Winter movie releases Moana 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 can’t come soon enough for Jakks Pacific. The California-based toymaker reported global net sales in its second financial quarter totaling US$148.6 million—an 11% drop compared to last year’s US$166.9 million.
As was the case in its first-quarter results, the company’s latest sales slide is mostly attributable to a lack of new product launches tied to family films, according to Jakks chairman and CEO Stephen Berman. Last year, the company was busy supporting massive hits The Super Mario Bros. Movie from Illumination and Disney’s live-action reboot The Little Mermaid, but this year its content-related business isn’t expected to pick up until the latter half of the year when new product launches for Disney’s Moana 2 (November) and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (December) start rolling out.
Jakks’ action play and collectibles division took the largest hit in Q2, with net sales plummeting 30.5% to US$36.6 million. Its toys and consumer products business, which accounted for US$104.6 million of Jakks’ total net sales, fared better with only an 11.3% decline.
The one bright spot was sales in its dolls, role-play and dress-up category, which increased 6.6% to US$63.6 million. The company also saw a slight improvement in Latin America, where sales grew 5.6% to US$3.2 million.
Looking ahead, Berman expects business will also be bolstered by Jakks’ new line of products inspired by The Simpsons, as well as this month’s line of Wild Manes horse dolls and playsets made in partnership with Epic Story Media.
Jakks Pacific sales dip 11% in Q2
The toymaker's financials are expected to heat up in the back half of the year when new Moana and Sonic movies hit theaters.
August 1, 2024