Hasbro’s shares rise by almost 12% despite Toys ‘R’ Us closure

Hasbro adjusting to life without Toys ‘R’ Us

Hasbro Inc shares rose 12% after the toy maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results, easing concerns about any impact from the recent closure of Toys “R” Us.

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner had warned Wall Street earlier this year that it would take time to replace Toys ‘R’ Us, which recently closed its last U.S. store, with other retailers. Toys ‘R’ Us had been estimated to generate 15% of its sales.

Toys ‘R’ Us accounted for 10 percent of all Hasbro sales and the company has moved quickly to reallocate inventory to Walmart, Target and others. Partnerships with big media producers like Walt Disney also helped.

The company was also creating exclusive products and programs online to support retailers and retail events such as JD.com’s JD day, Amazon’s Prime Day, and the 11/11 Alibaba Singles Day, executives said.

The company said it had benefited from higher sales of a Marvel portfolio that has been boosted by two of the past year’s biggest movie successes, Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther.

Hasbro Marvel display during their Breakfast event at San Diego Comic-Con 2017.

“We are focused on moving beyond the near-term disruption of losing a major customer, with a clear path forward including new retailer activations to meet the consumer demand made available by the Toys ‘R’ Us departure,” Goldner said in a press release.

In its latest move to expand its brand portfolio, the company spent RM2.122 billion in May to add characters from the superhero TV show Power Rangers to its line of products.

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