625.3 million a year ago.
The company said international revenue rose 22 percent to $248.3 million, while revenue in the U.S. and Canada segment grew 6 percent to $428.5 million.
Hasbro released the results as its chief rival, Mattel Inc., said it lost $46.6 million, or 13 cents per share, missing analysts' expectations of a profit of a penny per share. The El Segundo, Calif.-based maker of Barbie dolls and Fisher-Price toys blamed higher product costs and legal fees."