McFarlane Toys Done with Horror?
No one’s made that bold of a claim yet, but times are tough all around for the toy business. McFarlane Toys, headed by Todd McFarlane of Spawn, action figure, and Super-Awesome-Geek fame, had major lay offs over the past few days. MacFarlane himself released the following statement to Toy News International today:
“Recently, my company was forced to reduce some of our workforce. Most of those that unfortunately were laid off were very good workers and even more, very good people on a personal level, but in an effort to continue to stay competitive, some hard decisions were made. I wish I could say that my company was somehow special or unique, and that the reality of the world had no bearing on our day to day activities. Sadly, I can't say that. Does this mean that my company is on the verge of going out of business? No. Does it mean that we will be pulling back on our efforts for the sports lines? Absolutely not. It simply means that some corrections were needed within my company. If you have been reading the news you know that I am in the same boat as many hundreds (and perhaps thousands of companies that are also feeling the same business pain). My company has been through these bumps before. Remember it's now been about 15 years we've been doing this. Though each day hasn't been all fun, we have learned how and when to adjust so that we can continue to bring you products at a high quality and a fair price.”
The horror, fantasy, and sci-fi lines have certainly taken a bit of a back seat to sports figures and video game franchises. The fact that MacFarlane is intent on keeping the sports lines thriving could mean trouble for more specialized lines with horror slants. McFarlane made fantastic figures with his Monsters series, and we hope for the best, just keep up with the horror, Spawn, and fantasy fan in mind.
