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Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies that Make Them
This is the real toy story, an unprecedented behind-the-scenes journey through a world of influence, fantasy, and multimillion-dollar Hollywood deals, a world where the whims of children make millionaires and topple titans.
This is also the story of an unusual man. Alan Hassenfeld, the chief executive officer of Hasbro, never intended to run a Fortune 500 company. A free spirit who dreamed of being a writer and exploring Asia, he was content to remain in the shadow of his older brother Stephen, a marketing genius who transformed a family firm established by immigrant Jews into powerhouse and Wall Street darling.
Then tragedy struck. Stephen, and intensely private man, died of AIDS, a disease he had not acknowledged he had, even to his family. Alan Hassenfeld was named CEO, just as Hasbro was facing a daunting onslaught of challenges. Toy Wars is about Alan's struggle to balance the demands of the bottom line with his ideals about the kind of toys children deserve, as well as the ethical obligations of management.
Wayne Miller, an award-winning journalist and novelist, was granted unprecedented access to Hasbro, the maker of G.I. Joe, Star Wars toys, Mr. Potato Head, Batman, Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, and countless other favorites. For five years, he sat in on design sessions, marketing meetings, and focus groups, and interviewed employees in every part of the company. He witnessed a major corporate restructuring; crucial deal with Dreamworks SKG; a hostile takeover bid by archrival Mattel; the collapse of a $45 million virtual reality game; and the company makeover of G.I. Joe, Hasbro's flagship product and one of the most popular toys of all time.
Toy Wars is filled with many colorful characters,
Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, whose kid-friendly movies can translate into licensing gold for toymakers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers creator Haim Saban, who tapped into a popular Japanese TV series and made it a worldwide television and merchandising phenomenon
Mattel CEO Jill Barad, the second-highest-paid woman in corporate America, who promotes and defends Barbie with the zeal of a religious crusader
Hasbro executive Al Verrecchia, the loyal second in command who did not let friendship or tradition stand in the way of a dramatic restructuring
Larry Bernstein, arguably the best toy salesman ever, a riotous raconteur whose divisional presidency crumbled when he was unable to meet Hasbro's profit goals
Rich in family drama and written with sly wit, Toy Wars is a deeply compelling business story, a fascinating tour through a billion-dollar industry that exerts tremendous influence on the lives of children everywhere.
This is also the story of an unusual man. Alan Hassenfeld, the chief executive officer of Hasbro, never intended to run a Fortune 500 company. A free spirit who dreamed of being a writer and exploring Asia, he was content to remain in the shadow of his older brother Stephen, a marketing genius who transformed a family firm established by immigrant Jews into powerhouse and Wall Street darling.
Then tragedy struck. Stephen, and intensely private man, died of AIDS, a disease he had not acknowledged he had, even to his family. Alan Hassenfeld was named CEO, just as Hasbro was facing a daunting onslaught of challenges. Toy Wars is about Alan's struggle to balance the demands of the bottom line with his ideals about the kind of toys children deserve, as well as the ethical obligations of management.
Wayne Miller, an award-winning journalist and novelist, was granted unprecedented access to Hasbro, the maker of G.I. Joe, Star Wars toys, Mr. Potato Head, Batman, Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, and countless other favorites. For five years, he sat in on design sessions, marketing meetings, and focus groups, and interviewed employees in every part of the company. He witnessed a major corporate restructuring; crucial deal with Dreamworks SKG; a hostile takeover bid by archrival Mattel; the collapse of a $45 million virtual reality game; and the company makeover of G.I. Joe, Hasbro's flagship product and one of the most popular toys of all time.
Toy Wars is filled with many colorful characters,
Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, whose kid-friendly movies can translate into licensing gold for toymakers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers creator Haim Saban, who tapped into a popular Japanese TV series and made it a worldwide television and merchandising phenomenon
Mattel CEO Jill Barad, the second-highest-paid woman in corporate America, who promotes and defends Barbie with the zeal of a religious crusader
Hasbro executive Al Verrecchia, the loyal second in command who did not let friendship or tradition stand in the way of a dramatic restructuring
Larry Bernstein, arguably the best toy salesman ever, a riotous raconteur whose divisional presidency crumbled when he was unable to meet Hasbro's profit goals
Rich in family drama and written with sly wit, Toy Wars is a deeply compelling business story, a fascinating tour through a billion-dollar industry that exerts tremendous influence on the lives of children everywhere.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published January 15, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 30, 2009
Mr. Miller started out with a simple objective, write a book about the creation of G.I. Joe. Hasbro was obviously flattered, and they gave Mr. Miller nearly unfettered access to the inner workings of their corporation. Of course, as always seems to happen with these kinds of endeavors, while Miller was there, a "toy war" broke out, and the future of the largest toy company in the world hung by a thread.
I took a lot away from this book. While ostensibly the book covers both Hasbro and Mattel, Mattel did not cooperate with the effort. So, while I learned something about the toy giant in California, the book did not provide half-as-much insight into Mattel's workings as Hasbro's. Most of us who follow gaming look to Hasbro as the monolith of gaming, and so it is. They acquired both Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers, and for most of the 90's, board games served as a cash cow for Hasbro's bottom line.
In fact, one of the driving themes of this book is the tit-for-tat between these two companies. Mattel has Barbie, Hasbro has always wanted one. Hasbro is the king of the action figure, Mattel has always wanted to crack in. Similarly, Mattel itself made a play for Milton Bradley, and was seething when Hasbro snatched it up from under them. This rivalry has very contemporary echoes. You'll note that Hasbro has not rested on its gaming laurels. They have acquired every important name in hobby gaming as well -- Avalon Hill, TSR and Wizards of the Coast. Note that the hunt goes on for Mattel. Anybody taken a close look at Out of the Box's titles lately -- Apples to Apples, Snorta, etc? They all have a nice big Mattel label on them.
The central question that the book addresses is how did this sleepy little maker of Mr. Potato Head in Rhode Island become multinational company with billions of dollars in revenue? Like Parker Brothers before (see earlier review of the Gamer Makers), Hasbro was a family affair. The Hassenfeld Brothers (HAS-BRO) started out making pencil boxes. Those boxes evolved into playstets -- Doctor and Nurse sets -- in pencil boxes. Ultimately, Merril Hassenfeld happened upon Mr. Potato Head as something else that could be put in those boxes.
From there, they were off to the races. G.I. Joe obviously made the company. For a Gen X'er like me, having grown up straddling both versions of Joe, getting insight on G.I. Joe's various iterations was a pleasant stroll down memory lane. But G.I. Joe alone could not have made Hasbro a world beater. For that, we need to look back to an historical event that played prominently in the Parker Brother's history as well. During the 80's, while the rest of the toy biz (including Mattel) were going ape over the video game, Hasbro stuck to plastic.
Compounding this success was Stephen Hassenfeld. He was the 3rd generation of family leadership for the company, and had a passion for the bottom line. Suddenly Hasbro was awash in cash. So, when toy company after toy company fell into trouble, there was Hasbro with a pile of money to buy them at bargain prices: Kenner, Parker Brothers, Tonka, Playskool, Galoob, Coleco, Milton Bradley -- virtually the entire game shelf at Walmart is part of the Hasbro line. And all of that is the result of a kind of perverse economic Darwinism. Since Hasbro did not have the capability to enter the video game race, they also were not destroyed by it.
A second theme in the book, concerns Stephen Hassenfeld and his kid brother Allen. Stephen was a Wall Street wonderkind; he took Hasbro from a respected toy maker into a Fortune five hundred company. But he also had a secret, he was dying of AIDS. So, a large element of the narrative is how Allen Hassenfeld takes over the company and steps out of his brother's very large shadow.
The story culminates with an unsuccessful take over attempt of Hasbro by Mattel. Its an engaging ride that goes into the complexities of corporate structures -- perhaps a little too much. It is, for certain, ephemeral detail, but it does give you some sense of the impact of business trends on a toy company like Hasbro.
I've decided I like business histories, and I like this one. Its got a very human story underlying corporate wrangling and drama. The products are familiar and beloved, and that certainly helps. But if you have any interest in how Hasbro became Hasborg, this is the book to turn to.
I took a lot away from this book. While ostensibly the book covers both Hasbro and Mattel, Mattel did not cooperate with the effort. So, while I learned something about the toy giant in California, the book did not provide half-as-much insight into Mattel's workings as Hasbro's. Most of us who follow gaming look to Hasbro as the monolith of gaming, and so it is. They acquired both Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers, and for most of the 90's, board games served as a cash cow for Hasbro's bottom line.
In fact, one of the driving themes of this book is the tit-for-tat between these two companies. Mattel has Barbie, Hasbro has always wanted one. Hasbro is the king of the action figure, Mattel has always wanted to crack in. Similarly, Mattel itself made a play for Milton Bradley, and was seething when Hasbro snatched it up from under them. This rivalry has very contemporary echoes. You'll note that Hasbro has not rested on its gaming laurels. They have acquired every important name in hobby gaming as well -- Avalon Hill, TSR and Wizards of the Coast. Note that the hunt goes on for Mattel. Anybody taken a close look at Out of the Box's titles lately -- Apples to Apples, Snorta, etc? They all have a nice big Mattel label on them.
The central question that the book addresses is how did this sleepy little maker of Mr. Potato Head in Rhode Island become multinational company with billions of dollars in revenue? Like Parker Brothers before (see earlier review of the Gamer Makers), Hasbro was a family affair. The Hassenfeld Brothers (HAS-BRO) started out making pencil boxes. Those boxes evolved into playstets -- Doctor and Nurse sets -- in pencil boxes. Ultimately, Merril Hassenfeld happened upon Mr. Potato Head as something else that could be put in those boxes.
From there, they were off to the races. G.I. Joe obviously made the company. For a Gen X'er like me, having grown up straddling both versions of Joe, getting insight on G.I. Joe's various iterations was a pleasant stroll down memory lane. But G.I. Joe alone could not have made Hasbro a world beater. For that, we need to look back to an historical event that played prominently in the Parker Brother's history as well. During the 80's, while the rest of the toy biz (including Mattel) were going ape over the video game, Hasbro stuck to plastic.
Compounding this success was Stephen Hassenfeld. He was the 3rd generation of family leadership for the company, and had a passion for the bottom line. Suddenly Hasbro was awash in cash. So, when toy company after toy company fell into trouble, there was Hasbro with a pile of money to buy them at bargain prices: Kenner, Parker Brothers, Tonka, Playskool, Galoob, Coleco, Milton Bradley -- virtually the entire game shelf at Walmart is part of the Hasbro line. And all of that is the result of a kind of perverse economic Darwinism. Since Hasbro did not have the capability to enter the video game race, they also were not destroyed by it.
A second theme in the book, concerns Stephen Hassenfeld and his kid brother Allen. Stephen was a Wall Street wonderkind; he took Hasbro from a respected toy maker into a Fortune five hundred company. But he also had a secret, he was dying of AIDS. So, a large element of the narrative is how Allen Hassenfeld takes over the company and steps out of his brother's very large shadow.
The story culminates with an unsuccessful take over attempt of Hasbro by Mattel. Its an engaging ride that goes into the complexities of corporate structures -- perhaps a little too much. It is, for certain, ephemeral detail, but it does give you some sense of the impact of business trends on a toy company like Hasbro.
I've decided I like business histories, and I like this one. Its got a very human story underlying corporate wrangling and drama. The products are familiar and beloved, and that certainly helps. But if you have any interest in how Hasbro became Hasborg, this is the book to turn to.
October 9, 2019
This critically acclaimed 1998 book, which sets the stage for the just-published "Kid Number One: A story of heart, soul and business, featuring Alan Hassenfeld and Hasbro," is back in print -- a Kindle edition now (https://amzn.to/2nzBWKb), and soon, a papernack. Yes, I am the author, so there is of course a certain bias... but "Toy Wars" was a best-seller and was widely critically acclaimed so others do share my view (http://www.gwaynemiller.com/tw-rev.htm). Enjoy!
October 16, 2016
This is an excellent bok for any toy aficionado out there. It tells the story behind the toys and the people who made and/or distributed them. I borrowed it from the library and then slapped myself silly for not keeping some of my childhood toys. Memories will come back as you read this interesting book of dreams, fortunes and fun with toys.
May 29, 2011
Great history about the Matel company.
Want to read
October 17, 2009mentioned in popco
January 21, 2010
A Must Read for Hasbro employees - extremely interesting
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews