Hasbro 2007 Annual Report Download - page 9

PART I
Item 1. Business
General Development and Description of Business and Business Segments
Except as expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, as used herein, “Hasbro”, the
“Company”, “we”, or “us”, means Hasbro, Inc., a Rhode Island corporation organized on January 8, 1926, and
its subsidiaries. Unless otherwise specifically indicated, all dollar or share amounts herein are expressed in
thousands of dollars or shares, except for per share amounts.
Overview
We are a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time and entertainment products and services,
including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys. Internationally and in the United States,
our widely recognized core brands such as PLAYSKOOL, TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY,
LITTLEST PET SHOP, TONKA, SUPER SOAKER, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER
and WIZARDS OF THE COAST provide what we believe are the highest quality play experiences in the
world. Our offerings encompass a broad variety of games, including traditional board, card, hand-held
electronic, trading card, roleplaying, plug and play and DVD games, as well as electronic learning aids and
puzzles. Toy offerings include boys’ action figures, vehicles and playsets, girls’ toys, electronic toys, plush
products, preschool toys and infant products, children’s consumer electronics, electronic interactive products,
creative play and toy related specialty products. In addition, we license certain of our trademarks, characters
and other property rights to third parties for use in connection with digital games, consumer promotions, and
for the sale of non-competing toys and games and non-toy products.
Organizationally, our principal segments are North America and International. Both of these segments
engage in the development, marketing and selling of various toy and game products as listed above. Our
North American segment covers the United States, Canada and Mexico while the International segment
primarily includes Europe, the Asia Pacific region and Latin and South America (excluding Mexico). Financial
information with respect to our segments and geographic areas is included in note 15 to our financial
statements, which are included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
In addition, our Global Operations segment is responsible for arranging product manufacturing and
sourcing for the North American and International segments and our other segment out-licenses our intellectual
property to third parties on a worldwide basis.
North America
The North American segment’s strategy in 2007 continued to be based on growing core brands through
innovation and reinvention, introducing new initiatives driven by consumer and marketplace insights and
leveraging opportunistic toy and game lines and licenses. Major 2007 brands and products included
TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, MARVEL products, PLAYSKOOL, STAR WARS, NERF,
MONOPOLY, FURREAL FRIENDS, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, PLAY-DOH, BABY ALIVE and MY
LITTLE PONY. In the North American segment, our products are organized into the following categories:
(i) games and puzzles; (ii) boys’ toys; (iii) girls’ toys; (iv) preschool toys; (v) tween toys; and (vi) other.
Our games and puzzles category includes several well known brands, including MILTON BRADLEY,
PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER GAMES, AVALON HILL and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. The MILTON
BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER GAMES and AVALON HILL brand portfolios consist of a broad
assortment of games for children, tweens, families and adults. Core game brands include MONOPOLY,
BATTLESHIP, GAME OF LIFE, SCRABBLE, CHUTES AND LADDERS, CANDY LAND, TROUBLE,
MOUSETRAP, OPERATION, HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS, CONNECT FOUR, TWISTER, YAHTZEE,
JENGA, SIMON, CLUE, SORRY!, RISK, BOGGLE and TRIVIAL PURSUIT, as well as a line of jigsaw
puzzles for children and adults, including BIG BEN and CROXLEY, as well as the PUZZ-3D line. WIZARDS
OF THE COAST offers a variety of trading card and roleplaying games, including MAGIC: THE
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