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 Marvel’s history timeline
Comic books
linked to Sold to New Disney
Filed for Created
Founded teenage World purchases
bankruptcy Marvel
pregnancy & Entertainment Marvel
Studios
homosexuality?

68
39

54

09
96

04
98
19

19

19

20

20
19

19
s
40

Sales Poor Bought TV, video

19

dropped, only management, cheaply by games,

Comic DC & Marvel demotivated ToyBiz amusement
book left staff → fewer parks
industry profits Repaired
boomed Targeted
corporate
college
culture
students
 Different visions & strategies
× 1940s: Create as many titles as possible to grab customers’ attention
× Copied competitors, little original work
× Post-1954: Had to change strategy → original content aimed at older
demographic (college students)
× 1968: Pitted employees against each other, main cartoonist quit
× 2004: “Added multiples to the valuation of the business” (9)
× Movies, TV, video games, theme parks
× 2009: Post-Disney purchase → competition is “irrelevant,” everyone is in the
business together
Marvel needed to find a way
to succeed despite previous
failures in management,
changing visions, and
underperforming
product lines.
Alternative solutions
After purchase from Toy Biz, in 1998, Marvel had five sources of revenue and
choices of what to do with them:

Comic Books Invest/ Keep Do not invest/ Cut

Trading Cards Invest/ Keep Do not invest/ Cut

Toys Invest/ Keep Do not invest/ Cut

Character Licensing Invest/ Keep Do not invest/ Cut

Marvel Studios Invest/ Keep Do not invest/ Cut

Comic books
× Comic book intangibles worth $127.7 million
× IP, characters, storylines, brand, goodwill
× “The Great Comics Crash of 1996” (TV Tropes)
× Collectors’ items mass-produced, lost value
× Market collapsed
× Single-source distribution system in the 90’s→
comic book stores closed
× 9,400 → 4,500
Trading cards
× SkyBox and Fleer +
Panini Sticker
Company
× Sales driven by
collectors
× Segment is not
profitable in and of
itself
toys
× Generates most of Marvel’s
revenue
× Revenue expected to increase
with movie deals
× Low-margin business
× 2001: Lost $30 million when Star
Wars toys were introduced by
Hasbro
× Very risky
× Easily bumped by
competition
 Character licensing
× Marvel had history of licensing
its characters
× Required little investment
× Licensing business worth
$401.1 million
× 1998: received $4.9 mil in
licensing fees
 Marvel studios
× Not an actual movie studio
× Only licensed Marvel characters to motion picture studios
× Increased Marvel character demand
× Provided capital during bankruptcy + increased licensing royalties
× Sony’s Spider-Man → grossed $2.5 billion
× FOX’s X-Men → grossed $5.5 billion (Wikipedia)
× If they choose to invest, Marvel can develop actual studios and
produce own movies
recommended strategy

Trading Cards Marvel Studios

Comic Books

cut cut keep

Character
Toys
Licensing

CUT keep
 recommended strategy
× Stop selling comic books, trading cards, toys
× Comic books/ trading cards purchased by collectors
× As they age, will become more valuable
× Toys too risky for a company that declared bankruptcy
× Keep character licensing
× Marvel continues to hold right to its characters
× License characters to toy companies
× Invest in Marvel Studios
× Large source of capital
× Purchase own studios and make movies
× Fix management problems
Tracking metrics
Intermediate Conclusive
× Revenue from box office for each
movie
× Sales on licensed toys
× Sales and demand on liquidated
inventory (comic books, trading
cards)
× Return on Investment in Marvel
Studios
× Long-term revenue from Marvel
movies
× Long-term change in viewership
on Marvel movies
× Long-term change in sales for
licensed toys
× Market share for movies/ licensed
toys
Thank
Any questions?
 Works cited
“The Great Comics Crash of 1996 / Useful Notes.” TV Tropes, TV Tropes,
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996.
“X-Men (Film Series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 June 2018,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men_(film_series).