Re: Thomas Buy Out-

One area where the Mattel take over has had a negative impact is in sales of Thomas related merchandise. Mattel did not renew Learning Curve's license to produce wooden Thomas trains, so there are fewer items to sell. This was particularly noticeable this summer.

FWIW, Mattel has a history of taking over and destroying brands. They took over Monogram Models and very nearly destroyed the brand before dumping it. They often acquire companies just for portions of their product line and drop the parts they aren't interested in. They bought Monogram to get the Hot Wheels line, which fit with their mainstream toy business.

Remember, Thomas is only one of at least 14 brands that Hit controls. Barney and Bob the Builder may be more interesting to Mattel than Thomas. Keep your fingers crossed on this one.

Michael Allen



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2013 11:47AM by trainrider47.