Hasbro Toys    

Hasbro is a U.S.-based company located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and is one of the largest toy and board game companies in the world. In recent years, Hasbro has outsourced the production of its products to third-party companies mostly in China. Hasbro owns and operates two facilities outside of Asia, one in Waterford, Ireland, and the other in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. If not for Mattel's Barbie franchise, Hasbro would be the largest toy and game publisher in the world.

The Hasbro company was started in 1923 by Henry and Helal Hassenfeld under the name Hassenfeld Brothers. The company first began as a textile remnants company and later expanded to producing pencil boxes and school supplies. It was in the 1940s that Hassenfeld Brothers produced its first toys, doctor and nurse kits.

Hassenfeld Brothers Inc. had its first hit toy in 1952 with the purchase of the Mr. Potato Head toy from its inventor George Lerner. The company produced another hit toy in 1964 with the G.I. Joe toy, which they termed an “action figure”.

In 1968, Hassenfeld Brothers Inc. was shortened to Hasbro Inc.

Another blockbuster for Hasbro came in 1983 with the release of its My Little Pony toys, and again in 1984 with its Transformers toys.

Hasbro Inc. has a number of subsidiary toy companies including the Milton Bradley Company which was purchased in 1984. This acquisition brought The Game of Life, Candy Land, Twister, Chutes and Ladders and Yahtzee into the Hasbro fold. Hasbro also acquired Parker Brothers, which brought with it Monopoly, the most successful commercial board game of all time. Probably the largest subsidiary of Hasbro was Kenner. Kenner was behind the success of the Star Wars, Play-Doh, Super Powers, M.A.S.K., Strawberry Shortcake, and Care Bears toy lines. The toys and games produced by Hasbro subsidiaries have retained their brand identity, which is an important advertising consideration.