At the helm of the planet's No2 toy company is a man with a playful streak who is in love with a serious business
THE CHAIRMAN OF the world's second-largest toy company, Hasbro Inc, has a playful streak. 'Look for the guy with a red tie and a sense of humour,' Alan Hassenfeld says in advance of a meeting at the Mandarin Oriental's Clipper Lounge.
As it happens, Mr Hassenfeld's tie is pink, not red, but he is spot-on about his lighter side. When the red-tie, pink-tie discrepancy is pointed out to him, he laughs it off - 'I'm colour-blind' - in a manner that makes one wonder if he really cannot distinguish his pinks from his reds or is just kidding about that too.
'I've got to be careful,' he says at one point during the interview. 'My sense of humour gets me into trouble sometimes.'
For all his levity, however, Mr Hassenfeld oversees a very serious business. Established in 1923 in Providence, Rhode Island, by his grandfather Henry and great uncle Halal, Hassenfeld Brothers was originally in the textile business. It quickly moved into pencil boxes and school supplies, and later toys.
Today Hasbro - it adopted its snappier name in 1968 - commands annual revenues of more than US$3 billion, and boasts a dizzying array of household-name toy brands. Mr Potato Head, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Tonka trucks, Play-Doh, Nerf footballs, Transformers, Pokemon, Furby dolls and even board games such as Monopoly, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit - the list seems endless. For this reporter, the realisation that so many of his toys and family board games are today controlled by one company comes as something of a shock.
