Features

A triumvirate of boys’ movies forms the basis of Hasbro’s 2009 offering, but there’s also emphasis on collectables and the relaunch of Cranium to look forward to. Ronnie Dungan runs through highlights and speaks to marketing director Mark Foster about what promises to be a busy year for the firm….

Hasbro's marketing director Mark Foster outlines his marketing plans and what the firm is expecting from what promises to be an extremely challenging year for the trade...

Without the creativity of people who invent the toys you sell, you'd be nothing. Why then do people refer to inventors disparagingly as opportunistic Gepettos who charge extortionately? But, in fact, toy companies don't treat designers like fictional characters and are taking them more seriously now, as Jon Salisbury discovers...

Games specialist Drumond Park's clever use of licensing, as well as its ability to create lasting brands, has given the company a well-earned place at the top table of the category. Jon Salisbury speaks to co-founder and marketing director Clare McCool to hear how she does it...

RC2's line-up for 2009 includes additions to evergreen licences adn the expansion of newly launched IP's. Katie Roberts visited the firm to find out what's in store...

Rising costs, supply and labour problems and an unforgiving economic climate mean the toy market is in dire straits. But is there an upside to all this trouble and strife? Former Radica and Corgi MD, Denis Horton mulls things over...

The subject of safety is full of directives too complex to even be given names instead of numbers. It can give the most committed expert a headache. So we got hold of Hasbro's in-house expert Daryl Scrivens to try and explain it in the simplest terms possible....

Most of us have always known China as the world’s biggest manufacturer of toys, but recent developments have thrown doubt on that assumption long term. Or have they? Is it still business as usual in China? Jon Salisbury gathered together some interested industry insiders to find out what they think...

The X-Men star is set for a big year with the release of his own TV animation series and a big budget movie coming in the spring. Hasbro's toy range is part of a huge licensing programme for the character...