Size might not be everything – but it certainly counts for a lot.

The media (including, on occasion, The Grocer) is quick to point out when a supplier or retailer has shaved a few grams or millilitres off a product.

Only a couple of weeks ago we reported on Greggs shrinking a selection of baked goods including its bacon rolls and pasties, and last month Which? issued a report on grocery products that had been reduced in size without a corresponding cut in price.

Personally, I find it hard to get terribly excited or upset about such practices that, rightly or wrongly, have become part of the fabric of the grocery industry. And, while not condoning any action on the part of a retailer or supplier that might mislead a customer, I feel many of today’s shoppers would rather purchase slightly less product than miss out altogether on a favourite brand because an SKU had become too expensive.

I was, however, very interested in the latest economy-busting move by toy supplier Hasbro, which has been faced with the problem of the price of its action figures moving close to £10 as costs rise and toys became more sophisticated.

Unlike a food product, it’s not easy to shave a few grams or millimetres off a toy. For the uninitiated, the typical height of an action figure (such as the Star Wars toys readers in their 30s and 40s will recall playing with) is 3.75 inches. Trim too much plastic off such a toy and you could end up with a Han Solo the same height as an R2D2, or at least figures out of scale with the rest of a child’s collection. And children (particularly obsessive-compulsive little boys) care about such things.

What Hasbro has done instead is create a range of 3.75-inch toys with fewer joints than modern action figures – just the head, shoulders and thighs – and next to nothing in the way of accessories. This has allowed the company to put a £5.99 price tag on them – a move it will be hoping can bring some action to the declining action figures market.

It seems like a smart strategy to me – a back-to-basics approach that has resulted in a range of keenly priced toys very similar to the ones parents will recall playing with when they were young.

And on a personal level – as dad to a 10-year-old who is more likely to found playing with an iPod or games console than a toy – I welcome any move that might help to keep ‘real toys’ affordable and desirable. May the Force be with them.

Topics