A Good Time in the Toy Department

Hasbro Inc. (Pawtucket, R.I.) reported earnings of $11.4 million for its second quarter 2003 ended June 29. For the same period a year ago, the country's second-largest toy maker (after Mattel) lost almost $26 million.

Sales were up 7 percent for the producer of G.I. Joe, Play-Doh, Tonka toys, Nerf balls, Playskool and Milton Bradley board games and the licensee of toys related to Disney movie and television characters.

An in-depth tour of Hasbro's new Once Upon a Toy store, co-branded with Disney at Downtown Disney Marketplace at Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, Fla.), will be presented at VM+SD's International Retail Design Conference, Sept. 17-19, 2003, in Miami Beach, by Tony Mancini, Disney's senior vp, global retail store development.