Brief+Intro+and+Key+Issues

This section should include an overview of the firm in question, such as its history, products, markets, locations, culture, philosophy, mission, vision, etc. It is also important to identify here the key issues the firm in question needs to address. These issues should be serving as a back-bone of your analysis, which are to be developed in greater details in the following sections. Of-ten best to do this AFTER you have done the bulk of your analysis.

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Three brothers, Henry, Helal, and Hassenfeld, created Hassenfeld Brothers in 1923 as a textile company. Over the next twenty years, the business produced school supplies and doctor and nurse kits. George Lerner sold a toy called Mr. Potato Head to Hassenfeld brothers in 1952, giving them their first toy product. In the 1960s, they produced their first toy into the market which was the G.I. Joe, which was aimed towards the boys market because playing with an action figure was better then playing with dolls. In 1968, they shortened their name to Hasbro Industries. Hasbro made a big boom into the toy market in the 1980s. They made a big hit in the toy market by producing My Little Pony. In 1984, Hasbro bought Milton Bradley Company, which brought boards games into Hasbro’s market mix. The board games that came with Milton at this time were the following: Game of Life, Yahtzee, Candy Land, and Twister. The creation of the Transformer toy added to the success of Hasbro during this time. They also purchased Playskool in 1986. Another big addition was made to Hasbro in 1991 with the purchase of Parker Brothers which at that time, had the best selling board game, Monopoly, added into Hasbro Industries. Hasbro Industries, whose headquarters are located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is the parent company of several subsidiaries. A few of the commonly known subsidiaries the Hasbro owns are listed as follows: Kenner, Avalon Hill, Playskool, Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, and Tonka. Hasbro has toys and games focused on different demographics. The toys we would know of more are the following: Cabbage Patch Kids, Lincoln Logs, NERF, Pokémon, Star Wars, Transformers, Play-Doh, Mr. Potato Head, and Easy-Bake Oven. Hasbro is the number one producer of board games, and their better known games are as follows: Battleship, Candy Land, Clue, The Game of Life, Monopoly, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, and Scrabble. In the past couple years, Hasbro has been using some of its more known toys and making films about these. The toy line movies created so far have been Transformers and G.I. Joe. Hasbro’s mission and vision statement is as follows, “The heart of Hasbro’s business is making great games, toys, lifestyle, and entertainment products that are enjoyed by people of all ages worldwide. Hasbro intends to be the number-one company in the toy and game industry; the leading provider of play; and the number-one marketer, pioneer and partner in all channels and all customers (//Corporate Information, 2009).//” There are some key issues that Hasbro, Inc., needs to address in order to keep its success. Hasbro’s key issue dealing with the external portion of the corporation is how to improve their competitiveness and market share with Mattel, who is the top holder of the market in the toy and gaming industry. Another issue that Hasbro faces with its business strategy is that the majority of their business is seasonal, with them depending on the holiday season for a majority of their sales. An issue that Hasbro currently faces is the being able to competitive in a struggling economy for non-essential items. Hasbro's internal issue is to be able to be innovative in a competivite industry.