Rogue Friday Toy Launch A Mixed Bag
Toys-R-Us stores held a midnight event today to launch the new Rogue One toys and it was kind of a mixed bag at our store in upstate NY. They were giving away a Rogue One poster and Funko POP! t-shirt which were fun for those staying up late.
On the Hasbro front, the store had 3 or 4 cases of the new 3.75″ action figures along with new 2-packs and vehicles. Their exclusive Black Series 6″ Hovertank Pilot was out on the pegs but there was no sign of the other Black Series figures. Another shopper had an employee check the back and found at least one case which was brought out. It appeared there was some confusion if it should be out because the assortment number is the same as the previous releases.
We spotted the new Hasbro 12″ Stormtrooper figure but didn’t see any of the new Jakks Pacific releases. We also missed out on seeing any Hot Wheels starships and character cars that may have bee out. The main problem with the store we visited was the overload of The Force Awakens merchandise that was still on the shelf. The Rogue One toys were mixed in and while the packaging has been updated, when you’re looking at a wall of Star Wars, the colors are similar enough that the new didn’t stand out.
After picking up two Sabine figures and the Moroff and Scarif Stormtrooper 2-pack, we headed for the Lego section and then the checkout lane.
Toys-R-Us is offering a free polybagged minifigure of a First Order General with a Lego purchase of $30. The store did have the new Lego sets but with shop.lego.com offering 2X VIP points, free shipping, and a bagged Darth Revan figure, we skipped and ordered the new Star Wars Advent Calendar from home.
The number of shoppers we saw at the store was down from last year’s event for The Force Awakens. There were fewer than 10 people there when the doors opened and there was no real sense of urgency in shopping. Most picked up one or two items, with a few snagging more, and that seemed to be it.
After Toys-R-Us we headed over to Walmart and were disappointed to find not a single Rogue One toy on the shelf. There wasn’t even a hint that they’d started resetting the shelves and pegs in anticipation of stocking new toys. That goes for both Hasbro and Lego.
The Toys-R-Us store we visited is about 30 miles from home, as is the first Walmart store we stopped in, so it was a little embarrassing when, on the way home, the Walmart 5 minutes away had much more in stock and better presented. The photos below were taken at this store, and you can see the nice aisle display featuring Funko POP!, Hasbro Black Series, lightsabers, and Hot Wheels vehicles. There were approximately 2 cases of 3.75″ figures on the pegs in the aisle, which we didn’t photograph. There were only one or two Black Series figures missing when we arrived.
Picked up a K-2SO 3.75″ figure and a Black Series Jyn Erso. Walmart was slated to have a Lego polybag giveaway along with free packs of new Topps Connexions discs but neither store we visited seemed to have them.
Next stop will be Target at 8:00 to hopefully pick up Hera’s A-Wing and some of the Hot Wheels ships which are currently 50% off via the Target Cartwheel app.
