Hasbro is beckoning teens and adults to come out and play.
More mature customers—the toy industry calls them “kidults”—increasingly have a desire to tinker and feed their nostalgia. They are shelling out hundreds of dollars for intricate Lego sets, scouring store aisles for plush Squishmallows and Jellycats, and matching their outfits with American Girl dolls. These are lucrative trends as adults scooping up playthings tend to spend more money and buy more frequently than when the toys are for children.
Already, roughly 60% of Hasbro’s revenue comes from people who are 13 and over. Now, in the midst of a yearslong turnaround effort that has involved cutting $600 million in costs and over two-thirds of its individual products, Hasbro is pinning growth on adults and teens interested in Star Wars fighter vehicles, Spider-Man action figures and other toys and collectibles, while working to limit the impact of tariffs.
“We believe that demographic has more spending power and sticking power,” Hasbro finance chief Gina Goetter said. “As we thought about where we are investing for growth, it is in all of the businesses that are more exposed to that trend.”
That includes digital games like “Monopoly Go!” and role-playing and trading-card games, such as “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Magic: The Gathering.” It also includes toys, which Hasbro expects to drive much of its margin expansion this year.
Postpandemic shift
Demand for toys declined in recent years as inflation-weary consumers pulled back on the buying they did to entertain themselves and children during the pandemic. Hasbro’s revenue has been down for 10 consecutive quarters, dropping 15% to $1.1 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 29, compared with a year earlier. The sale in late 2023 of the eOne film and television business diminished Hasbro’s revenue throughout last year and accounted for much of the shortfall for the latest three-month period. Without it, revenue was down just 3%.
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