Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (/ˈhæzbroʊ/; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.[5] Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. As of August 2020, over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions.[6]
Formerly
- Hassenfeld Brothers
(1923–1968) - Hasbro Industries
(1968–1984) - Hasbro Bradley
(1984–1985)
Toys and entertainment
December 6, 1923
- Henry Hassenfeld
- Hillel Hassenfeld
- Herman Hassenfeld
Worldwide
US$407.7 million (2022)[1]
US$203.5 million (2022)[1]
US$9.2959 billion (2022)[1]
US$2.8619 billion (2022)[1]
- The Vanguard Group (10.8%)[2]
- Capital Research Global Investors (9.8%)[2]
- BlackRock (8.4%)[2]
- Alan G. Hassenfeld (6.1%)[2]
5,600[3] (2021)
- Hasbro Entertainment
- Hasbro Consumer Products
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Among its products are Transformers, G.I. Joe, Power Rangers, Rom the Space Knight, Micronauts, M.A.S.K., Monopoly, Furby, Nerf, Ouija boards, Play-Doh, Twister, and My Little Pony, and with the Entertainment One acquisition in 2019, franchises like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. The Hasbro brand also spawned TV shows to promote its products, such as Family Game Night on the Discovery Family network. It is the former parent of mass media and entertainment company Entertainment One. Hasbro sold Entertainment One to Lionsgate in 2023, however, it kept eOne's family brands and eOne's stake in Astley Baker Davies, placing them into a new subsidiary called Hasbro Entertainment.[7]
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History[edit]
Hassenfeld Brothers[edit]
Three Polish-Jewish brothers,[8][9][10][11] Herman, Hillel, and Henry Hassenfeld,[12] founded Hassenfeld Brothers in Providence, Rhode Island, in late 1923, a company selling textile remnants. Over the next two decades, the company expanded to produce pencil cases and school supplies. On January 8, 1926, Hassenfeld Brothers was incorporated in Rhode Island;[13] Hillel left for another textile business while Henry took charge of the corporation. They began making their own pencils after their pencil supplier began making pencil cases as well.[12]
Hassenfeld Brothers produced modeling clay and then doctor and nurse kits as their first toys, and they became primarily a toy company by 1942. Hillel died in 1943 and Henry Hassenfeld became CEO, while his son Anthony Merrill became president. The company entered the plastic fields during World War II to support its toy line.[12] The Hassenfeld brothers, immigrants from Ulanów, Poland, also spent the war years helping to rescue and employ fellow Jews from Ulanów;[14] Jacob Klapper, a holocaust survivor born in Ulanów, recalled being told when he arrived in the United States that Hassenfeld Brothers would employ any survivor from Ulanów, no questions asked.[15] Hassenfeld Brothers' first popular toy was Mr. Potato Head,[12] which the company purchased from George Lerner in 1952. In 1954, the company became a Disney major licensee.[12]
Hasbro has several brands of toys and games aimed at different demographics. Some of its better-known toy lines (past and present) are:
Hasbro is the largest producer of board games in the world as a result of its component brands, such as Parker Brothers, Waddingtons, Milton Bradley, Wizards of the Coast, and Avalon Hill (all acquisitions since the 1980s). As a result, it has well known and top selling games such as:
Hasbro also produces many variations of most of their games. For example, in addition to original Scrabble, the game is also available as "Scrabble Deluxe Edition", "Scrabble Deluxe Travel Edition", "Scrabble Junior", and "Scrabble Onyx Edition".
Hasbro also offers Game of skill such as:
They also formerly sold:
Hasbro also offers a memory game called Simon which involves memorising sequences of colors and lights.
In 1995, Hasbro began a short-lived video game development and publishing venture called Hasbro Interactive, but disbanded it in 2001 when it was bought by the now defunct Infogrames. Now Hasbro develops video games based on its brands through third-party developers and licensing strategies, notably with major American companies such as Activision, Electronic Arts, and THQ. Following the rise of smartphones and tablet PCs in the 2010s, as well as major video gaming publishers cutting back on releasing games based on licensed IPs for various reasons, such as economic slumps, several of Hasbro's brands were licensed towards mobile game developers such as Gameloft, releasing their games under the label Hasbro Gaming.
On February 25, 2005, Hasbro announced that it would be introducing a musical toothbrush to the market. The Tooth Tunes, released in early 2007, transmits music from the jawbone to the ear when the bristles touch the teeth.[118]
In November 2023, Hasbro signed a licensing deal with Ageless Innovation to design toys and games for people over 65. Hasbro will produce "Generations" versions of known games such as Scrabble, Life, and Trivial Pursuit.[119] The new versions will include larger fonts and game pieces as well as content that is relevant to different generations.[120]
In January 2024, Hasbro launched a new line of Star Wars figures to join The Black Series and The Vintage Collection for the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace.[121][122] The line includes a Destroyer Droid that can roll.[123] In the same month, Hasbro announced a pre-order for a new crowdfunding project; the creation of Omega Prime, a Transformer that is a combination of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus.[124][125]
In February 2024, Hasbro announced a new game, Life in Reterra, a Eurogame-style board game created by Eric M. Lang and Ken Gruhl.[126]
Conventions[edit]
HasCon (2017)[edit]
HasCon was a fan convention created by Hasbro to promote its various licensed properties, including Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and Magic: The Gathering. It thus replaces the previous fan convention from Fun Publications, BotCon.[138] However, Fun Publications' G. I. Joe Convention continued to be held as of 2017. It was subsequently announced that the first HasCon is scheduled for September 8–10, 2017, at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Meanwhile, Summer Hayes, LLC., which organizes My Little Pony Fair convention, has announced that their convention will not be held for 2017, and would collaborate with HasCon instead.
There was supposed to be a HasCon event in 2019 at the Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, but it has since been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[139][140]
Hasbro Pulse Con (2020–present)[edit]
Hasbro Pulse Con is a virtual convention held through the Hasbro Pulse website, following the cancelation of HasCon 2019 due the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, four yearly conventions were made at the moment.
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