Alan Hassenfeld is a third-generation toymaker. As the grandson of one of the original founders of Hasbro, he was one of the first kids in the world to get a Mr. Potato Head, or "Pot Head" as he called it. After joining the company with his brother Stephen, he helped to introduce the world to My Little Pony, Transformers, and a revival of the brand's iconic G.I. Joe.
Stephen Hassenfeld was the more business-oriented of the two brothers and heir apparent to the company their father had turned into an American institution during the post-war years. But when Stephen died in 1989 of AIDS, Alan took on the responsibility.
"It was a really difficult time. I had actually gotten married only two months before, and I didn't know that my brother was sick," Hassenfeld told Cheddar.
The former Hasbro head, who retired in 2006, isn't one to seek out the spotlight, but a new biography about his life called "Kid Number One" by G. Wayne Miller has put him in a storytelling mood.
"I started when the company was $30 million. It's now close to $5 billion," Hassenfeld said. "I wanted those who came in at $5 billion to understand who came before, who set the table. Too often, even in America, we're not teaching history."
Indeed, the story of Hasbro is a literal rags-to-riches tale: Hassenfeld's grandfather and great uncles came over from Poland in 1923 and sold rags in the streets of Providence, Rhode Island. The brothers eventually started manufacturing pencils and pencil cases and then got into toys with modeling clay and doctor and nurse kits for children.
It was his father, Merrill Hassenfeld, who turned Hasbro into a household name with the introduction of the first G.I. Joe in 1964. The original "action figure" dominated sales for years.
When Alan took over, the business was already one of the biggest toymakers in the country, but it still wasn't the global powerhouse that it is today.
"I had been more the international person and also more logistics and supply sourcing, not as much on the marketing side, even though I loved the marketing," he said.
But it was Hassenfeld's expertise that gave the brand its next boost. International sales exploded in the years to come and today comprise 40 percent of the business. Hasbro is the third-largest toymaker in the world behind Namco Bandai and LEGO and just ahead of Mattel.
Under his tenure, Hasbro also acquired Tonka in 1991 and Japan's Nomura Toys in 1992.
Slumping retail sales and the slow death of Toys "R" Us have put a strain on the toymaker over the last decade, but it now seems to be making a comeback.
Strong sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 raised Hasbro's net income to $267.3 million from $8.8 million a year prior. Toys for popular franchises such as Star Wars and Frozen 2 were behind the profits.
Nowadays Hassenfeld is happy to busy himself with charitable efforts and providing high-level guidance to the company leaders who have taken his place. "I'm so proud of everything there because we've passed the baton twice now," he said.
