Yeah, I remember ordering that series through ship to store when it came out and now it just sits, glued to the shelves. The Thomas and Ace has never even been opened, Nia was a minor hit and Yong Bao was replaced with the Plarail version. A few of the Walmarts in my part of the US also had Lexi mixed in with those for a long time.
Around here at least, the Hyperglow and Monkey Mania series were mostly sold at Target. At least at my house, nobody wanted Monkey Mania and Hyperglow was a curiosity that got quickly shrugged off.
I attribute this to several causes. My son is aging out of Thomas fandom, although he still plays Thomas games in Roblox. Mattel’s decision to move Thomas to Nick Jr about a year after we dropped our premium cable TV. That was probably a bad move at a time when people are going over to streaming services and have internet access on their TVs. The media brand and the various merchandise lines are in the doldrums. There doesn’t seem to be anything to excite kids and hold their interest.
Around here at least, the Hyperglow and Monkey Mania series were mostly sold at Target. At least at my house, nobody wanted Monkey Mania and Hyperglow was a curiosity that got quickly shrugged off.
I attribute this to several causes. My son is aging out of Thomas fandom, although he still plays Thomas games in Roblox. Mattel’s decision to move Thomas to Nick Jr about a year after we dropped our premium cable TV. That was probably a bad move at a time when people are going over to streaming services and have internet access on their TVs. The media brand and the various merchandise lines are in the doldrums. There doesn’t seem to be anything to excite kids and hold their interest.