Corporate+Level+Strategy

 Identify the businesses the company is in (or is considering entering), how they are re-lated (or unrelated), and whether and how they create additional value in their combina-tion. Be specific and detailed. If it is unclear that value is created, try to assess why the firm might have chosen to enter those businesses.  Identify and analyze the methods of entry the firm has used to enter those businesses. Were the methods of entry used (or proposed) the best choice given the firm’s objectives, environment, strengths, weaknesses, and strategy? Be sure to include any appropriate fi-nancial analysis to support your assessment. Hasbro, Inc. is one of today’s largest competitors within the gaming and toy industry. With child play and family leisure being their main goal, the company is currently involved in an array of businesses ranging from traditional board and card games, to DVD games and electronic handheld games, trading card games and role-playing games. Being an innovator, Hasbro, Inc. has also found a variety of ways to cater to both the male and female genders over the years. Action figures, vehicles, toy sets, and board games have been created to attract the boys, while hands on electronics, plush toys, dolls, and creative products have been created for the girls. (Hasbro, 2009) Within the gaming and toy industry, Hasbro, Inc. has been able to create a wide range of products that are both compliments and substitutes for one another. The games have been geared for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, tweens, teens, grown-ups and families of all ages, and have been created in a variety of different ways. This growing corporation has entered into the business of card games, puzzles, board games, action figures, apparel, party supplies, sports, and video games, which in turn open a variety of activities for all members of the family that can be substituted and/or complimented for one another. (Hasbro, 2009) For example, on a Saturday morning, while mom is cleaning the house a younger child may have the opportunity to sit down and watch his favorite G.I. Joe cartoon Real American Hero 01, followed by a mid-morning snack out of a G.I. Joe eating bowl, and a nap at noon in his G.I. Joe decorated room. By mid-afternoon mom is finally done cleaning and asks the young boy if he would be interested in playing Do You Know Your G.I. Joe, an online game of both strategy and memory that will help him grow and learn as an individual. Once dad is home from work, and dinner has been served the family then heads outdoors to play a quick round of G.I. Joe Rise of the Cobra Nanotech Water Blaster, a fun water “gun” summer game. Based on the variety of products offered by Hasbro, Inc. you can see how many different businesses that the company has entered into and how important it is for them to have substitutes and compliment products in order to continue to succeed through the years. Catering to the most popular culture, Hasbro, Inc. has manufactured approximately 176 brands, and 16 different categories of products. (Hasbro, 2009) They have learned the importance of offering a number of different products, and added great value to their company through these various markets. Through third party developers and licensing strategies, Hasbro, Inc. has been able to utilize all necessary resources when creating new products. The company also specialized in taking over others upon failure which helped to increase their subsidiary line, products available for market, and overall competitive standpoint within the gaming industry. (Funding Website) Entering into their first market, primarily as a producer of pencils and pencils boxes, Habsbro, Inc. had net sales at that time of approximately $500,000 per year. Given the availability of resources during the 1930’s, the company then moved into the toy making industry, followed by the acquisition of several other companies throughout the following years. (Economic Expert) Supporting various methods of entry, Hasbro, Inc. has been mainly focused on licensing, the method of entry that involves foreign licensees purchasing the rights to produce the company’s products in their own country for a negotiated fee that is decided upon by the father company being Hasbro, Inc. Although this method of entry has proven to be very profitable for Hasbro, the company has encountered some issues that they have had to address in order to remain profitable. Because licensing takes place in various countries, the parent company often has a difficult time monitoring the manufacturing and other strategic business methods that take place within those different areas. It is difficult for them obtain relationships with all companies participating within the sales of the products in order to maintain a strategic alliance that allows the companies to function on the same page, with the same goals, ideas, and procedures. (Funding Website) Hasbro, Inc. as mentioned above has also participated in many different company acquisitions that have in turn opened many windows of opportunity for their corporation. When companies within their same market are faced with bankruptcy or another means of failure, Hasbro has been known to purchase those companies at a fairly competitive rate, allowing them to grow and expand the products and service that they can offer to their current clients. With such a wide range of products available for sale, Hasbro, Inc. has done a great job of utilizing their resources in order to become as successful as the Hassenfield Brothers once dreamed of.