Thanks to Trump's tariffs and saber-rattling, Hasbro is investing in factories in Vietnam and India, de-emphasizing its China operations: the world's biggest toymaker insists that the initiative -- which will cut China's share of its manufacturing from two-thirds to one-half -- is about "spreading our footprint and adding new geographies for production."
Notably, despite Trump's insistence that trade war would shift jobs from China to America, the impact seems to be primarily about moving jobs from China to other low-waged countries, a process that has been underway for a decade as Chinese labor costs have risen.
Chief Financial Officer Deborah Thomas said some retailers briefly paused direct import orders from manufacturing locations during the second quarter as they watched the trade situation. Last year, 35% of Hasbro’s U.S. and Canada revenue was delivered through such direct imports. It expects the percentage to decline this year, forcing Hasbro to take on more imports itself.
World’s Top Toymaker Joins Companies Leaving China’s Factories [Jeff Sutherland/Bloomberg]
