Mattel Disney Pixar CARS & PLANES: We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
While the in-store stock situation is not a new situation, it is puzzling.
On paper, it seems to be a mostly normal year – there were 14+ cases (including twin cases) plus a few retailer pallets/sidecaps … but to the average CARS buyer, they would be STUNNED to hear there were 14+ case assortment releases. It’s safe to say except a few specific stores or a few pockets here and there, most stores have not gotten more than a few cases and on the West Coast, we seem to have gotten ONE case over & over again.
What is the story there?
It’s hard to say because it’s not logical.
First, it’s indefensible that in each case there is only 1 each of either a new release or long time re-release … it makes no sense on any level. It doesn’t even make economic sense to create a new mold and put 1 in each case that seems to get minimal distribution. It might make sense if they were just lazy repaints but in most cases, they are new intricate sculpts and molds – the issue is not on the design side. We have gotten some terrific releases and even possibly the NICEST not $100+ box set with the SDCC Neon Racers – nicest not just for diecasts but possibly all toys EVER. So, it’s not a design issue but clearly after that is approved and produced, somewhere along the line it all goes awry. Is it marketing? Is it sales? Is it distribution? (Yes, at Mattel, they are three different departments).
Basically, they are either not shipping product to retailers or retailers are not ordering product – and this might be why Barbie & Hot Wheels are in a flat spin also … again, it’s puzzling as people are buying CARS & PLANES diecasts … are they hoping that by not shipping diecasts, when we wander over to the aisle and can’t find diecasts, we’ll just buy a higher margin item playset?
It seems like there must be a plan – just not a very well thought out plan?
So, you’re NOT crazy when you can’t find diecasts and you are NOT alone in not finding diecasts AND when there are only 3-4 new/sought after re-releases in a carton of 24, re-sellers AND CARS fans are not that eager to buy cases which only adds to the perceived scarcity. The issue seems to be that they are being produced in quasi-normal production numbers, they are simply not being shipped in normal-range quantities … will be seeing a massive influx at discontinued retailers in 8-12 months?
The situation is about the same with PLANES diecasts. There are anywhere from 5-15 diecasts on a list – a few have gotten a minor release in CAN or EU but there seems to a massive quantity sitting in the warehouse – are they the new ones? Are there more Dusty’s?
Where is the disconnect?
The bottom line is there is continued interest in both CARS & PLANES but yet, the supply side of this equation hates capitalism.
It’s not logical but then it’s also hard to understand why they can’t fix Hot Wheel sales issues when they basically have no competition for diecasts at retail.
(The oversized Deluxe situation seems to be mostly normal – there were not a lot of cases released this year versus previous years but there was a regular rate of new releases. Same with 2-packs, the only oddity was the singles where most of the new releases or long-time returning re-releases were only sparsely released).
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3 December 2014
8 Comments
Our only two Targets got a dump of Verns (over 36 each!) back on May 1 ( (see previous post by Met) that clogged their pegs until Thanksgiving week. I checked our closest store on Black Friday and it was down to only 4-5 Verns and the first new stock since May! They have both been stocking and selling box sets but almost no singles for over 6 months!!! Really poor stock and distribution management.
This is why store and district management should care… Why is store ## not selling ANY Cars singles Y-O-Y? Let’s take a look…
Cooltrainerpaul is right on about the store sees 60 cars so no need to order. This is a bigger problem with the state of corporate America/Labor/Profits/Service.
1st Corporate America see profit #s only for thier stock price on Wall Street.
2nd the fight hand does not know what the left hand is doing. COMPUTER = junk in = junk out.
The corporations rely on the scanner & not a department manager & employees to give them the actual info in the isle.
This assumes the aisle manager or employee cares what is in stock. One toy car is exactly like another toy car — it doesn’t matter if it is Max Schnell or LMQ or Shu or even a Hot Wheels — it’s a car from Cars; a cheap kid’s toy.
The last numbers I saw indicated Mattel had sold some 33 million Pixar Cars diecasts. This site has roughly 60,000 members. If we all bought 1500 Cars, we’d matter to Mattel — I doubt more than a small percentage of us have that many Cars (I have about 900 now).
This is so true it doesn’t matter what case is being out out as long as it’s out – one of my local toy shops is a total case in point – on the shelf alsolute filler – but up above there is at any time 4-5 cases up there, get a staff member to get a case down and it’s like opening the ark lol but still it’s literally 6-7 pegs of lightning and francesco on the shelf nothing new ever gets put out! Same thing in local supermarket Tesco! I honestly think it’s due to shared barcodes I think Mattel should at least refresh the code every case – as that’s how stores will be looking at stock, if there is 60 of the code on shelf already they aren’t going to order more in – they won’t realise or care that the 60 on the shelf are the exact same car!
It is to a certain extent a problem at retail. We collectors see “Case J”, or “Jonathan Shiftko” or “Louis LaRue” or “Henri Motisse” — the store employees see “toy car”. At Walmart, the employee has one second to place one item on the shelf or pegboard — do you think anyone from there up the supply chain cares whether it is one car or the other? They will sell whatever is on the shelf …
My targets just started getting a lot of product in in November and it’s been steady. I’m only missing Marcelo and Marco, Henri motisse and Jonathan shiftco. I have bought every car I found at retail. I just wait it out. I refuse to pay anything over retail to the bottom feeding eBay scalpers that for some reason think it’s ok to snatch up multiples of a child’s toy to where the kids don’t have a chance. Just be patient and you will find what u are looking for. But the weird thing is, I’ve asked people that sell cases that are not retail sellers and they make it seem like they are getting there product pretty easily. So a lot of it might be retail.
And yet I found everything through the traditional back door vendors from China.
Face it, Mattel has found a way around the normal distribution methods, sell direct to consumer.
It seems like in 2013 it wasn’t too hard to find new releases, but 2014 was rough, very hard to find the newest Cars. I had to go to Amazon and Ebay for a bunch. Target was the worst this year, they never get anything new anymore. Had some luck at Toys R Us and mainly Walmart
-John