On Monday in the USA, toymaker Hasbro introduced a series of action
figures, play sets, vehicles, and other toys based on STAR WARS: EPISODE I
- THE PHANTOM MENACE, the prequel to the STAR WARS trilogy. Most Toys R Us
stores and some FAO Schwarz and K-B Toys stores opened at 12:01 a.m. on May
3, and within hours their stock was sold out. "It was unbelievable.
Insane," says AWN's Heather Kenyon, who visited four stores in the Los
Angeles area. "People were leaving with shopping carts filled up. It was
frightening how rabid the fans were for these toys." Several reports
throughout the country speak of crowds of 200-300 people with sales being
upwards of $100 per person. The big seller of the night was the line of
12-inch dolls, which includes characters such as villain Darth Maul and
space creature Jar Jar Binks. The action figure for Mace Windu, who is
played by Samuel L. Jackson, sold out almost immediately. With this new toy
line, Hasbro has hopes of catching Barbie maker, Mattel, the number one
seller of toys. Hasbro, based in the Providence suburb of Pawtucket,
reported a record $668.4 million in revenues in the first quarter of the
year -- a 38 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Mattel,
headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., reported first-quarter sales of $692.1
million, down 2 percent. With two more STAR WARS movies planned over the
next few years and Hasbro holding a 10-year licensing agreement, analysts
say the toymaker could see $5 billion in STAR WARS spinoff sales over the
next decade. Hasbro has agreed to pay about $600 million in advances on
royalties to Lucas in installments over nine years. That amount includes
advances promised to Lucas by Lewis Galoob Toys, which was bought by Hasbro
last year. . . MORE STAR WARS MANIA. An Internet security firm is warning
that the popularity of the 30-megabyte trailer for the new STAR WARS film,
which set an Internet record with over 3.5 million downloads in its first
five days on-line, could cause corporate America's e-mail to come to a
grinding halt. The security firm, Allegro of Dayton, Ohio, told the LOS
ANGELES DAILY NEWS if six or seven people in a company start sending it
around the office, it starts to chew up the server space, slowing overall
productivity.