The surprisingly complex business of toys, with Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks

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Mar 31, 2023

Chris Cocks, CEO of Hasbro, dives into the intricate world of toys and games. He discusses the shifting landscape of adult consumers and how it's reshaping Hasbro's strategies. Cocks shares insights on navigating crises, like fan backlash over game licenses and the balance between monetization and community sentiment. He emphasizes the evolution of iconic brands like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, while also exploring new product innovations aimed at passionate fandoms. A lifelong gamer, he illustrates the blend of creativity and data-driven strategy in the toy industry.

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ANECDOTE

Gaming Roots

Chris Cocks, Hasbro CEO, fondly recalls playing D&D at age 10 and Magic: The Gathering in college.
These childhood games inspired his career in video games and eventually led him to Hasbro.

INSIGHT

Hasbro's Structure

Hasbro's seemingly interconnected product lines (toys, movies, games) are managed by mostly independent divisions.
Cocks is restructuring the company to a more integrated model.

INSIGHT

Restructuring Rationale

Hasbro is shifting from a classic divisional structure to a hybrid functional structure.
Verticals (business units) manage brands while horizontals support execution across the brand blueprint.

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Chris Cocks is the CEO of Hasbro, a company that just turned 100 this year. Hasbro is a huge company, making everything from Transformers to Lincoln Logs to My Little Pony and Monopoly. It also makes Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, which are massive and growing businesses. Chris was the head of that division, called Wizards of the Coast, before he became the CEO of Hasbro overall last year. Since then, he’s started the process of restructuring the company, which is pure Decoder bait.

He’s also dealt with some crises: He’s fended off an activist investor that wanted him to spin Wizards of the Coast out into a new company. The Magic community was upset that too many card sets were being released, including rare collector cards that could suddenly be bought by anybody who had enough money. Then, an attempt to change the open gaming license for Dungeons & Dragons led to a fan backlash, and Hasbro walked the entire plan back. We talked about these challenges, how he handled them, and what it means for toys and games to have such passionate fandoms. It really changes how Hasbro operates.

He’s also selling off part of eOne, the company’s TV and film production company — we get into why and how he decided to do that.

Chris is a lifelong gamer — you’ll hear him talk about that history several times. And he’s also keenly aware that toys and games have become an adults’ market as much as a kids’ one, and that changes the company’s business strategy. This is really a remarkable conversation: toys are a big, complex business.

Links:

Chris Cocks Is Hasbro’s Gamer in Chief

Chris Cocks Statement at Hasbro Investor Day

Hasbro strongly refutes claims it is ‘destroying’ Magic: The Gathering

Dungeons & Dragons finally addresses its new Open Gaming License

Hasbro CEO on D&D fiasco: ‘We misfired’ on the OGL but have ‘since course corrected’

Magic: The Gathering Becomes a Billion-Dollar Brand for Toymaker Hasbro

Hasbro Puts Newly Acquired TV Brand Entertainment One (eOne) Back Up For Sale

Transcript:

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Hadley Robinson and it was edited by Amanda Rose Smith. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters. And our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.

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