There was much to unpack following Hasbro’s third quarter earnings call this morning, including some forward-looking thoughts on its efforts in the evergreen-but-evolving blaster category.
As Hasbro refocuses its efforts on its core business — toys and games — and continues executing its Blueprint 2.0 strategy, CEO Chris Cocks was forthcoming on where he sees room for improvement within its Consumer Products division.
I think where we need to see more improvement, frankly, is in NERF. We're up in share in the blaster category — but we need to do a better job bringing innovation and price value into that category."
In recent years, the blaster category — once dominated by NERF — has seen increased competition from players such as Prime Time Toys’ Dart Zone, Walmart’s in-house Adventure Force brand, ZURU’s X-Shot, and others. Additionally, the realm of foam darts has lost a bit of shelf space due to the rising popularity of water-based, super-absorbent polymer bead blasters. Gel Blaster emerged as a category leader following entries from Daisy’s SplatRball, Prime Time’s Hydro Strike, and makers such as Anstoy and Gel Storm. This fall, ZURU’s X-Shot Hyper Gel and Skyrocket’s Faction lineup are vying for space alongside NERF’s own GelFire offerings and the resurgence of laser-based blasters such as the LaserX line from NSI International.
The move toward new and reimagined blaster play opens opportunities in a broader realm of active play, just as NERF is being expanded through location-based entertainment, family entertainment centers, its own sport — NERFball — and a refreshed entry into the pet aisle with NERF Dog.
“I think we say ‘outdoor and blasters’ for a reason — we need to expand NERF beyond just thinking about a dart,” Cocks added. “We need to think about more ways that we can engage kids and families in active play across more scenarios, and I think you’ll be seeing more from that for us.”
Stay tuned for more on Hasbro’s efforts, and look for a big year ahead as the company prepares to celebrate some milestone anniversaries in 2024.
