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Mattel Pixar Diecast CARS: Retail $ Left on the Shelves

CARS, the diecast line is nothing short of one-in-a-lifetime happening. You really need a lot of disparate pieces to fall into place for it all to happen and then for it to continue … the closest comparison really is Star Wars. Way back in 1977, yea, a bunch of people loved the movie to make it the number #1 movie of 1977 but it takes more than that for people to want to bring home a piece of the film. Remember the #1 movie the year CARS was #2? A certain Disney Pirate movie … well-loved, certainly and still great after all this time (hey, 2 years is a long time in the internet age ) but a mainline that sells out even with 2 sequels? No.

So, you have to start with the right property and then you have to deliver the right thing for the right audience. For Star Wars, it was the 3 3/4″ figure … for CARS fans, it was the 1:55 diecast line. Don’t forget, in 2006, they offered up other choices - the 1:50ish pullback series, the Disney Store 1:64 line and even the McDonald’s Happy Meal line - at that time, all about the same number of CARS available … but we consumers, while seemingly silly - we know quality at the right price when we see it.

So, after 6 months when most lines have long faded, we were still fighting each other in the aisles and on eBay for CARS. And still 2 1/2 years later, we are still eager and scrambling … very few lines can claim that and none EVER in the licensed diecast cars business. It is really a remarkable feat in this day and age when everything feels fleeting, and ephemeral, this line is still GROWING after 2 1/2 years.

So, the core foundation of the success of CARS is the right property matched with the right offering - crafted & manufactured with world class quality at the right price. Another key is consistency and for lack of a better phrase ‘respect for the consumer & collector,’ (from both Mattel & Pixar).

Now, I know this might cause some of you to howl but it is important to separate out RETAIL, DISTRIBUTION and SHIPPING issues from the point it leaves the shipyards of Hong Kong.*

Now, I’m not claiming it’s perfect and every company will slip up or things will go astray but the bottom line is when push comes to shove, Mattel could’ve gone a lot of OTHER ways with this line such as short-packing characters (one Fillmore in every 9 CASES - why? Because it’s fun!) or “Collect All 17-McQueen Eye Expressions!” or “Now 100% Polymers! (plastic)” or “Lizzie - now retired!” … so if you can separate out the distribution, retail & shipping issues … you can see that while Mattel is not at 100%, it’s certainly an A and honestly, if you didn’t feel that way, would you still be here? Would you still be circling parking lots? Would I be giving up a certain Nobel Prize in literatire to write about hunks of metal? … See how my brain has atrophied, I can’t even spell literature anymore :razz: .

Again, there are some serious shipping, distribution and retail issues that need to be resolved but those are internal sales and internal process issues that only Mattel can fix biut really - have nothing to do with great characters Pixar created, and Mattel’s commitment to design & manufacturing excellence … (you can read more about distribution & retail issues here).

With that said, there is a product mix issue that should also be resolved.

I totally understand the need for high margin items and in today’s marketplace, of course, it has to have lights, sounds, interactivity or RC elements to appeal to retail buyers who think that all kids want … and of course, hey, you never really know, the Walkin’-Talkin’ Lightning McQueen might turn out to be the latest must-have toy and you sell a couple million at $40.00 retail … but the real reality is that most of the non 1:55 CARS items are in categories where everyone knows the real scope & numbers of that sub-genre … the bottom line is - does every TRU really need to have 10-25 battery powered CARS tracks piled up in overstock? It would seem the marketplace for low-end slot cars is pretty much of a given these days, stacking 25 or 50 in a store isn’t going to suddenly wake up a slumbering massive low-end slot car buying marketplace … and if anything - a giant display of them doesn’t really entice you to buy, does it - don’t you feel there’s no real rush to buy since there are plenty on the shelf?

This is one of the gray areas that hard to determine where the fault lies because as a buyer (for the big retailer) wanders through the (usually) private toy fair/show room, what is their eye drawn towards? Bigger margin items and things with a lot of bells and whistles - and the sales person who manages the big retailer would of course prefer to sell 60,000 items at $40 retail versus 60,000 of an item at $20 retail BUT in the case of the 1:55 CARS, I think Mattel & the retailers are leaving a lot of retail $’s on the shelf.

This is an audience ready and willing to buy more “stuff” as long as it’s part of the line … this line is one of the few to actually have demand call for the return of playsets … but of course, there lies the quandary - while the playsets are higher margin and very nicely done, they don’t offer much interactivity and of course, they are 50% designed for “kids” play with their nonsensical or non-realistic ramps or the “launcher” element in Flo’s … but fortunately, the outside of each playset are nicely done in scale and we can ignore the bizarre desperate design add-ons for the apparent sake of “kid’s play” like when you open up the Curio Shop, signs and flags pop up … kids really want that?

Instead of trying to straddle the middle ground and serving no one - how about not dumbing it down and just making it accurate for the CARS audience that craves things in scale, canon to the storyline and adding elements of interactivity to please the retail buyers who is easily distracted by shiny things?

Maybe they need to be educated that the CARS 1:55 audience has cash on hand but is really only interested in releases that are relevant, in scale and canon?

One of the reasons for the success of the Dinoco 400 or the Race ‘n Chase set is that they offer a classy display-ability … that even if you have some of the CARS already in that set, it’s a nice gift item, or perfect to buy a second to display in the office or on a shelf … versus blister cards which are hard to display or get damaged versus a box. Or like the Crusin’ at Flo’s Mini’s box with the nice removeable clear shell so it can be displayed near mint condition.

For example … why not a display where you could push the the CARS through the curtain and press a bellow to shoot confetti - sort of like a CARS snowglobe?

Or same with this? It doesn’t even have to high end interactivity - what about some manual control device that pushes them across the finish line at the same time? Or add audio with Bob Cutlass & Darrell Cartrip as the announcers saying “It’s too close to call.”

Or how about a diorama with Spinout McQueen that can swing back and forth when McQ gets wrapped around telephone wires? And maybe even a Sheriff with real lights that you can turn on?

Or something very simple to do … a lenticular of the monitor where the Piston Cup official is checking to see how crossed first and by tilting the display back and forth, you get the lenticular effect of seeing the three CARS cross the finish line …

Or what better way to bring back Sarge but in a diorama with a working traffic light (powered by batteries) that blinks on and off … with the third blink just a microsecond longer … or even better, add their dialogue with the press of a button.

Or an interactive pit box, where you can guide the Pitty on the left along a track to knock over the tire rack along with the dialogue from the scene?

Or if TRU really wants a $50 CARS item to sell, what about real Trev and a railroad crossing?

Or glow in the dark tuners or even better yet, what about a these tuners that really glowed (you could add lights underneath which is easy to do).

And while we know Frank is coming in 2009, why not a box set with 4 Tractors and his grunting sound?

And these are just the simple suggestions since all these CARS are already molded & available plus sounds, lights or “interactivity” can be added to the base … depending on the number of CARS included and the added sounds, lights, dialogue or whatever else, these could be sold for anywhere from $19 to $49 - same pricing as many of the non 1:55 CARS items … and they would all serve to help sell more of the 1:55 line as someone new coming in and getting the glow in the dark tuners or a street portion that lights up is not going to stop at one box set, right?

But these are the REAL Movie Moments that take people back to their favorite scenes … the courtroom scene where you can lift up Doc … or McQueen “plowing” up the street, etc, etc … these are the things that should be on the shelf … and not …

Really?

And hey, even if the box sets doesn’t fly off the shelves, well, they can’t sell any slower than some of the tracks AND they serve as better shelf advertising for the 1:55 mainline … but most important of all - once you’re hooked on that - that is the the true “gateway” er, stimulant, right? Because selling a giant plastic Smell Swell for $17 bucks is nice but selling a $3.49 CAR leads to $3.49 times 150 + how many oversized? How many haulers, etc, etc …

Sure, in 2006 - you had to throw a lot of things to the wall to see what would stick but now 2.5 years later, it’s pretty clear which is the driver of the CARS revenue bus … so while not every box set is going to fly off the shelf … it’s the perfect “shelf-talker’ for the days or weeks when there is a lull at the retail level and again, 2.5 years later, it’s clear that the $49 slot track or the 1:12 scale plastic RC car is not going to take away revenue from the 1:55 CARS collector’s budget so why not re-focus on the revenue gaps?

One note though, this does not mean a repeat of late 2006 where CARS should continually be repackaged - for instance, there is not a crying need for the 4 tuners to be released in a box but if they came in glow-in-the-dark versions or even better - with a lit section of the highway? What could be better? You already have the sculpts & molds, you make collectors and retailers happy - it’s a win-win for everyone …

(note - the current box sets at TRU are fine even if they are mostly 2006 CARS, it’s a nice looking box set for newbies to start).

So, I’m not saying that RC’s or Banshee’s or tracks should be eliminated but instead, why leave money on the table from 1:55 collectors which are the bread, jam, butter & breakfast buffet of the CARS revenue?

And while I’m also certain NOT against new playsets, I understand that retailers are not usually excited about them … since consumers generally have to buy items to go with it and they feel they have to really add some interactive element for the kids … so while we want the rest of the town, it’s understandable that retailers see a dusty, rustic town setting as “dull,” so maybe any additional playsets should take place at the race track?

*Additional note - Okay, the international collectors also seem to have a long litany of complaints and I’m not trying to brush you under the afghan but the international division is literally run by overseas people who don’t communicate to anyone in the US.